George Bernard Shaw said “the British and the Americans are two peoples separated by a common language“. Presumably, he was speaking about food at the time as you will see in the chart below, listing American (left column) and British (right) culinary terms.
AMERICAN | BRITISH |
| all-purpose flour | plain flour |
| baking sheet | baking tray |
| baking soda | bicarbonate of soda |
| beef cut from the rump | silverside |
| beet | beetroot |
| bouillon cube | stock cubes |
| bread flour | strong flour |
| cake/ baking pan | cake tin |
| candied fruit | glacé fruits |
| catsup, tomato | ketchup |
| celery rib | celery stick |
| cilantro | coriander, fresh |
| cookies | biscuits |
| confectioners’/powdered sugar | icing sugar |
| cornstarch | cornflour |
| cream, heavy | double cream |
| cream, light, half-and-half | single cream |
| eggplant | aubergine |
| extract (vanilla, etc.) | essence |
| farina | semolina |
| fat from roasted meat | dripping |
| fatback | pork fat |
| fava beans | broad beans |
| flank steak | skirt steak |
| French-fried potatoes | chips |
| graham crackers | digestive biscuits |
| ground meats | minced meats |
| ham | gammon |
| hard-cooked eggs | hard-boiled eggs |
| heaping spoonful | heaped spoonful |
| jumbo shrimp | king prawns |
| large cut of meat to roast | joint |
| light corn syrup | golden syrup |
| molasses | treacle |
| papaya | paw paw |
| pig’s foot | pig’s trotter |
| pork shoulder roast | hand of pork |
| potato chips | crisps |
| raisins/seedless, golden | sultanas |
| round steak/stewing beef | chuck steak |
| sausages | bangers |
| scallions, green onions | spring or salad onions |
| shortening, vegetable | Margarine/Butter/Lard |
| shredded coconut | desiccated coconut |
| shrimp | prawns |
| (to) shuck | (to) hull |
| skillet | frying pan |
| slice | rasher |
| spatula | fish slice |
| strain; strainer | sieve |
| (to) strain | (to) sift |
| stuffing mixture for meat or fish | forcemeat |
| Sugar, superfine | castor sugar |
| sweet or bell peppers | capsicums |
| tomato catsup | tomato ketchup |
| vanilla bean | vanilla pod |
| variety meats (liver, kidney, etc.) | offal |
| wax paper | Greaseproof/Parchment paper |
| zucchini | courgette |
