Cooking Terms
British to American English
A relation of British cooking terms and their equivalents in American English. Some are not the words you would find in a recipe book, but you would hear in everyday speaking or when shopping for food.
British terms appear first, in bold characters. In the Uk it is courgette, when in USA it is zucchini.
apple, fruit crumble – apple, fruit crisp.
aubergine – eggplant.
bacon of the round short – Canadian bacon, ham.
bacon rashers of the streaky sort – American bacon.
bangers – sausages.
baps – soft, round bread rolls.
beetroot – beet.
bin liner – garbage bag.
broad beans - fava beans.
biscuits - cookies, crackers.
candy floss – cotton candy.
carrier bag, usually plastic – shopping bag.
caster sugar, castor sugar - superfine granulated sugar.
chilli - chili or chile pepper.
chips - French fries. Order steak and fries, however, if you see fish and chips in the menu, it will be the same dish as in the UK.
claret - red wine from Bordeaux.
cling film - plastic wrap.
corn flour – cornstarch, corn starch.
courgette - zucchini.
crisps - potato chips.
dark treacle – molasses.
Demerara sugar – brown sugar.
digestive biscuits – graham crackers.
double cream – heavy cream.
fairy cakes– cupcakes.
French beans – green beans.
fried eggs – eggs over-easy, sunny side up.
fruit preserves – fruit jam.
gammon – ham.
grease proof paper – wax paper.
groundnut oil – peanut oil.
haricot beans – navy beans.
ice lolly – popsicle.
icing sugar – confectioners’ sugar.
jacket potato – baked potato.
jelly – jello.
joint of meat – roast, usually bone-in.
kitchen hob – cook top, stove.
maize – corn.
maize flour – cornstarch.
marrow – squash.
mince – ground meat.
minced – ground.
mixed spice – pie spice mix, pie spice.
morello cherries – sour cherries.
muesli – granola.
muslin - cheesecloth.
offal – variety meats, this is brain, liver and such.
pastry case – pie shell.
pig trotters – pig’s feet.
pips – seeds.
plain flour – all-purpose flour.
pluck – guts, heart, liver, lungs and windpipe of an animal.
pudding – dessert.
rapeseed oil – canola oil.
rasher of bacon – slice of streaky bacon.
rubbish bin – trash can.
runner beans – Kentucky beans.
sack – sherry.
seal – sear.
shopping trolley – grocery cart.
single cream, table cream - light cream.
soya – soy.
stoned – seeded.
streaky bacon – American bacon.
strong flour – bread flour.
sultanas – golden raisins.
supermarket – grocery store.
Swede – a kind of turnip.
sweets - candy.
Swiss roll – jelly roll.
tomato puree – tomato paste.
wholemeal – whole wheat, wholewheat.
wine merchant, off-license – liquor store.
See American to British English cooking terms, the other side of the coin, or go to the food pantry - your food and wine - world food and wine home.
