Food-UK vs US

 

While in the US ask for it like the Amreekanz do

Several times a day I am forced to test my memory in an attempt to recall any well-adjusted couples I know of (forget the ads, they are selling dreams) who have never ever expressed, not necessarily in words but even through a grimace or smirk, unhappiness/annoyance at having to live with each other during the time of ‘togetherness’ in self-imposed house arrest these days.

Trust me, life in this cocoon is not romantic at all. Therefore, it is not only exchange with other family members that I am missing, it is also the feeling that if blood is indeed thicker than water, then why shouldn’t those with the same gene-pool as him (you know who) also have to tolerate him some times.

Alas, this darned virus infected my plans and the flights were cancelled last year. This year too one airline cancelled the flight. A fat amount of dough once again moved from our account to that of another airline for fresh tickets and now my early morning routine these days is checking the status of UA 802. Is it flying tonight?

My fingers seem to be permanently crossed praying frantically that the Covid situation in India improves and the flight keeps going everyday till I have to go. The travel would require me to do a lot of things, in fact some even as seemingly strange as brushing up my knowledge of English.

In a video British comedian Malcolm McIntyre talks about how the Americans like to be specific in their language to eliminate any chances of doubt. Pardon me, but United Kingdom vs United States English i.e. pavement vs sidewalk, horse-riding vs horseback riding, bin vs waste paper basket, had me in splits.

Yet considering my bigger love for all things food, my concern is only about that and we shall talk about the scores of other words some other time.

It was my first visit to the US nearly three decades ago. In New York for a day trip, we stopped for a bite at a small place. I read the menu hung high on the wall several times but found it difficult to decide, there were items I did not know of. (I now know how Shashi, Sridevi’s character in English Vinglish, must have felt ordering a coffee in the US). Finally the grunts of the huge man in overalls behind me, whose lunch time I was nibbling into with my indecision, prompted me to choose something as simple, light and pleasing as sandwiches. “With gravy,” the large man behind the counter asked. Gravy? I knew what a sandwich was but was delighted at the thought of a bowl of thick creamy liquid to swallow it with, nodded a ‘yes’, paid for it and stepped aside. Within a few minutes my number was called out and I saw a tray being pushed towards me. Didn’t I order a sandwich: this was a few supposedly edibles held between two obscenely large lumps of baked dough and a tiny bowl of black liquid with some slices of fried onions floating in it?  Now I knew why the guy had given me a glance. Almost in tears I moved to a table and slowly chewed on whatever amount I could and threw the rest in the bin.

Sandwich I recognise

American sandwich I have learnt to chew on

I know you are wiser and more knowledgeable and you might stick to MacD. (That is how the old faithful is called these days, a youngster recently corrected me.) or the other fast food chains. But I should warn that the versions in India are customized to our taste - spicier and tastier.

I proudly admit that I have not learnt from that lesson and keep experimenting while ordering food outside of India and have grown rich in experience. In US I would order ‘crepes’ at a diner because I know asking for pancakes means I would get a wheat flour neer dosa with a stream of maple syrup running off it.

I am neither a politician nor in the army, not even a spy or a businessman who has to choose sides. So it does not matter to me whether the vegetable is called beetroot (UK) or beets (US), as long as I know it is what I am looking for. Thanks to internet and gyan given to me by several kind-hearted people whose children live in Techsaas or Phlauredah, C-attal or /Nu Yaark (Texas, Florida, Seattle, New York), I often forget whether the word is British or US and chug along with the one which conveys what I have to say.

Let me share some food words that we Indians know of and which they use on either side of the pond. These are not spelling differences and I do not claim that the list is anywhere near being exhaustive. Just keep in mind what we were taught in school was Queen’s English so most of what we speak is British though not always because we have had enough exposure to American English as well in the last few decades.

What the Brits say	It is called in the land of 50 states
Biscuit: as a child the only cookies I knew of were coconut cookies, the rest were all biscuits –sweet but flat, and there were salties.	Cookie The American biscuit is savoury, buttery and flaky, which we call puff and salties are crackers.
You distributed sweets on your birthday?	American kids distribute candy.
Remember budhhi mai ke baal (old woman’s hair) or candy floss which looks like the strands of a skein.	You mean cotton candy?
Bitter	Pale ale
Chilli sauce	Hot sauce
Chocolate bar	Candy bar
Digestives	Graham crackers
Soft drink	Soda
The waiter from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar politely asks if you want phiss (fish) fingers.	Across the Atlantic he would ask about phiss (fish) sticks.
All our lives we ate capsicums with the botanical name capsicum annuum.	These un-bell-like vegetables are bell peppers here.
Coriander is commonly used in our food	call it cilantro.
Any lolly	is popsicle.
Courgette sounds stylish	but we all know what zucchini (jukhni in desi lingo) is.
The old-fashioned porridge	is oatmeal.
Ladies enjoy a shandy at lunch	but it is just beer with lemonade.
Prawns	Small variety is shrimp, large is prawns.
Jelly	Goes by the brand name i.e. Jell-O
Broad Bean	Lima Beans
Starters/appetizers	hors d'oeuvre (borrowed from French!)
Pips (small seeds of fruits like orange, apple, lemon)	Seeds (simple, isn’t it?)
Single cream	Half and half
Semolina	Cream of wheat (really?)
Tinned or	Canned, it is one and the same thing
Maize	Corn
Ready salted	Original
Aubergine	Eggplant
Marrow	Squash
Rocket leaves (Why did the Brits do that?)	Arugula (gives the name a higher pedestal)
Gherkin	Pickle
Ladyfinger	Okra
Spring onions	They just say green onions.
Muesli	Granola (not exactly though,  granola is baked and muesli is raw)
Desiccated coconut	Shredded coconut
Crayfish	Crawfish
Minced meat	Ground meat
Cheese toastie	You know what grilled cheese is.
Cutlet	Chop
Stuffing	Dressing
Toffee apple	Candy apple

 

Every time I decide on a recipe for baking, I do not just have to remember the CGS vs FPS systems to measure, but also how the ingredients are named. But yes, the Americans do simplify things in language.

UK	US
Fairy cake	Cupcake
Demerera sugar	Light brown sugar
Caster Sugar	Confectioner’s Sugar
Self-raising flour	Self-rising flour (it has a little salt too)
Plain flour or	all-purpose flour are the same.
Black treacle is	Molasses
Wholemeal flour is	Whole-wheat flour
Sponge finger	Ladyfinger
What you call a flan	is a fruit pie
Cornflour	Cornstarch
Profiterole	Cream puff
Cream	Creme
Icing sugar	Confectioner’s sugar
Semi-skimmed milk	2% milk, low–fat milk
Glacé cherries	Candied fruits
Icing	Frosting

Now one that sounds like a political decision to me is about chips and fries. So why don’t Americans use the word “chips” like the British do? According to

https://www.rd.com/list/british-food-names/

Well, they once did. In the mid-nineteenth century, Americans called fried potato slices “potato chips,” but they did tend to make them thinner than the British ones. But because they didn’t want their version to be confused with the already popular British ones, they called them French fries or German fries. But once World War I started, “the word ‘German’ was expunged from many American phrases, and French fries became the favored term for thin potato sticks,” according to the Oxford Dictionaries blog. If you actually are dead-set on some American chips, ask for a bag of crisps. Oh, and look for the brand Walkers, which is the British Lay’s brand. Sour cream and onion might be popular in America, but you’re more likely to find cheese and onion in the U.K.

Fries

Don’t blame your British server if burger and “chips” comes with a side of fries—in the U.K., that’s technically what you asked for. According to the Oxford Dictionaries blog, in the 1700s, the word “chip” in reference to food meant a slice or chunk of a fruit or vegetable. Potato chips specifically were usually fried, and Brits stuck with that usage of the word. That’s why they wouldn’t consider every French fry a chip. Chips specifically have to be thick cut, sort of like steak fries. Those skinny ones you get at American fast food restaurants aren’t true chips. 

I think this has to be understood algebraically, not my strong point. If you understand it, please share your discovery with the rest of us.

In absolute honesty the question of the two countries’ understanding of chips vs fries, granola vs muesli, tea vs coffee, mid-morning meal vs brunch, bar vs pubs and whisky or beer or wine etc., can be mind-boggling. Also do not ignore that portion sizes are different while tipping is a whole different game in either country.

Then what do you do? Carry pictures of foods you want to eat? My twopenny suggestion is (even if you have to, unlearn what you learned in school) flow with the tide. We Indians are fast learners. Say whatever the person you are paying to understands and enjoy the food.