Although the U.S., UK and Australia all speak the same language, there’s still plenty that gets lost in translation. Heck, there are even differences in the names of food within Australia alone!
Like, why do we Aussies call them biscuits, while Americans call them cookies? And what the heck is arugula (do you mean rocket, USA?!)? Ever wondered why we call the same foods different names? This lesson in food etymology will intrigue you.
Political potatoes.
The word “chips” originates from the Old English forcippian, meaning to “cut off”. This is what the British call the beloved deep fried potato stick, while “crisps” are the pre-packaged, dehydrated type (presumably because they’re crispy).
In the U.S., chips were called “French fried” or “German fried” potatoes, until World War I. Now they’re known as “French fries” or simply “fries”. Although some politicians demanded their renaming to “Freedom Fries” after France wouldn’t support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The things in the plastic bag, though, have always been called chips.
Here in Australia, we call everything “chips”. We are a simple folk.
Biting the biscuit.
If you’re British and travelling to the U.S., you’ll be shocked at what you receive if you order “biscuits” in a café. And vice versa.
In the UK, “biscuits” (meaning “twice-cooked”) are hard baked goods used for dunking tea, although the softer, “American-style” kind may be referred to as “cookies”. Biscuits in the U.S. are like a savoury scone, often served with creamy gravy.
Not arugula science.
That peppery, weed-like plant in your salad is known the the U.S. as “arugula”, which comes from the Latin name for it, “eruca sativa” (down-stemmed plant). The Romans also considered the plant a powerful aphrodisiac…
… unfortunately, that’s not where the UK name, “rocket”, comes from. A northern Italian dialect referred to green as “ruchetta”, which became “roquette” when it reached France. Finally, it was simplified by the Brits to rocket. We’re all just Latin in the end!
Bubbling over.
In the U.S., carbonated drinks are often referred to as “soda” (referring to sodium bicarbonate) or “pop” (referring to sound the cork used to make when the bottles were opened). Makes sense!
The U.K. monikers are even more straightforward – “fizzy drink” or “fizzy pop”. Down Under, the preferred term “soft drinks” was used as a generic label for any drink that wasn’t alcoholic (hard liquors). We also call it lolly water, because, well, that’s what it is!
Mystery meat.
There is a strange processed meat in Australia which goes by many names. Beef Belgium, Belgium sausage, bung, devon, Empire sausage, fritz, German sausage, luncheon meat, polony, pork German, Strasburg, stras, Windsor sausage and even wheel meat.
Some say it contains pork… others are not so sure. All we can say is, with that many names, we’re not even certain the manufacturers know what it is!
What other unusual food name differences have you come across?
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