You Say Bangers, and I Say Sausage …

Winston Churchill called the United Kingdom and the United States “two countries separated by a common language.” And he wasn’t even talking about food! Since at Bliss Shurfine Food Mart we do stock some British imports, we thought it might be a good idea to de-mystify some of the items on our shelves that come from the British Isles. It’s great to try something new—as long as you know whether it’s part of your main course or a special dessert!

So before you get lost in translation, here’s a list of items you might encounter (whether on the shelves or in Agatha Christie!) and their American counterparts:

• Aubergine: eggplant
• Bangers: sausage
• Bap: roll
• Bicarbonate of soda: baking soda
• Biscuit: cookie or cracker
• Black pudding: blood sausage
• Capsicum: bell peppers
• Chicory: Belgian endive
• Chips: French fries
• Claret: Bordeaux (wine)
• Courgettes: small zucchini
• Demerera sugar: light brown sugar
• Gammon: ham
• Icing sugar: confectioners’ sugar
• Jelly: gelatin
• Joint: beef roast
• Lean bacon:Canadian bacon
• Pickled cucumber: dill pickle
• Porridge: oatmeal
• Pudding: dessert
• Rocket: arugula
• Semolina: cream of wheat
• Shandy: beer with lemonade
• Single cream: hald and half
• Sultans: golden raisins
• Treacle: molasses
• Tinned: canned
• Tunny: tuna
• Wholemeal: whole wheat, graham

Anything you’d like to add to the list? Put it in the comments, we’d love to hear from you! And if there’s anything special you’d like to see imported, speak to one of our associates about it. At Bliss Shurfine Food Mart, we want to make your grocery-shopping experience the very best it can be! Want more information about British foods? Check out the Wikipedia entry… or just ask us!