A Survival Guide to English Foods and Ingredients

Here is a list of some commonly used American ingredients with their UK equivalents:

Eggplant = aubergine

Arugula = rocket

Cilantro = coriander

Zucchini = courgettes

Belgian Endive = chicory

Bok Choi = Pak Choy

Green Onions = Spring onions or salad onions

Canadian bacon = back bacon

Ground Beef = beef mince (same with other meats)

Thick sliced ham (like Honey Baked Ham) = gammon

Cookies = biscuits (sweet)

Crackers = biscuits (savory/for cheese)

French fries = chips

Potato chips = crisps

Butty = sandwich (esp. chip butty or bacon butty)

Cornstarch = cornflour

Light cream = single cream

Heavy cream = double cream

Half & half = use half milk, half single cream

Graham crackers = use sweetmeal digestive biscuits

Dessert = the word 'pudding' refers to any dessert, not just custard, with notable exceptions being "black pudding" and "Yorkshire pudding", which are savory items

Granulated brown sugar = demarara sugar

Jell-O/Gelatin = jelly

powdered/confectioner's sugar = icing sugar

cake flour = sponge flour

Kool-Aid or flavored drink mix = squash

Baked potato = jacket potato

Tomato Paste = tomato puree

Ladyfingers = use sponge fingers or boudoir fingers

Shortening = use solid vegetable oil

Cheddar cheese = cheddar is usually white here; Red Leicester is closest to American cheddar

Swiss cheese = use Jarlsburg or Gruyere

Tomato Sauce (no seasonings) = try tomato juice or jarred pasta sauce & adjust seasonings

Minced garlic = 'easy garlic'

sugar sprinkles for cakes = hundreds and thousands

Below are some English dishes that I've seen on more than a few menus, but didn't know exactly what I'd be getting if I ordered it:

Welsh rarebit = is a savoury sauce made from melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot over toasted bread, sometimes with the addition of ale, mustard, ground cayenne pepper or ground paprika and Worcestershire sauce

Bangers and Mash = a dish of mashed potatoes & sausages, usually with an onion gravy

Bubble and Squeak = leftover vegetables and meat from a roast dinner pan-fried together with mashed potatoes until mixture is browned on all sides

Toad in a Hole = a dish comprising sausages baked in a Yorkshire pudding batter (see definition below), usually served with vegetables and gravy

Faggots = a meatball traditionally made from pig's heart, liver and fatty belly meat or bacon minced together, with herbs added for flavouring and sometimes breadcrumbs

Black pudding = a type of sausage made by cooking blood with a filler (meat, fat, suet, bread) until it is thick enough to congeal when cooled.

Cottage Pie = a pie with a mashed potato crust and cooked beef filling

Shepherd's Pie = a pie with a mashed potato crust and cooked lamb/mutton filling

Scotch Egg = sausage in breadcrumbs wrapped around hard boiled egg and deep fried to crispy

Pork Pie = minced pork and pork jelly baked inside a firm pastry crust, sometimes with cheese & pickle, and usually served cold with spicy mustard

Cockles = a type of small, edible, saltwater clam

Crubeens = Irish dish of salted pig's feet or trotters, usually served boiled with cabbage

English trifle = a dessert dish made from thick (or often solidified) custard, fruit, sponge cake, fruit juice or, more recently, gelatin, and whipped cream. These ingredients are usually arranged in layers with fruit and sponge on the bottom, and custard and cream on top.

Stargazy Pie = a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards (a type of fish), covered with a pastry crust. The pilchards are arranged with their tails toward the centre of the pie and their heads poking up through the crust around the edge, so that they appear to be gazing skyward.

Bacon Butty = bacon rashers served on a soft roll, usually with brown sauce or ketchup

Yorkshire Pudding = a savory, well-shaped pastry made from batter (usually cooked in muffin tins, like popovers) and served with roast meat and gravy

Spotted Dick = a steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants) commonly served with custard

Lancashire Hotpot = a stew consisting essentially of lamb or mutton, onion and potatoes left to bake in the oven all day in a heavy pot and on a low heat

Marrow = a type of squash or large zucchini

Angels on Horseback = poached oysters wrapped in bacon rashers w/a seasoned prune puree

Jaffa Cakes = a popular type of English cookie that consists of three layers: a sponge cake base, a layer of orange flavoured jelly and a coating of dark chocolate.

Cornish Pasties = seasoned steak, potatoes, onion, carrot and turnips baked inside a pastry case

Victoria Sponge = traditionally consists of jam sandwiched between two sponge cakes; the top of the cake is not iced or decorated. Named for Queen Victoria, who favored sponge cake with her afternoon tea