British-English to American-English 'translation' thread

[jvnt]

Here's a question! Pot pie and pot roast? I assume that's regular pie (with a pastry lid on, not pumpkin pie/pecan pie which I think I would call a flan or maybe a quiche... But I digress) and a stew? Or not?

[OnlyAGinger]

These are my interpretations (mind you, I'm not much of a meat-eater, so I hope someone else will chime in & correct me where i've gone wrong)
pot pie - a savory dish w/ a stew-like filling (usually made w/ meat) inside of pie pastry (top & bottom)
traditional pies (pumpkin, pecan, fruits, etc) are considered different from flan (i think of this as more of a sweet Spanish custard).
isn't quiche an egg-based dish (pie)?
pot roast - i think that's a specific cut of the meat (pls, correct me if i'm wrong - i don't eat meat) - it can be cooked w/ or w/o veggies, i think. I tend to think of it, though, as meat roasted together with typical roasting veggies like carrots, potatoes, whole onions, that kind of thing.

[Antje]

OnlyAGinger: I could have written that post myself. Are you American, then?

[OnlyAGinger]

yep

but, really, b/c i don't eat pot roast or pot pies (they're kindof joked about aren't they? especially the frozen ones...), i couldn't be sure of my interpretations!

[elaruu]

traditional pies (pumpkin, pecan, fruits, etc) are considered different from flan (i think of this as more of a sweet Spanish custard).
isn't quiche an egg-based dish (pie)?

UK flan = an open pie, usually (always) with a sweet/fruit filling. ie in a round dish with pastry on the bottom, fruit (or whatever?) filling, nothing on top. And it would usually be quite shallow I think.

US/Spanish/South American flan = what UK/Aussies/French would call creme caramel I think.

And yes, I would say quiche needs to be egg-based.

A "pie" in Australia would always have a pastry bottom, whereas a savoury pie in the UK is usually just a stew with a pastry "lid" on top, right?

[blackberrycrumble]

Wrong. Savoury pies can have just a lid, but usually they have pastry all round (or are a slice of a large pie with pastry top and bottom)

And re 'juice', sorry can't quote, that must be local to where you are. I've never heard anyone call fizzy drinks juice. Juice to me means fruit juice, although some people use it to refer to squash (which whilst a type of cordial, doesn't mean we don't also have cordial). Soft drinks refers to anything non-alcoholic (hence soft), so could include juice and squash, although often means fizzy drinks, just as you describe in oz.

[Riotproof]

I still think squash is funny. Here, it's either a vegetable it a sports game, but in the uk it's cordial.

Ahhh yes, 'tis funny. But we also have "Pub Squash", ie a fizzy lemon drink..

True.. I never order that, so I hadn't remembered. Presumably a colonial heirloom.

I thought "pot" pies were always just topped with pastry.. the ramekin or dish being the "pot".

[elaruu]

Hmmmm that's interesting re the fizzy drinks,bananacustard. Do you mean "local" as in Scotland, or local as in the town/area of scotland. You probably don't know. Maybe someone does.

And oh yes to the pie thing. I forgot about bakery pies. Generally in pubs/restaurants that I went to the "pie" didn't have a bottom though in my (limited) experience. I found it odd.

[Fullhouse]

And oh yes to the pie thing. I forgot about bakery pies. Generally in pubs/restaurants that I went to the "pie" didn't have a bottom though in my (limited) experience. I found it odd.

The reason a lot of pub/restaurant pies don't have bottoms is that it's easier to cook/present in a mass catering kind of way - you can do the filling separately, and then assemble the pie to order, so put it filling a dish, top it with pastry and cook quickly; no issues with soggy pastry (it doesn't always reheat well) or making a big pie and not selling it. Although having said that, my mum makes pies with no bottoms sometimes.

[wacky12]

Pot Roast is a tough cut of beef, usually, braised on top of the stove in stock w/veg. Liquid is used as stock, and the meat can be but not always, cut into cubes after cooking and served in the stock + veg like a stew.

Soft drinks are fizzy drinks in canada too

[jvnt]

Here's a question! Pot pie and pot roast? I assume that's regular pie (with a pastry lid on, not pumpkin pie/pecan pie which I think I would call a flan or maybe a quiche... But I digress) and a stew? Or not?

Yep, you're right quiche is egg based, savoury - maybe tart would be a better word.

Edited to add what I came on to say: that yes, chicken pot pie and burning the pot roast type gags seem to come up relatively often in US tv, that's the only time I've heard of them!

While we're on food , in australia a roast dinner is a baked dinner. which is confusing when it comes to potatoes as a baked potato in uk is very different to a roast potato.

[Riotproof]

While we're on food , in australia a roast dinner is a baked dinner. which is confusing when it comes to potatoes as a baked potato in uk is very different to a roast potato.

Explain, please.

[Rosie_t_Riveter]

Baked potato is a whole potato cooked in the oven (for around an hour?) until the centre is soft.

Roast potatoes are chopped, boiled and then roasted in oil in the oven until the skin is crunchy and the middle is soft.

[wacky12]

baked potato in north america = jacket potato in the UK.

[Riotproof]

Baked potato is a whole potato cooked in the oven (for around an hour?) until the centre is soft.

Roast potatoes are chopped, boiled and then roasted in oil in the oven until the skin is crunchy and the middle is soft.

Oh! *slaps head* I knew that, sortakinda. I just call the whole ones "jacket" too.