British-English to American-English 'translation' thread

[fourweewonders]

If your being technical any oven cooking is baking- roasting is done on an open fire but a sunday bake really dosent have the same ring to it. nor does baked beef

[Rosie_t_Riveter]

I use jacket potato or baked potato interchangeably. Could it be a UK regional thing?

[oriel]

I think Scots are more likely to call random soft drinks 'juice' than others. Whether fizzy drinks are 'juice' or not is probably class-based.

[busmother]

I'm pretty sure juice as soft drink is a Scottish thing (see the healthy snacks thread). So squash / cordial is diluting juice, and you do have to specify 'fruit juice' if that's what you actually want. Then on the west coast there's ginger. Which is not just ginger beer, but also coke, lemonade etc.

And I wouldn't think of flan as a sweet thing (except the European creme caramel type). I associate it with a horrible cheese and egg flan we used to get for lunch at my primary school. Cheese and egg in combination have made me shudder ever since, and I would avoid anything described as a flan. But I imagine it as fairly interchangeable with quiche - savoury and eggy. Tart I would say was sweet and not necessarily eggy, with a pastry base and not necessarily a lid.

[oriel]

Yes, I'd probably call a lidless pastry with sweet filling a 'tart'.

[wacky12]

a' flan' has a sponge base with pastry creme and fruit on it. any other base that the filling is prepared before putting in the base is a tart. if the base and filling are cooked together then its a pie. sweet ones only of course. according to pastry chefs i have worked with.

[sabrina fair]

Loving this thread, but am I the only one whose brain is starting to melt trying to keep up with all the nuances and variations? Mmm, doesn't bode well for my imminent return to work if I'm struggling to keep up with this...

Anyway, my question is: if an american/canadian recipe calls for a 'can of tomato sauce', what is this? I've been just substituting with a tin of chopped tomatoes (the recipe I'm thinking about already calls for one of these, so I double up).

[BadgersMommy]

tomato sauce is -- well, it's sauce made from tomatoes. Basically just tomato puree. A can (er, tin ) of chopped tomatoes would work fine but wouldn't give you the same result, as tomato sauce is completely smooth.

And I agree, it's the subtle nuances that are confusing me, too. Who knew flan wasn't just heavy, bland vanilla custard they serve at Mexican restaurants?

[Turtle'sMammy]

Tomato puree is a bit different from tomato sauce. Tomato puree is concentrated. Tomato sauce is pureed tomatoes, with onions, garlic, peppers and whatnot mixed up in it.

[Allie]

So it's not just passata, it's more like a tomato sauce for pasta?

[BadgersMommy]

Tomato puree is a bit different from tomato sauce. Tomato puree is concentrated. Tomato sauce is pureed tomatoes, with onions, garlic, peppers and whatnot mixed up in it.

This isn't my experience -- canned tomato sauce is just plain tomato, and what you're calling tomato puree I would call tomato paste. What you're calling tomato sauce I'd call pasta sauce, and it generally comes in a jar, not a can.

:head exploding emoticon:

[oriel]

So canned tomato sauce is passata then? (We normally get passata in jars or cartons, not tins.)

[Turtle'sMammy]

Passata! That's the word!

canned tomato sauce is just plain tomato, and what you're calling tomato puree I would call tomato paste. What you're calling tomato sauce I'd call pasta sauce, and it generally comes in a jar, not a can.

Yep, tomato puree (UK) is tomato paste (US). But tomato puree comes in a handy little tube, not a can. Canned tomato paste is a pain. 90% moulds in the fridge before I get a chance to use it.
The tomato sauce I have in the cupboard has onion and whatnot in in it - Fresh & Easy brand. No herbs though. Maybe the herbs are what make pasta sauce???
No idea really.

[Chives]

So canned tomato sauce is passata then? (We normally get passata in jars or cartons, not tins.)

I'd say so.

[BadgersMommy]

I guess I'm the weird one, then! I usually use Hunts brand (or store brand equiv) and it's only got tomatoes and salt in it.

TM, I hate canned paste too but discovered a trick for it -- put tablespoonsful in an ice cube tray and freeze, then put them all in a ziploc bag.