Do you have a local name for an ubiquitous food?
Here in Hawaii, we call snow cones “ice shave”. Some people insist on calling it “shaved ice”. The old Japanese who still speak that language amongst themselves (not realizing that some others speak it, too) call it “kakigouri”.
What about where you live? What’s a food that can be found practically anywhere that has an interesting name in your locality?
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Ravioli : Irish teabags
A flat round loaf of bread : Stottie cake
Corned beef stew : Tattie hash
I don’t how localized these examples are, but some that I’ve noticed are:
In this area (SoCal or perhaps most of Cal) chickpeas are called garbanzo beans, and filberts are called hazel nuts.
Another I’ve noticed is that some brands use different names in different areas.
Here Hellman’s mayonnaise is called Best Foods.
A round bread roll is called a barm. @ucme would say “why that’s a wee stottie!” They’re about the size of a burger bun but they’re flatter.
Filberts are hazelnuts here too but that’s not regional, it’s all over the UK. I had to look up “filbert”.
What is called Gyro (hero) in many places is called shwarma here.
French Fries are chips.
Sandwiches are sangas.
Sausages are snags.
Jello is jelly.
Jelly is jam.
Peppers are capsicums.
And the list goes on and on!
@seazen Isn’t Gyro a type of meat? Shawarma is the wrap itself.
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Mince, or what they would call ground beef in the US
In Puerto Rico your shaved ice or ice shave is called a piragua.
In New York City we called it a Snow Cone or Piragua depending on who you were buying it from.
Hmm, @downtide seems to imply i’m a jock! Not the case, what i’d actually say in that instance would be, “gizza bite a thee stottie kyek pet.” Charming & straight to the heart of the matter I reckon.
Your soda is my pop.
Your gyro is my sub.
Your sub is my hero, @wilma, in NYC, though it also used to be a sub for me when I lived in the Midwest.
Subs are called grinders in New England.
When I worked at a Mediterranian restaurant a gyro was lamb and beef and shwarma was turkey. The wrap was simply a pita. Who knows.
A sandwich is a Buttie…
Sausages are Bangers…
We also have a Parmo that nobody else seems to have? :-/
Potatoes are called spuds…
Raisins are called dead flies…. Can’t think of any more :-/
@SundayKittens hellz no, it’s all pop!! :) Just pop. None of that “soda” crap….weirdos..
Fusion. I live in California and that word is everywhere. Every other restaurant is some “fusion”. I went too a Indian/Italian place the other night. Delicious but just an example.
Oh, pan pizza in the south is also called a sicilian pizza in NYC.
I recently moved from the South to Sheffield, and here they call bread rolls “breadcakes”
Also, they pronouce ‘lager’ as “pansy Southern soda-pop”, and ‘students’ as “lazy wankers”
Delicious sandwich on foot-long bread:
Hero where I grew up (NYC area)
Grinder where I went to college (Connecticut)
Sub where I live now (upstate NY)
And many other versions, I’m sure.
@deni Agreed. Who are these soda people trying to impress?
When I lived in Oregon after living most of my life in Tennessee I was amazed that they called tater wedges jo-jo’s.
No one mentioned Jimmy’s for sprinkles! I don’t call them that but it seems to go along with those who call soda “pop”
No I don’t call sprinkles jimmies. And pop will always be pop.
Coke is cola made by Coca-Cola and not Pepsi.
In RI, a Cabinet is a milk shake. Dynamite is a type of sub.
Here in New England, we love scrod. I think the Canadian Maritimes and coastal areas in the East call the dish by the same nane. It is really nothing more than a young (under 2.5 pounds) cod or less frequently haddock split, deboned and generally poached or sauteed. If you visit the region, try some. It is absolutely divine seafood.
And here I thought scrod was a type of fish all its own.
In Southern New England, particularly RI, we call large clams Quahogs, which many of you may know from Family Guy. It’s a Narragansett word, I believe. Might also be in Nipmuc and Wompanoag languages.
@incendiary_dan Quahogs here too. It is a Narraganset word, “poquauhock”; but the Wampanoag of Massachusetts used a similar word.
We have smokies a traditional smoked fish that is very tasty.
@flutherother when I went up to Scotland a couple of summers ago we went to Arbroath and got some smokies. Delicious!
@downtide They are pretty good. They are supposed to have originated in Auchmithie a tiny fishing village. The harbour as you can see is now ruined.
@flutherother You guys have such neat names for cities. I’m jealous.
All soft drinks are called juice. Fizzy stuff can also be known as ginger. But if you were ordering it you’d specifiy: (read this in your best scottish accent) “want anything from the shop?”. “Aye please, get me a can of juice”. “What sort?” “diet irn bru thanks”
@ETpro my top place name in scotland is Auchtermuchty
I’ve just also thought about this – if you had a friend pop in to see you you’d offer them some refreshments by saying “want a cup of tea?”. They know that it’s a generic drink that’s on offer and are at liberty to say ” yes thanks I’ll have a coffee”. If they’re really polite they’ll add “if you’ve got it”
@Stinley Aye, I lived in Edinburgh for a wee while back in the 1970s. Love Auchtermuchty. Just saying it clears my throat. :-)
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