Finding America

Me and Tarah

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For the healthy eaters among us, fruits and vegetables are an essential part of our diet. However, if you're visiting Britain any time soon, you should know that not every green food bears the same name across the Pond. Below are five fruits and veg that have different names in Britain.


1. Zucchini

This green summer squash actually has its ancestry in the Americas, but is widely available in Britain, where it goes by the French-inspired name of courgette. To Americans, perhaps this sounds too similar to something Elvis Presley would have driven.

2. Scallion

Also known in the U.S. as a green onion, the scallion is used in salads, salsas, and various Asian recipes. However, in Britain the scallion is almost always referred to as a spring onion. 

3. Romaine Lettuce

Used predominantly in Caesar salad, Romaine lettuce is a popular lettuce in the United States that is widely available throughout the entire year. The same is more or less true in Britain; however, the Brits refer to it as cos lettuce, possibly for the Greek island of Cos, from where it is believed to have originated. 

4. Beet

Describing the taproot portion of the beet plant, this purple food item can be boiled, roasted, or eaten raw, and is quite easily combined with any salad vegetable. However, to distinguish it from the beet plant itself, Brits refer to it as a beetroot.

5.Eggplant

Related to both the tomato and the potato, the eggplant is named not because it contains egg, but because it is shaped like one. Used in the popular dish eggplant Parmesan, the fruit is known in Britain as an aubergine.




Laurence Brown is a British man writing his way through the truly bizarre world of America - a place he sometimes accidentally calls home and a place he still hasn't quite figured out after seven years. Thankfully, his journey is made 12% easier by the fact that his accent makes him sound much smarter than he is. For evidence of this, subscribe to his popular Lost in the Pond web series over on YouTube.

1 comment:

  1. No 1 is a marrow, not a courgette, just to let you know, x

    ReplyDelete

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