English is my second language ... the language of food

A and I recently enjoyed a lovely Sunday evening dinner at the home of friends.  It was a fun evening, and I especially enjoyed exceptional and distinctly British cuisine.  As a cattle-fed girl from Kansas who grew up enjoying quality Midwestern steaks, potatoes, breads, salads, and much more, I have an innate appreciation for Sunday pot-roasts and the like.  In this case, we enjoyed various dishes including beef with horseradish and gravy (which I found comfortingly familiar), roast parsnips, carrots with turnips, other vegetable and salad, bread, and Yorkshire pudding.  

Yorkshire pudding is a dish unique to the UK.  I certainly never had the pleasure growing up in the States.  To my American ear, the term ‘pudding’ translates to a sweet milk-based dessert not unsimilar in consistency to egg-based custard or yogurt.  American pudding comes in a large variety of flavors, though most commonly chocolate or vanilla.  Yorkshire pudding reminded me of a mini German pancake in taste, consistency, and texture, but outwardly appears to look like a certain type of dinner roll.  It is astoundingly good, and can be eaten with or without gravy on it.  (Most traditionally with).  There is nothing like it, and it was worth breaking my long-standing low carb diet to sample it.  It is an interesting tradition.  The northern regions of England have a history steeped in mining and mining communities, as well as other hard working trades.  In the past, there were times when food and/or money were scarce, but those who worked hard needed adequate sustenance to carry on.  Yorkshire pudding was apparently served prior to a modest meal, and aided greatly in creating a feeling of fullness on a budget.  

 

After the meal, we were treated to another British original … sticky toffee pudding.  There really aren’t adequate words to convey the cacophony of flavor and amazing taste of this dessert!  Again, this ‘pudding’ in no way resembles American pudding.  It’s a very moist sponge cake of sorts with finely chopped dates (or prunes) and covered in a warm toffee sauce.  It was invented in the Lake District right here in Cumbria.  Again, a worthy excuse for a momentary lapse in diet!  

Aside from a great evening spent with friends, and delicious gastronomic temptations, I learned a bit more about the English language.  Pudding in America equals sweetened milk and gelatin, et al.  Pudding in England appears to equal bread in at least some form.  Of course I’m generalizing, and there are definitely exceptions which I’ll set aside for now.    

After dinner, a humorous discussion of British versus American (albeit Midwestern) ‘English’ language and pronunciation ensued as we compared notes and discovered disparities such as (AmE versus BrE):  basil (bay-sil  vs.  bah-sil), oregano (or-AY-gun-o  vs.  or-eh-GAH-no),  buffet (buh-FAY  vs.  BOOF-et),  pate (pah-TAY  vs.  PA-teh).

There are many more such gems.  I’ll likely always retain my American-English pronunciations socially (taking the often accompanying smile or giggle in stride), perhaps adopting British spelling where necessary (such as in a work or other non-social correspondence context).  As one who loves language, I look forward to the challenge of a multi-lingual approach to and application of ‘English’. 

In considering British and American English, and the language of food, I came across a quote from Adelle Davis who said: “We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to become much more than we are”.  



I'm looking forward to it!