# In the UK people call cake "pudding" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365 "2020-04-08T18:27:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/281 "2020-04-16T05:14:30Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > The very Wikipedia article you’re linking too notes that that’s a picture of what was considered a Dutch something like 120 years ago. Funny, I only bought mine 5 years ago. I should have paid more, if it’s that antique. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/282 "2020-04-16T05:18:19Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Now, this may suffer the same fate for you as your casserole link did for me, but [here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/search?q=casserole) is what you get if you search for “casserole” on BBC Food. For me, at least, it goes to a page of stew-type casseroles, so probably would do the same for a USAian ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/283 "2020-04-16T13:41:41Z")
So, if a British person were served a dish in thick broth, but were not present to watch it being cooked, would they even know if it was stew or casserole? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/284 "2020-04-16T15:16:39Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > …Now, this may suffer the same fate for you as your casserole link did for me, but [here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/search?q=casserole) is what you get if you search for “casserole” on BBC Food. Interesting. I wouldn’t consider anything on that page to be a casserole. Some appear to be stews, and some appear to be other braised meat dishes. (The meat is usually but up in a stew, not a big chunk as shown in those photos.) But it looks like your definition of “casserole” doesn’t even overlap with my definition. > [@Chronos](#): > > So, if a British person were served a dish in thick broth, but were not present to watch it being cooked, would they even know if it was stew or casserole? I’m also curious about this. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/285 "2020-04-16T18:07:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > So, if a British person were served a dish in thick broth, but were not present to watch it being cooked, would they even know if it was stew or casserole? Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/286 "2020-04-16T19:24:38Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Now, this may suffer the same fate for you as your casserole link did for me, but [here](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/search?q=casserole) is what you get if you search for “casserole” on BBC Food. Oh wow, yeah they all look delicious, but if you put one in front of me, I would never think to say, “What a lovely looking casserole!”. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/287 "2020-04-16T19:39:34Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Nope. Second that! A stew is a more overarching term though. A casserole is sort of a subset of stew, so if you didn’t know you’d probably default to stew. It’s perfectly possible that someone could refer to it as a casserole though. Casserole is a slightly more classy name, so if complementing someone on their cooking, that could be what you’d choose. This is all very woolly-edged though. They’re broadly the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/288 "2020-04-16T20:15:51Z")
I’m also curious why one would put a stewpot in the oven to begin with. I mean, you _could_, if you took out one of the oven racks to make room for it (hope you remembered to do that before you heated up the oven!), and if the handles were made out of something that can take the heat, but it sounds like a lot of trouble for not much benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/289 "2020-04-16T20:35:05Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m also curious why one would put a stewpot in the oven to begin with. I mean, you _could_, if you took out one of the oven racks to make room for it (hope you remembered to do that before you heated up the oven!), and if the handles were made out of something that can take the heat, but it sounds like a lot of trouble for not much benefit. Oh, my oven shelves get shunted around a hell of a lot for different size things anyway, and there’s easily enough room in there for a decent size pot and a couple of shelves. It’s no trouble at all. The heat is more even, essentially. On the hob for a long time, even in a heavy pan, the heat can concentrate and things can catch. You get an all-round low heat. Sometimes it might be that it’s cooked lidless too - at least for some of it’s time - to crisp up the top. Historically it was common - in some places - to take your pots to the bakery on Saturday and put them in the oven as it cooled overnight, then go and fetch it after church. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/290 "2020-04-16T20:35:45Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Oh wow, yeah they all look delicious, but if you put one in front of me, I would never think to say, “What a lovely looking casserole!”. Neither would I - but now I know that when I get to the UK, I shouldn’t shy away from anything called a casserole. I tend not to like US style casseroles but the UK style ones are very different. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/291 "2020-04-16T20:52:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’m also curious why one would put a stewpot in the oven to begin with. I mean, you _could_, if you took out one of the oven racks to make room for it (hope you remembered to do that before you heated up the oven!), and if the handles were made out of something that can take the heat, but it sounds like a lot of trouble for not much benefit. Most the Cooks Illustrated stew recipes call for doing most of the cooking in the oven. (Cooks Illustrated is a US organization of course.) As Yorkshire Pudding says, the heat is distributed more evenly rather than being concentrated on the bottom of the pot, so there’s less chance of burning, and less need to periodically stir it while it’s cooking. Also, you know exactly what temperature it’s being cooked at, rather than guessing by adjusting the burner. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/292 "2020-04-16T23:09:43Z")
My oven racks get moved around all the time, too. By default, there’s only one in the oven, and my large pots fit easily. I might put a stew in the oven if I didn’t want to keep an eye on it. Or if the oven is on for some other reason. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/293 "2020-04-17T00:02:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Nope. Agreed. Though you don’t usually start it off on the hob, apart from maybe par-boiling potatoes. The rest goes in a casserole dish in an oven. You don’t put the same type of receptacle you use on the hob into the oven to make a casserole. I suppose you could, but it’s not something I’ve seen anyone do. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/294 "2020-04-17T00:42:23Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Agreed. > > Though you don’t usually start it off on the hob, apart from maybe par-boiling potatoes. The rest goes in a casserole dish in an oven. You don’t put the same type of receptacle you use on the hob into the oven to make a casserole. I suppose you could, but it’s not something I’ve seen anyone do. Oh, I’m not sure about that. Browning a few things first then getting it all together and into the oven is not particularly unusual, I wouldn’t have said. And I routinely use a big iron pan for it; not that my behaviour is definitive of course, but if you go looking for Le Creuset cookware (to pick a big name in iron cookware), such things are called casseroles - I’m not alone at least! ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/295 "2020-04-17T01:11:57Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Not in mine. > > I’ve never seen tapioca pudding on a restaurant menu, while bread pudding isn’t rare at all. > > Of course my one and so far only experience with the tapioca variety was as a kid; a babysitter made some for us. The texture was… well, I didn’t bother to acquire that taste. I don’t think it had much flavor either. My mother called it “Fish Eyes and Glue”. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/296 "2020-04-17T01:35:28Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > My mother called it “Fish Eyes and Glue”. Well, frogspawn is the classic…but I like that. Unsettlingly accurate. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/297 "2020-04-17T01:56:46Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Oh, I’m not sure about that. Browning a few things first then getting it all together and into the oven is not particularly unusual, I wouldn’t have said. And I routinely use a big iron pan for it; not that my behaviour is definitive of course, but if you go looking for Le Creuset cookware (to pick a big name in iron cookware), such things are called casseroles - I’m not alone at least! Oh of course, it’s flexible. IME it’s mostly individual items pre-cooked on the hob if necessary then put in a casserole dish (round or square but usually rectangular because of the shape of the oven), and baked for an hour or so. And you usually need to change pans just because the pans you have on the hob aren’t suitable for going into the oven. I don’t think anyone (in the UK) would argue that a casserole was really a stew or vice versa, TBH. It’s not jam or cream on first, or one of those things. Le Creuset stuff is lovely but so expensive. At least we can all agree that stews are cooked on the hob! Man I want either a casserole or stew now. Don’t even care which. Just someone send me hearty potatoes and cabbage in a some sort of liquidy cooked form. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/298 "2020-04-17T03:56:26Z")
Okay, re: “hob” - definitely not a term in common use on this side of the pond. I’m assuming, from context, that cooking something “on the hob” means “on the stovetop”? Over here, we’d call that a “burner” or a “rangetop”. Going back to Dutch ovens, I guessed perhaps that the term is more widespread in the US than the UK because Dutch (and German) people are, well, more widespread in the US; or at least, were during the colonial era. New York was of course originally a Dutch colony, and in the 18th century German held much the same position in the Middle Colonies that Spanish does today - a widely spoken alternative tongue. Benjamin Franklin once wrote about riding through Pennsylvania and hearing “devil a word but Dutch [German]” spoken. I’m guessing that since y’all don’t use the term, y’all are also unfamiliar with the, um, alternative definition of “Dutch oven”, as well… heh, heh, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/59ef9b/32.png) [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorkshire_Pudding)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/299 "2020-04-17T08:25:12Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > It’s not jam or cream on first, or one of those things. I always feel like that’s a marketing invention that never used to be anything like the thing it is now. Like the love/hate Marmite thing - it used to just be advertised as being good (like with normal advertising!) rather than divisive. > [@](#): > > Le Creuset stuff is lovely but so expensive. Hell yeah! No, I wouldn’t have any of it were it not for the seconds shop in York. > [@](#): > > At least we can all agree that stews are cooked on the hob! Well…they can be! Right? It could easily still be a stew if started on the hob then put in the oven. > [@](#): > > cabbage Y’know, I can’t see me ever putting cabbage in a stew. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2020, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365/300 "2020-04-17T08:29:30Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Agreed. > > Though you don’t usually start it off on the hob, apart from maybe par-boiling potatoes. The rest goes in a casserole dish in an oven. You don’t put the same type of receptacle you use on the hob into the oven to make a casserole. I suppose you could, but it’s not something I’ve seen anyone do. I do that all the time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-uk-people-call-cake-pudding/851365.md?page=16)