# Lemonade, jelly, and biscuits (and other foods people outside of the US have wrong) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401 "2009-01-28T17:26:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/181 "2009-02-02T21:41:11Z")
> [@Dublin11](#): > > But I don’t see how marmalade can actually be British, seeing as citrus fruits don’t grow in Britain and never have done. In Spain, you could eat an orange. If you were going to take them to Britain, they’d have to be transported in a preserved form. That’s why the British ate marmalade. That’s also the reason why where I grew up, bell peppers were called “mangos.” In the old days, the only form that mangos were available were pickled, so people thought of “mango” as something pickled – pickled bell peppers were called “mangoed peppers.” Then the last part was dropped and eventually the term was transferred to unpickled bell peppers. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/182 "2009-02-03T00:18:25Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > In Spain, you could eat an orange. If you were going to take them to Britain, they’d have to be transported in a preserved form. That’s why the British ate marmalade. > > That’s also the reason why where I grew up, bell peppers were called “mangos.” In the old days, the only form that mangos were available were pickled, so people thought of “mango” as something pickled – pickled bell peppers were called “mangoed peppers.” Then the last part was dropped and eventually the term was transferred to unpickled bell peppers. I heard a Kentuckian call them Green Mango Peppers, the other day. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/183 "2009-02-03T01:24:53Z")
Biscuit apparently has the latin etymologyn of Bis+Coctus- twice cooked. Now that’s an interesting point because most modern biscuits (cookies) nor American Biscuits (Soda Bread) are not twice cooked, but crackers are. So I assume this is a primeval name for twice cooked bread, like crackers, or fried or dry baked pita. So, would it be wrong to make Biscuit Potatoes? ya know, with lots of celery, onion, and a sweet sour cream. Another linguistic possibility is that biscuit refers to pan cooked on two sides or turned. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/184 "2009-02-03T01:28:21Z")
Maybe Biscotti are the only true biscuits left. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/185 "2009-02-03T01:55:29Z")
This had to have happened at some time in Texas, but here’s a dish for you. **Biscuit Beans** : Fresh Buttermilk Biscuits, A slice of fried Virginia Ham, Refried Beans, smothered in sausage gravy, topped with Cotillo Cheese and put in the oven or under a broiler to melt the cheese and warm. It is twice cooked beans and twice cooked bisuits. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/186 "2009-02-03T02:42:32Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Cookies here mostly contain baking soda, some contain baking powder, some both. They do indeed rise in the oven. > I am now craving all manner of baked goods. Reading this thread has made me thirsty and hungry. 🙂 I’m getting fatter by the post over here! Baking Powder contains Baking Soda. All cookies that have baking powder as an ingredient contain baking soda. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/187 "2009-02-03T03:43:05Z")
> [@devilsknew](#): > > This had to have happened at some time in Texas, but here’s a dish for you. > > **Biscuit Beans** : Fresh Buttermilk Biscuits, A slice of fried Virginia Ham, Refried Beans, smothered in sausage gravy, topped with Cotillo Cheese and put in the oven or under a broiler to melt the cheese and warm. > > It is twice cooked beans and twice cooked bisuits. Don’t think I’m leaving our vegetarians brothers out of this simply because of my -first taste and impulse… simply apply some Bacon Salt to the lacto-vegetarian refried beans, omit the Virginia Ham… The salt does well with thermic insulation… make Sawmill Gravy with canola oil instead of the Sausage Gravy. Cover with cheese regadless. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/188 "2009-02-03T04:08:22Z")
If you were ovo-lacto vegetarian you could have Huevos Rancheros (Fried eggs and salsa) and Biscuit Beans for breakfast to start the day out right… ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/189 "2009-02-03T06:55:07Z")
> [@scifisam2009](#): > > Definitely a scone. American biscuits are the same recipe as scones but without the sugar, aren’t they? Well, now, that depends - according to wiki, US scones are larger, drier, and sweeter than UK ones. So, by my reckoning, scones are a world apart from biscuits, but your scones and my biscuits might be more closely related. To clarify: Scones: Crumbly, somewhat dry (better for eating with hot tea), cakey, fairly uniform. Biscuits: Soft, flaky/chewy (usually the center is fluffy and chewy, and the outside flakes more), buttery and moist. The big difference is that biscuits have butter cut in and kneaded, so you get flakiness and steam inside, while scones are just mixed, which leads to the more cakey, crumbly texture. However, to further complicate things, we also have drop biscuits, which are sort of in-between, not being handled the same way as biscuits, but still more buttery than your average (American) scone. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/190 "2009-02-03T09:59:37Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > In Spain, you could eat an orange. If you were going to take them to Britain, they’d have to be transported in a preserved form. That’s why the British ate marmalade. Not at all – oranges are robust little fruit, and can easily handle a short sea voyage. They’ve been readily available in Britain for centuries. The reason we changed Portuguese _marmelo_ to English marmalade is that we had more oranges than quinces. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401/191 "2009-02-03T17:12:26Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > American biscuits are quite varied. They all rise, but the leavening differs per region (or used to), custom and purpose for the biscuit. Breakfast biscuits are not at all the same (in flavor) as ones served at the dinner table. I find myself at a loss here in trying to explain why (and how). My understanding is that the quintessential Southern U.S. “biscuit” flour is White Lily brand, a self-rising low-protein flour that was once made in Knoxville, TN. Seems like I heard that this factory was shutting down and moving to Illinois or something. Cut the low-protein flour with a semi-solid fat (such as lard or vegetable shortening), add buttermilk (another tricky ingredient to define) and leavening. _Ecco biscotti._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lemonade-jelly-and-biscuits-and-other-foods-people-outside-of-the-us-have-wrong/483401.md?page=9)