# Q for Aussies: what constitues a "slice"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996 "2018-03-21T22:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/21 "2018-03-22T08:29:48Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > The thing I think of as “a slice” is wedge-shaped by definition Out of curiosity then, what’s the term for a single piece of bread cut from a loaf? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/22 "2018-03-22T10:05:45Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Out of curiosity then, what’s the term for a single piece of bread cut from a loaf? Slice of bread. Plural - Slices. A useful [slice compendium](http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/slices?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-tf33Nb_2QIVQY1-Ch2wSgu0EAAYASAAEgK9-vD_BwE) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/23 "2018-03-22T11:06:44Z")
Just for completeness, none of this referred to if someone says “ice and a slice”. That’s a way of asking how you like your cocktails. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/24 "2018-03-22T11:30:23Z")
Depending on the exact recipe, those would be either squares, slices (esp. “custard slice”) or just “fridge tart” in South Africa. I give you the glory that is [Peppermint Crisp fridge tart](http://www.cooksister.com/2007/08/peppermint-cris.html). Do you get peppermint crisp outside the [del]Cadbury[del] Commonwealth zone? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/25 "2018-03-22T13:19:59Z")
There is still plenty of time to enter this year’s version of [The Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph](https://www.milduracity.com.au/event/great-australian-vanilla-slice-triumph) in Mildura. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/26 "2018-03-22T13:26:02Z")
In the US (at least, my part of the US), such a thing would be called a “bar”, and if you said “square”, you’d probably also be understood. Unless the thing in question were chocolate: A chocolate bar or a chocolate square are both just a solid chunk of chocolate (a snack for the former, probably unsweetened baking chocolate for the latter). A chocolate dessert made like this would be “brownies”, regardless of the precise recipe. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/27 "2018-03-22T13:42:13Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > I find Hedgehog Slice to be ubiquitous: > [Easy Hedgehog Slice](https://westernstarbutter.com.au/en/recipes/easy-hedgehog-slice.html) > > Anything made in a tray and cut into servings is, generally, a slice. Those look very good! I think I’ll make a batch, but let me check a few things about the ingredients for anyone who knows: Packet of plain biscuits – plain biscuits? I’m guessing something like a shortbread cookie without nuts or frosting or anything added? Like, maybe Lorna Doones would do? Desiccated coconut – we have flaked coconut. It’s grated, not powder dry but slightly moist, and powdered with something to keep it from clumping up. Same stuff? 150g dark chocolate, chopped – is dark chocolate semi-sweet, so I could use ordinary chocolate chips? Or is unsweetened, more like baking chocolate? ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/28 "2018-03-22T14:17:38Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Slice of bread. Plural - Slices. > > A useful [slice compendium](http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/slices?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=sem&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-tf33Nb_2QIVQY1-Ch2wSgu0EAAYASAAEgK9-vD_BwE) Aye, I thought of that as fairly standard, but I wondered if - where a generic slice is wedge shaped - maybe that meant _my_ generic slice was known as something else. ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/29 "2018-03-22T14:23:34Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Those look very good! I think I’ll make a batch, but let me check a few things about the ingredients for anyone who knows: > > Packet of plain biscuits – plain biscuits? I’m guessing something like a shortbread cookie without nuts or frosting or anything added? Like, maybe Lorna Doones would do? If I saw a recipe that said “plain biscuit”, I’d assume it meant [Marie biscuit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_biscuit) or similar (see the reference to _batik_ cake). Rich tea or digestives would also work. > [@](#): > > Desiccated coconut – we have flaked coconut. It’s grated, not powder dry but slightly moist, and powdered with something to keep it from clumping up. Same stuff? Not quite - dessicated is dryer than flaked, and also much finer. In a recipe like this, the moistness is OK, but I’d give it a whirl in the processor to make it finer. > [@](#): > > 150g dark chocolate, chopped – is dark chocolate semi-sweet, so I could use ordinary chocolate chips? Or is unsweetened, more like baking chocolate? It’s sweetened, I’d use something like a Lindt 70% ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/30 "2018-03-22T14:34:12Z")
I should also clarify that Americans would very seldom use the term “bars” or “squares” in isolation, without an adjective. You would instead have “caramel bars” or “lemon squares” or the like. “Brownies”, however, typically doesn’t need an adjective (unless you’re distinguishing between more than one kind, like “Mary brought the chocolate-chip brownies, but who brought the iced brownies?”). ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/31 "2018-03-22T14:40:31Z")
Thank you, Mr. Dibble! Glad I asked. 🙂 I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Marie Biscuits in the foreign food aisle… ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/32 "2018-03-22T14:46:04Z")
> [@Yorkshire\_Pudding](#): > > Out of curiosity then, what’s the term for a single piece of bread cut from a loaf? Slice or piece, but I don’t know that I would ever say it on its own. It would be a ‘slice of bread’ or a ‘piece of bread’. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/33 "2018-03-22T15:57:02Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > then pour a hot sauce made mostly from butter and sugar all over them, and bake for a while. Then as soon as you take it out of the oven you pour a layer of chocolate chips on top, wait a couple of minutes for them to melt, then spread the chocolate into an even layer, and finally sprinkle chopped nuts all over it. Took me several reads to figure out that “hot sauce” did not mean “hot pepper sauce.” Although, now, I really think I have to try my interpretation of the recipe out. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/34 "2018-03-22T16:13:42Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Depending on the exact recipe, those would be either squares, slices (esp. “custard slice”) or just “fridge tart” in South Africa. > > I give you the glory that is [Peppermint Crisp fridge tart](http://www.cooksister.com/2007/08/peppermint-cris.html). Do you get peppermint crisp outside the [del]Cadbury[del] Commonwealth zone? Probably, but with some difficulty. I looked up picture of this peppermint crisp and I’ve never seen anything like that (and, honestly, it looks revolting). Not even at the Irish shop in Portsmouth that sells a fairly wide variety of Cadbury & other chocolate products that haven’t otherwise made it into most US stores - dairy milk, galaxy, flake, crunchie, wispa, aero etc. You can order it on Amazon, but wow, are [they expensive](https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=peppermint+crisp). ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/35 "2018-03-22T16:57:10Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Those look very good! I think I’ll make a batch, but let me check a few things about the ingredients for anyone who knows: > > Packet of plain biscuits – plain biscuits? I’m guessing something like a shortbread cookie without nuts or frosting or anything added? Like, maybe Lorna Doones would do? > > Desiccated coconut – we have flaked coconut. It’s grated, not powder dry but slightly moist, and powdered with something to keep it from clumping up. Same stuff? > > 150g dark chocolate, chopped – is dark chocolate semi-sweet, so I could use ordinary chocolate chips? Or is unsweetened, more like baking chocolate? Plain biscuits: you can use graham crackers, animal crackers, anything mildly sweet and not strongly flavoured. Dessicated coconut: The Bob’s Red Mill brand “shredded” (not “flaked”) is closest to Aussie equivalent. I’ve also seen it at Whole Foods from various organic-y brands. You want to avoid the kinds which have sugar and/or glycol added. Dark chocolate: Yes, use semi-sweet or a block of 70%. Choc chips usually have stuff added to keep their shape in cookies, which might give you strange results for this melted and reset preparation. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/36 "2018-03-22T18:58:06Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > /snip/ > Slices are the sorts of things that kids and husbands learn to make when they need to provide something for office morning tea. > /snip/ Really?!? Office morning tea is a thing in Australia and males bring something they’ve made themselves?? What a wonderful country 😃 The only things that my husband and son have brought to school or work for a shared snack (which I guess would be the closest equivalent, and it happens rarely) are store-bought cookies or donuts–or something that I’ve made for them to bring. > [@Chronos](#): > > I should also clarify that Americans would very seldom use the term “bars” or “squares” in isolation, without an adjective. You would instead have “caramel bars” or “lemon squares” or the like. “Brownies”, however, typically doesn’t need an adjective (unless you’re distinguishing between more than one kind, like “Mary brought the chocolate-chip brownies, but who brought the iced brownies?”). Wouldn’t “bars” as a term used in isolation in the US immediately bring to mind the commercial establishments where people go to drink? And yes, to people in the NYC area, “slice” = a slice of pizza, usually wedge-shaped ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/37 "2018-03-22T20:20:11Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Wouldn’t “bars” as a term used in isolation in the US immediately bring to mind the commercial establishments where people go to drink? Probably in most places, indeed. But when I worked in Newfoundland in the mid-90s it could definitely be used to mean chocolate bars (as in - I believe this is the correct expression - candy bars). We were discussing the term “junk food”, which I take to mean “fast food”, really, and was told “Here it’s…well…chips, bars, that kind of thing.” And when snacks circulated in the office, folks would ask “want a piece of bar?” ---
**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:** [March 22, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/38 "2018-03-22T20:48:01Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Wouldn’t “bars” as a term used in isolation in the US immediately bring to mind the commercial establishments where people go to drink? What, like just the word, ‘bars’? No, it would call to mind any of a variety of things that are described as ‘bars’ based on the listener’s history and life experience. But no american is going to hear, “Hey, there are some bars in the breakroom if you’re interested?” and interpret it as several commercial establishments where people go to drink have been left in the office kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/39 "2018-03-22T20:54:46Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > I find Hedgehog Slice to be ubiquitous: > [Easy Hedgehog Slice](https://westernstarbutter.com.au/en/recipes/easy-hedgehog-slice.html) Okay, so when I looked that up, I was actually kind of disappointed that… No, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2018, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/40 "2018-03-22T22:39:06Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > … Office morning tea is a thing in Australia and males bring something they’ve made themselves?? What a wonderful country 😃 > The only things that my husband and son have brought to school or work for a shared snack (which I guess would be the closest equivalent, and it happens rarely) are store-bought cookies or donuts–or something that I’ve made for them to bring. > > … Yeah, there’s a bit of that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996.md?page=3)