Questions

[shadowkat]

1. How do you insert images into a post without using photobucket? I tried using flicker and it did not work. The only thing that worked is photobucket and apparently I can't use that any longer.

2. Is there a British version of an American Biscuit and what is it called? Note the American version of a British Biscuit is called a cookie and the reason we call it a cookie, is well, because our biscuit isn't a cookie.

I was pondering this while watching the Great British Bake-Off...in which they were doing savory biscuits and I thought, I don't like those..then realized their idea of a biscuit is not what I'm thinking of at all.

I have a craving for bread, but can't eat bread...I blame the Great British Bake-Off. Going to try an almond flax roll.

Comments

[shadowkat]

I've been trying to figure that out as well. When they had their pudding episode...it seemed their idea of pudding is a spongy cake with sauce.

[cactuswatcher]

Yes, the Cratchit family plum pudding from "A Christmas Carol." My mother made one or two of that sort of pudding for us. Lots of work and somewhat disappointing for mid twentieth century American tastes.

[ex_peasant441]

Pudding is just a synonym for dessert or sweet. It can also more specifically mean almost anything steamed or baked in a pudding basin, so things like Christmas Pudding, syrup pudding, suet pudding or chocolate pudding. There can also be savoury puddings like steak and kidney pudding. And there are Yorkshire puddings which are... hard to describe but basically an excuse for carbohydrate soaked in gravy.

I don't know what American pudding is so I can't compare.

That American biscuit recipe doesn't sound like anything we have. Scones are closest, especially savoury scones like cheese scones, but there are some key differences. I assume one would never put clotted cream and jam on an American biscuit?

[shadowkat]

Well, actually one would put jam on an American biscuit, just not clotted cream. But we don't really have clotted cream over here, except to the degree we export it from Britain. And it's rather expensive. And only used with scones...for British High Tea.

An American pudding is...usually a somewhat thick, sweet, mixture, similar in taste to a custard, but not texture. It's thicker than a gravy, but thinner than a custard. Similar in consistency to porridge but not porridge. Often served in bowls or cups, since it doesn't maintain a shape. Often served when people are sick - tapioca pudding.

Wiki has a good description:

The second and newer type of pudding consists of sugar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar, milk https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk, and a thickening agent such as cornstarch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornstarch, gelatin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelatin, eggs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_(food), rice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice or tapioca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapioca to create a sweet, creamy dessert. These puddings are made either by simmering https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmer on top of the stove in a saucepan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucepan or double boiler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_boiler or by baking in an oven https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oven, often in a bain-marie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bain-marie. These puddings are easily scorched on the fire, which is why a double boiler is often used; microwave ovens https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven are also now often used to avoid this problem and to reduce stirring.

Creamy puddings are typically served chilled, but a few, such as zabaglione https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabaglione and rice pudding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_pudding, may be served warm. Instant puddings https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant_pudding do not require boiling and can therefore be prepared more quickly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pudding

[ex_peasant441]

So when and how do people eat American biscuits? I thought they were a breakfast dish and eaten with gravy.

We do have rice pudding and tapioca pudding, also blancmange made from cornstarch and ground almonds. Or maybe the closest to what you describe would be mousse. That sort of pudding is fairly old fashioned now and probably not eaten much. I would rate them all from disgusting to indifferent.

The queens of British puddings that are called 'pudding' in the sense you seem to mean IMNSHO are sticky toffee pudding, Christmas pudding and baked pudding. All food of the gods.

[cactuswatcher]

That was the traditional way to eat biscuits for poor people, and it might substitute for any meal for them. They are just a cheap, quick-to-fix form of bread, so became associated with breakfast (with butter and jelly) for most of us. Restaurants serve a much fancier version (without gravy) any time of the day.

[cactuswatcher]

Ack, I should have said "jam!" "Jelly" is another loaded British vs American term!

[shadowkat]

Eh...actually they were a Southern tradition, originated in the South. You get biscuits and gravy a lot in the South-Eastern US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit

"A biscuit in the United States and parts of Canada https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada, and widely used in popular American English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English, is a small bread https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread with a firm browned crust and a soft interior. They are made with baking powder or baking soda https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_soda as a chemical leavening agent https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leavening_agent#Chemical_leaveners rather than yeast https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeast although they can also be made using yeast (and are then called angel biscuits) or a sourdough starter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sourdough_starter.

They are traditionally served as a side dish with a meal. As a breakfast item they are often eaten with butter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter and a sweet condiment such as molasses https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molasses, light sugarcane syrup, maple syrup, sorghum syrup https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorghum_syrup, honey https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey, or fruit jam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam or jelly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_(fruit_preserves). With other meals, they are usually eaten with butter or gravy instead of sweet condiments. However, biscuits and gravy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuits_and_gravy (biscuits covered in country gravy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Country_gravy) or biscuits with sausage are usually served for breakfast, sometimes as the main course. A biscuit may also be used to make a breakfast sandwich https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_sandwich by slicing it in half and placing eggs and/or breakfast meat in the middle."

• scones frequently contains eggs, biscuits do not
• scones always call for sugar and are generally (but not always) sweeter than biscuits, which calls for much less sugar (or no sugar at all).
• scones have a heavier and denser characteristic making them more cake-like than biscuits, which have a light, fluffy texture
• scones recipes utilize more liquid than biscuit recipes
• scones are usually triangular shaped, biscuits are round
• scones are Scottish in origin, biscuits are often associated with the Southern United states
• scones often contain dried fruits, biscuits don't
• Biscuits and gravy are common, scones and gravy are not

Feathery, light biscuits originated in Southern plantation kitchens but, now are popular throughout the United States. Rolled biscuits were a staple at most meals, but beaten biscuits became another Southern favorite. Beaten biscuits are made light by beating air into the dough with a mallet or a rolling pin (up to 100 strokes “or more for company”). Beaten biscuits are typically thinner and crispier than baking powder biscuits.

[conuly]

So when and how do people eat American biscuits? I thought they were a breakfast dish and eaten with gravy.

Down south, sure - and it's a white gravy.

But you can also eat them with lots of butter for dinner, or use them as the base for strawberry shortcake. (Cream on top!)

[shadowkat]

To clarify further, peasant:

"While biscuits and gravy generally refers to sausage gravy, it can also refer to egg gravy, made in one of two ways:

• by scrambling eggs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrambled_eggs in bacon grease (dripping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacon#Bacon_fat), then adding flour and milk to make gravy, and adding crumbled bacon back to the mixture[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuits_and_gravy#cite_note-7
• by making a basic roux https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roux, creating a brown gravy base, then whisking beaten eggs into the boiling gravy"

It has flour as a thickener not corn starch.

It's a traditional SouthEastern US dish...although I've seen it pop up in Texas and the Midwest. My mother had it as a child in Missouri.

[conuly]

And only used with scones...for British High Tea.

Which in the UK means "the evening meal, but you eat it a bit late" and in the US means "a fancy meal with lots of pastries".