Brilliant British Cooking Terms You Need to Know

What the heck is “mixed spice”? It’s a popular ingredient in British cookery, particularly in baking sweets and typically blends cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves or allspice. If you feel like getting creative in the kitchen, incorporate mixed spice into festive holiday baking recipes.

When UK recipes instruct to ‘blitz’ ingredients, they’re not provoking a food fight. Instead, haul out your blender or food processor, and purée or chop the ingredients.

How much is a “knob of butter” that’s called for in British recipes? The meaning is fuzzy, but in North America, it works out to about a tablespoon. Basically, toss in just enough butter to line a pan for the frying process.

Another loaner word from the French, “courgette” is the British term for the summer squash that North Americans call “zucchini.” First arriving in Europe in the 1400s, the plant was dubbed “zucchini” in Italy and courgette in France. While the French slang stuck on the British Isles, “zucchini” followed Italian immigrants all the way to North America. Experiment with new and delicious ways to use this versatile veggie with this easy recipe.