Australian English Vocabulary - Food and Drink

Food and Drink

Where foodstuffs are concerned, Australian English tends to be more closely related to the British vocabulary. For example, the term biscuit is the traditional and common term rather than the American term cookie. As had been the case with many terms, cookie is recognised and understood by Australians, and occasionally used, especially among younger generations. Australians may also call biscuits "bikkies". Australians use the word cracker, similar to the American usage, in that it refers to an unsweetened savoury snack most often made by layering dough.

Australians, like the British, use the term chips where Americans say french fries. In Australia, like the Americans, chips is also used for what are called crisps in the United Kingdom. American restaurants such as McDonald's continue to use the term french fries in Australia, so the term fries is understood and sometimes used by Australians (though it is commonly applied only to chips of that particular elongated shape).

In a few cases such as zucchini, snow pea and eggplant, Australian English uses the same terms as American English, whereas the British use the equivalent French terms courgette, mangetout and aubergine. This is possibly due to a fashion that emerged in mid-19th century Britain of adopting French nouns for foodstuffs and hence the usage changed in Britain while the original terms were preserved in the colonies.

Australia uses the botanical name capsicum for what the Americans would call (red or green) bell peppers and the British (red or green) peppers.

Australians generally use the term rockmelon where North Americans would use the term cantaloupe, although in Victoria and Tasmania the two terms are used interchangeably.

In Australian English, dried fruits are given different names according to their variety and use. Sultanas (grapes) are largest while raisins (grapes) are of intermediate to small size and have a wider range of uses which includes their use as a snack food. Both are generally recognised as being primarily for use in recipes or in cereals.

In Australian English as in British English, tomato sauce (often known simply as "sauce") is the name given to a product similar to what Americans call ketchup. However, American-style ketchup, with its slightly spicier and sweeter taste, is still sold in many grocery stores and is common in fast food outlets such as McDonald's. Other sauces made from tomatoes are generally referred to by names related to their uses, such as barbecue and pasta sauce.

Served coffee beverages are given unique descriptive names such as flat white, for an espresso with milk. Other terms include short black (espresso) and long black (espresso diluted with water, similar to an Americano in the United States). Since the mid-1980s other varieties of coffee have also become popular, although these have generally been known by names used in North America and/or Europe.

As in British English, the colourless, slightly lemon-flavoured, carbonated drink known in North America and elsewhere under brand names such as Sprite and 7 Up is called lemonade, while the more strongly flavoured drink known as lemonade in North America that is typically made of lemon juice and sugar is sometimes referred to as lemon squash, pub squash, traditional lemonade or club lemon, particularly in carbonated form.

The carbonated drink commonly called sarsaparilla in Australia is a type of root beer, named after the sarsaparilla root from which root beer is made. However, the taste is quite different, to the point that they may be considered two completely different products.

Australians also often refer to McDonald's restaurants as Macka's or Maccas (Macka being a nickname for any person with a "Mac" or "Mc" surname). The corporation itself sometimes refers to itself informally as Maccas in advertising.

Cheap, unbranded Australian wine is called "cleanskin" wine, after the term for unbranded cattle. Cheap cask wine is often pejoratively referred to as goon (diminutive slang for flagon), and the plastic cask is referred to as a "goon sack", "goon bag" or "goony". Wine purchased in a box containing a bladder with a plastic spigot may be referred to pejoratively as "Chateau d'Cardboard", "gin's handbag" (the term "gin" being an offensive term for an older Aboriginal woman) or a "Dapto Briefcase". More expensive bottled wine tends to be known by its grape variety or varieties in Australia; this is possibly due to the Appellation rules prohibiting the use of regional names (such as burgundy or chablis) to describe wines of a particular style that are not made in the country of the style's origin. Hence, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc are examples of popular white wines grown and consumed in Australia and shiraz and cabernet sauvignon (often shortened to "cab sav") are examples of popular red varieties.

A portable cooler, usually made of metal, plastic and/or polystyrene foam, is called an esky. This is a genericised trademark from the trade name Esky.

A series of Australian tourism advertisements shown in the United States used the expression "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you". Australians, however, invariably use the word prawn and never use shrimp. The translation was a deliberate one for American audiences. Shrimp is sometimes used to refer to someone who is short.