DID YOU KNOW THESE 10 REGIONALISMS?
Asking for a pancake in Michigan: 10 American foods with varying names
Image: charlesdeluvio
Like love, food is a universal language that bonds us together through shared experiences. However, much like love, the world of food and dishes can also change its names from place to place. Listed below are ten examples of everyday foods that are known by different names in various parts of the country. Stick around until the end, and you will learn some curiosities, including where you should ask for a mango if you want a bell pepper!
1
Pancakes
Image: Ala
Imagine you are a tourist in Michigan and decide to go for pancakes. You enter a suitable establishment, sit at the counter, and ask… what, exactly? Yes, most people call them pancakes, and there is a fair chance that you will receive just that without further questions, but if you want to speak like a local, you will ask for flapjacks .
The "flap" part of flapjack is derived from the word the British used to mean "flip." As for the "jack" part, historians say it may refer to the small size of the pancake because "jack" referred to something that was small. You’ll hear pancakes more in the North and flapjacks in the South, but there are exceptions, such as the Flapjack Shack in Traverse City, Michigan.
2
Dessert Toppings
Image: Kate Trysh
For many Americans, dessert toppings for ice creams and milkshakes are like cheese on a pizza: a must. If you happen to be one of them and are visiting New England, you should know that the local word for toppings is " with jimmies. "
Jimmies are a subgroup of the larger category of dessert toppings known as sprinkles, although people across the U.S. might use the terms interchangeably. Jimmies are cylindrical sprinkles, but some people use the word to refer specifically to chocolate or colored varieties. As for round sprinkles, they are technically marketed as nonpareils.
3
Cold Sandwiches
Image: Allen Rad
The word "sandwich" has come to represent practically any food that is stuffed between two pieces of bread and can be eaten—usually—with your hands. But in certain regions of America, this ubiquitous food item goes by different names.
Pennsylvania has its own term: hoagie . Back in the day, the Italian-American community lived in an area called Hog Island, and local cooks were known for their big "Hog Island Sandwiches," which eventually became known as "hoagies." In New England, many people call a sandwich a grinder . That’s because it’s traditionally made from Italian bread, which has a thicker crust than the typical sandwich bread.
4
Stuffing or Dressing?
Image: Louis Hansel
In the northern parts of the U.S., stuffing refers to the thick mixture of seasoned breadcrumbs or croutons often used to fill poultry dishes.
But, in the southern parts of the country, the word used to describe that is dressing . Yes, the same word that is used in the North to describe any kind of liquid topping for salads. It can be confusing, right?
5
Pop or Soda?
Image: Taylor Swayze
Soft drinks are referred to by different names in different parts of the country. If you are on the East Coast, along the Illinois-Missouri border, in southeastern Wisconsin, California, or nearby areas, you probably call it soda .
However, if you are from the Great Plains region or the Midwest, you likely refer to it as pop . And, if you refer to it as Coke or cola —whether it’s Coca-Cola or something else—you’re most likely from the South.
6
Jelly donuts as Bismarck
Image: Leon Ephraïm
Jelly donuts are quintessentially American. These delicious pastries filled with sweet jelly are everywhere—and for good reason. However, in the midwestern region of the country, as well as in Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada, jelly donuts have a different name altogether.
That is because the German immigrants who settled in the region named the dessert "Bismarck" after the 19th-century Prussian chancellor, Otto von Bismarck because those pastries were a favorite snack of his.
7
Milkshakes as "frappes"
Image: Sebastian Coman Photography
A milkshake and a frappe are pretty much the same thing across most of the country—and even the world, we dare say. However, that’s not the case in New England. If you were to ask for a milkshake in that area, you would receive a slightly different—but equally delicious—beverage.
Nearly everywhere else in the U.S., a milkshake is made with milk, ice cream, and syrup blended together. But in New England, that's a recipe for a frappe . A milkshake in that part of America consists of just milk and syrup, shaken or blended until a foamy head appears.
8
Casseroles as a hotdish
Image: sheri silver
A casserole is a warm dish made by layering meat, vegetables, and noodles, along with a can of condensed soup thrown into the mix and then taken to the oven. However, in Minnesota, that same recipe is called a hot dish.
According to Howard Mohr, author of How to Talk Minnesotan , "A traditional main course, hotdish is cooked and served hot in a single baking dish and commonly appears at family reunions and church suppers."
9
Poached Egg vs. Dropped Egg
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New England has appeared a couple of times already on this list, and it’s about to make another appearance. In most parts of the country, the cooking technique of gently dropping an egg into boiling water is called "poaching an egg."
But in New England, the name for this technique has a much more literal term, calling this particular preparation a dropped egg .
10
Peppers and Mangoes
Image: Paul Morley
We’ll close this list with perhaps the most curious case of regional naming we came across. In the Midwestern region of the country, a "mango" does not refer to the tropical fruit commonly known as a mango.
Instead, if a midwesterner asks for a mango at a local grocery store, they will receive a mild, green bell pepper . The suggested explanation for this is that as green bell peppers ripen, they develop red-gold splotches that make them look similar to mangos.
