Why are cookies called cookies? Shouldn't they be called bakies?

That is a very American word so obviously I'm too much of a snob to comment

Cookie is from the Dutch koekje, the diminutive of koek 'cake'. The common Germanic cake is not related to to cook.

So call 'em biscotti or petits gateaux! (Did I spell that stuff right?) Ahh, who cares, it's dessert time!!!!!

Asa, stuffing with junk food

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jheem: The common Germanic cake is not related to to cook.

etymonline says, "cake: ... Not related to L. coquere "to cook," as formerly supposed."

I'm curious: what changed the former supposition?

I'm curious: what changed the former supposition?

I noticed it mentioned in the ca.1950 version of Kluge's German etymological dictionary. Well, if the cake words in Germanic are native and not loanwords, they could not be related to Latin coqueo 'to cook' as initial Latin c is cognate with initial Germanic h: cf. capio 'to take, seize' ~ to have, centum '100' ~ hundred, canis 'sog' ~ hound. The medial labio-velar -qu- being cognate with k is probably problematic, too.

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That is a very American word so obviously I'm too much of a snob to comment

Really? Don't you Brits have chocolate chip cookies, and the like?

They call cookies biscuits in the UK.

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Really? Don't you Brits have chocolate chip cookies, and the like?

Not until the US food companies came in and started to call biscuits, cookies. Fortunately the trend has not extended to many of our foodstuffs.

By the way, since it was subject to discussion recently, I would mention that I had a lovely steak and kidney pudding yesterday in the pub, washed down with a couple of pints of J K King's excellent bitter.

This use of different names for a foodstuff is regional as well as international. I'm still wrestling with it. People in Iowa eat "rolls" rather than "donuts". Cookies are often referred to as sweet crackers. Jello with fruit is salad. Casserole is hot dish. And I have yet to figure out the intracicies among lunch, dinner, and supper. All I know for sure is that they aren't the same, and I'm pretty sure that lunch is always midday and supper at night. Dinner? I dunno.

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People in Iowa eat "rolls" rather than "donuts". Cookies are often referred to as sweet crackers. Jello with fruit is salad. Casserole is hot dish.

This is all new to me! How did Iowans end up with different words than the rest of us?


And Brits call cookies biscuits? Then what do you call biscuits?

How did Iowans end up with different words than the rest of us?

Just their perverse nature, I suppose

Actually, there are regional differences in pronunciation throughout the US. BTW, I thought folks in the Chicago area and back East called doughnuts, crullers. There's the whole soda, pop, soda pop, softt drink, coke spectrum.

Something I've always wondered: what do they call windrows in the UK?

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Originally posted by Caterwauller:

And Brits call cookies biscuits? Then what do you call biscuits?

First you describe the item you call a biscuit and then I'll tell you what we call it.

Biscuits, in the USA, are usually made as described in this Recipe.

I think "scones" might be similar, but I'm not sure about that.

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And Brits call cookies biscuits? Then what do you call biscuits?

I seem to recall they are rather like scones myself.

I've checked, seems to be scone or possibly bun.

US biscuits (from Latin biscocta 'twice cooked') are more savory than sweet. Our buns tend more towards sweetness.

Scones don't have to be sweet though. My mom used to make great cheese scones.

My mother used to bake a pie-wedge shaped oatmeal thingy that was chewy and delicious. She called it a scone, but it was nothing like the sugary white-floured tasteless cranberry-laden crappies they have in all the coffee houses now. That thing of hers, it had substance!

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Originally posted by jheem:
How did Iowans end up with different words than the rest of us?

Just their perverse nature, I suppose

Actually, there are regional differences in pronunciation throughout the US. BTW, I thought folks in the Chicago area and back East called doughnuts, crullers. There's the whole soda, pop, soda pop, softt drink, coke spectrum.

Something I've always wondered: what do they call windrows in the UK?

Crullers are a specific kind of doughnut made with a sort of sourdough batter.

What the hell is a windrow?

What the hell is a windrow?

A row of cut hay or grain left to dry in a field before being bailed.

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A row of cut hay or grain left to dry in a field before being bailed.

How much bail was set? Are some locked up if they can't meet the bail terms?

Seriously, as a city boy, although I have seen them in the country areas, I have never known what they are called. The COED says that a windrow is a long line of raked hay, corn sheaves, or peats drying in the wind. so I would guess that farmers here use the same word as Americans.

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences defines windrow as

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Streak of foam or row of floating debris, aligned in the prevailing wind direction, formed on the surface of a lake or ocean. Where winds blow across a water surface, vertical circulation cells are set up in near-surface waters. These circulation cells are alternately right- and left-handed vortices, and windrows form along the lines of convergence between adjacent cells at the water surface.

Clear?

Yes, boys. Thank you very much.

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My mother used to bake a pie-wedge shaped oatmeal thingy that was chewy and delicious.

My wife makes those and calls them "flapjacks".

Over here, flapjacks are the same as pancakes, generally.

My wife made flap-jacks in the days when I could eat nice food. I can't possibly tell you what she used to call them.

How common is Graham flour in the US? I had an American student who thought it was hilarious to have a teacher named after a biscuit. She called our Maths teacher Uncle Bob, becuase occasionally, when he finished a sum, he would say, 'and Bob's your uncle.'

We eat graham crackers all the time - they're considered a wonderful treat for young children, especially.

And, of course, graham crackers are an essential ingredient in s'mores!

Can I please ask...who was the one that sent Doad them chocolates? they are rather nice!

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ho was the one that sent Doad them chocolates? they are rather nice!

Aha. Another lady, I detect. No man would rave over chocolates!

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Originally posted by Richard English:

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ho was the one that sent Doad them chocolates? they are rather nice!

Aha. Another lady, I detect. No man would rave over chocolates!

Maybe you should check Leenol's profile - definitely says male. And come on Richard, when you were of school age (which I realise was a very long time ago) surely you enjoyed chocolate?

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Originally posted by Richard English:

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ho was the one that sent Doad them chocolates? they are rather nice!

Aha. Another lady, I detect. No man would rave over chocolates!

I'd hardly say that "rather nice" can be described as "raving".

Leenol and Purdie are both students of Doads, from the group of kids in detention.

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"rather nice"

Remember, we are talking UK English here. If "not bad" is "very good" then "rather nice" is excellent.

And I did, I confess, like chocolate when I was at school - but that was as much as anything because we could rarely get it because of sugar rationing. One I could buy as much as I could afford, the desire faded away.

CW was very generous to send me some Hershey chocolate. We don't get it over here and I was curious as to why it's so popular over there. I confess that personally I wasn't too impressed. It's not as good as Cadbury's and certainly not as good as Galaxy but it is only American so I suppose that may explain it.

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it is only American so I suppose that may explain it

Hahaha - you really are cruisin' for a bruisin', bucko! We'll see how long it is before I send YOU more chocolate! Even the cheap stuff!

Did she send you the rich dark Hershey's or just that pale imitation of the real thing called milk chocolate? Hershey's makes a truly rich lovely dark chocolate.

A visit to Hershey, PA is a marvelous thing. You can smell the chocolate from about 15 miles out, and in town it infuses everything. Sadly, the rich dark chocolate is a rarity, most Americans having surrendered their taste buds in childhood to a pale imitation.

Then there is Ghirardelli, which despite the Italian name is (I think) based in San Francisco. Granted its parent company is Lindt and Sprungli, but the manufactory is in SF and all of the production is controlled in America.

We Americans are not complete Phillistines. We have microbrews that are quite respectable, dark chocolate untainted by the juice of the cow, pickled herring to curl your toenails, cheeses of great maturity and body, and wines that would make a Frenchman weep with joy.

Of course, all of that is as nothing compared to the green beer that people willingly drink today. ICK ICK ICK

We can get some varieties of Hershey chocolate over here now Doad, though it's not that widespread. Maybe it's only found its way to the bigger cities at this point-in which part of the country do you live?

Best place to try, I'd say, is the food hall of your local department store. Speaking of department stores and American candy imports, have any other Brits tried Jelly Belly jelly beans? Wow! What flavour! And the mix and match idea is fab .

Jo - I have been to Hershey, PA also, and you're right about being able to smell it miles away! And Cat, I went to a Jelly Belly factory -great fun!

The Jelly Belly people have been packaging their treats in little bags labeled "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" and apparently they even have some of the gross flavors J. Rowling talks about in her books.

I have a very good friend who lives in Elizabethtown, right outside of Hershey, PA. It is in the heart of Amish country, with lots of lush farmland all around. On a good day she can smell the chocolate. On a poor day she can smell the manure. :-\

What I like best about Hershey, PA is the street lights shaped like Hershey Kisses. Smooch!

According to Wikipedia, jellybean was also a term for a young dandy or fop, and also a synonym for a pimp.

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And Cat, I went to a Jelly Belly factory -great fun!

And you didn't take me? WAAAAAAAHHHHH!

I went to a Jelly Belly factory -great fun![/QUOTE]

And you didn't take me? WAAAAAAAHHHHH! [/QUOTE]

I'll take you next time, Sweetie! They sell bags of the "irregulars" at a reduced price!

They sell irregulars? How much do you plan to get for selling Asa?

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Originally posted by Cat:
We can get some varieties of Hershey chocolate over here now Doad, though it's not that widespread. Maybe it's only found its way to the bigger cities at this point-in which part of the country do you live?

I didn't realise that Hershey was over here at all but in fairness I haven't looked and based on the sample of Hershey that CW sent I think I'll stick to Galaxy anyway. I am going to send some Galaxy over for her to try so she can taste what real chocolate is like. From what I know of CW I think she'll like it but as it's chocolate I suppose that won't be difficult

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Originally posted by jo:
Did she send you the rich dark Hershey's or just that pale imitation of the real thing called milk chocolate?

Now this is a very interesting question!

She sent me the milk chocolate and I was very touched by her thoughtfulness though at the time I wasn't aware it was just a 'pale imitation'

heh.... I am a chocolate snob. There are many who love milk chocolate, and at one time so did I. However, I have since discovered that I am lactose intolerant. This led me to discover the wonders of dark chocolate.

Now that I have given full reign to my chocolate snobbery the only Hersheys I eat is the dark. If you have Hersheys there across the pond then I recommend sampling some.

Of course, in the full throes of a chocolate orgy, only Godiva will do for me. I confess to not having heard of let alone tasted the brand to which you referred. If I were to pay the postage, might you be willing to send me some? Or is it milk chocolate?

The chocolate most popular in England is milk chocolate. However, just a short train-ride away is Belgium - which is, of course, the Mecca of dark chocolate fanciers.

Or so I am told by my wife - I, of course, was in the Delirium Tremens bar sampling some of their 2,400 fine beers!

I prefer dark chocolate, but I didn't know if Doad's tastes would go in that direction. I thought I'd start with the basics and move forward from there.

And Richard? I don't see any reason why you couldn't have chocolate AND beer. They go well together, if you ask me.

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And Richard? I don't see any reason why you couldn't have chocolate AND beer. They go well together, if you ask me.

No reason at all.

And several brewers, including Youngs, do produce a chocolate stout.

I've always thought a good porter had a slightly bitter chocolate flavor. One year we had porter and Godiva truffles on the back porch.

Then, since it was summer (warning Richard - don't gag!), we put French vanilla ice cream in our porter. Decadent, really!