Poll of the Day > If the English call cookies "biscuits"...

(+) Yeah! (+)

They're probably very confused when an American mentions "biscuits and gravy"



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Kek.

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Lol arent what you call biscuits just scones?

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No those are biscuits. Americans call fluffy things biscuits for some reason.

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I've tried to explain the difference between scones and biscuits for ages.... it's just not something you understand without tasting them.

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American biscuits are a leavened quick bread and usually have flaky layers. If you pull on the top and bottom they should separate easily without having to cut them. Biscuits are usually savory and are usually served with savory meals.



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In NA-speak, scones and biscuits are very similar (both made by cutting fat into dry ingredients, then adding milk). The key difference is that scones have sugar added to the dough and tend to be flavoured with fruit and other sweet things (though more savory scones exist, such as cheddar-chive), being used primarily as a snack or dessert. Biscuits tend to be more exclusively savory and are primarily used as a side dish.

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I keep it simple and call the hard things biscuits. That includes crackers too. Fluffy or flaky pastry is not a biscuit.

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So what does cookie mean in England

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MeteoricBurst posted...

Fluffy or flaky pastry is not a biscuit.

For you. It is for us, because that's how languages work.

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MrMelodramatic posted...

So what does cookie mean in England

A subset of biscuit. Chewier with more fillings. Pure biscuits tend to be simple.

Zeus posted...

Kek.

si

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I think what we call biscuits are more like a savory scone in the UK

but I dont know, most of my UK knowledge comes from Red Dwarf and Ted Lasso

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Mead posted...

Red Dwarf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYGuQlQseHU
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they also think the 2nd floor is the first floor
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Krazy_Kirby posted...

they also think the 2nd floor is the first floor

what do they call the bottom? Ground floor?

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adjl posted...

The key difference is that scones have sugar added to the dough and tend to be flavoured with fruit and other sweet things (though more savory scones exist, such as cheddar-chive), being used primarily as a snack or dessert. Biscuits tend to be more exclusively savory and are primarily used as a side dish.

The key difference is texture. Biscuits are way fluffier than scones. Also a lot of people like biscuits with jam or honey

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ZeldaMutant posted...

Chewier with more fillings.

So, like a fig newton? What about chocokate chip cookies? Are those also cookies over there? Or are they buscuits?


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Bugmeat posted...

So, like a fig newton? What about chocokate chip cookies? Are those also cookies over there? Or are they buscuits?

Chocolate chip cookies are cookies. Oreos are biscuits (we have Oreos here).

Metalsonic66 posted...

The key difference is texture. Biscuits are way fluffier than scones.

That mostly boils down to the consistency of your pastry dough. Cut your fat in until you've got a mealy consistency (the best metric I've heard for this is that it looks like parmesan cheese), and both your biscuit and your scone are going to be denser. Leave larger chunks of fat (typically called "flaky" if you're referring to pie dough, which is the same principle), and you get more discernible layers in the final product and a lighter texture. Scones tend more toward mealy dough than flaky, which generally means they're denser, but you can make them flakier if you'd prefer.

Shark8637 posted...

Chocolate chip cookies are cookies. Oreos are biscuits (we have Oreos here).

Where do shortbreads fall? By your description, I'm getting the sense that "biscuit" is roughly anything crunchier than a shortbread and "cookie" is anything chewier, but I realize that's a pretty baseless assumption.

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Mead posted...

what do they call the bottom? Ground floor?

It's as though you're on the ground or something
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I mean, people everywhere pretend that floor 13 is floor 14 or that floor 4 is floor 5, so I don't think we should be getting too uppity about whether or not floor counts include the ground level. It's not like any of us are ever going to be looking for the Xth floor of a building and have to count that ourselves instead of relying on elevator buttons or signs on doors.

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adjl posted...

It's not like any of us are ever going to be looking for the Xth floor of a building and have to count that ourselves instead of relying on elevator buttons or signs on doors.

Most buildings that only have a couple floors or so rarely have blatantly signage. That's more for buildings where you absolutely need to take an elevator, but smaller buildings might easily only have stairs, or not really require you to use an elevator.

If someone tells you to meet them on the first floor, that could absolutely cause confusion if you're both thinking of two different things when someone says that.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

Most buildings that only have a couple floors or so rarely have blatantly signage. That's more for buildings where you absolutely need to take an elevator, but smaller buildings might easily only have stairs, or not really require you to use an elevator.

If someone tells you to meet them on the first floor, that could absolutely cause confusion if you're both thinking of two different things when someone says that.

if someone says meet on the first floor, then you don't need to go up any stairs once you are in the building.

if you do, then they are wrong
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If you're meeting anyone that doesn't know where they're going and your building doesn't have any helpful signage, you should probably be waiting in the building's lobby for them regardless of how you number that floor.

Krazy_Kirby posted...

if someone says meet on the first floor, then you don't need to go up any stairs once you are in the building.

if you do, then they are wrong

My last apartment was on the first floor (by unit numbering, anyway), and to get there from the front door, I had to go up some stairs, then down even more because it was in the basement and the first two floors were handled like a split-level.

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Kyuubi4269 posted...

It's as though you're on the ground or something

So is that a yes? They call it the ground floor? Not that hard to just answer a question dude

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adjl posted...

That mostly boils down to the consistency of your pastry dough. Cut your fat in until you've got a mealy consistency (the best metric I've heard for this is that it looks like parmesan cheese), and both your biscuit and your scone are going to be denser. Leave larger chunks of fat (typically called "flaky" if you're referring to pie dough, which is the same principle), and you get more discernible layers in the final product and a lighter texture. Scones tend more toward mealy dough than flaky, which generally means they're denser, but you can make them flakier if you'd prefer.

Sounds like you're trying to agree and disagree with me at the same time

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Sounds like you're trying to agree and disagree with me at the same time

Not inaccurate. Biscuits tend to be flakier than scones, but the underlying method is virtually identical and there's no reason you can't have a denser biscuit or a flakier scone, if that's the texture you want to go with your desired sweetness. The key difference in how they're defined is the sugar, not the texture.

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Jaffa Cakes... Are they a biscuit or cakes??

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Dmess85 posted...

Jaffa Cakes... Are they a biscuit or cakes??

According to legally binding court order, they're cakes.
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ParanoidObsessive posted...

According to legally binding court order, they're cakes.

Isn't the rough rule of thumb that if they go hard when they're stale, they're cakes; and if they go soft when they're stale, they're biscuits (er, cookies)?

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I thought it had more to do with the amount of sugar

if it has a certain amount of sugar or more then its a cake

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Mead posted...

I thought it had more to do with the amount of sugar

if it has a certain amount of sugar or more then its a cake

That's Irish laws regarding bread, which saw international recognition when they said Subway couldn't call its loaves "bread" because they were legally considered cake due to the amount of sugar in them.

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Criminalt posted...

Isn't the rough rule of thumb that if they go hard when they're stale, they're cakes; and if they go soft when they're stale, they're biscuits (er, cookies)?

cookies can go hard when stale
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The one I've never gotten a grasp on (though, admittedly, I haven't tried very hard) is the difference between puddings and cakes. Is it just whether or not it's served with a sauce?

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adjl posted...

The one I've never gotten a grasp on (though, admittedly, I haven't tried very hard) is the difference between puddings and cakes. Is it just whether or not it's served with a sauce?

completely different texture/consistency
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Not necessarily (bear in mind that this is talking about "pudding" in the sense of pastries. I know the difference between cake and custard). Stuff like steamed puddings, certainly, but sticky toffee pudding is almost indistinguishable from any creamed cake recipe, and it's not the only example of that.

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adjl posted...

That's Irish laws regarding bread, which saw international recognition when they said Subway couldn't call its loaves "bread" because they were legally considered cake due to the amount of sugar in them.

Cake must be better than I thought.
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adjl posted...

Not inaccurate. Biscuits tend to be flakier than scones, but the underlying method is virtually identical and there's no reason you can't have a denser biscuit or a flakier scone, if that's the texture you want to go with your desired sweetness. The key difference in how they're defined is the sugar, not the texture.

I'm pretty sure if you gave someone a sweetened biscuit, they wouldn't go "wtf, this is a scone". The texture is more immediately apparent, even if you messed with the proportions.

Of course, I'm from the South, so we're more particular about our biscuits.

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Unpopular opinion?: S'mores are better with Digestives than graham crackers

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Metalsonic66 posted...

I'm pretty sure if you gave someone a sweetened biscuit, they wouldn't go "wtf, this is a scone". The texture is more immediately apparent, even if you messed with the proportions.

Of course, I'm from the South, so we're more particular about our biscuits.

This is true. Formal definitions and practical definitions often don't really line up, especially when it comes to food (which invariably has tons of regional cultural norms surrounding it, which aren't going to be reflected in definitions being handed down by some "culinary authority" in another region).

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adjl posted...

Where do shortbreads fall? By your description, I'm getting the sense that "biscuit" is roughly anything crunchier than a shortbread and "cookie" is anything chewier, but I realize that's a pretty baseless assumption.

You're right, it's about texture. Biscuits are hard. We consider American biscuits to be savory scones. The Wikipedia articles on shortbread and biscuit covers it:

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

Shortbread is just shortbread. We'd consider it a biscuit, but usually just call it shortbread. I'm wondering if you mean something different, because I've never heard of the plural, "shortbreads".

Just don't confuse shortbreads with sweetbreads.

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Shark8637 posted...

savory scones

Sweet biscuits exist. Scones and Biscuits use different ingredients anyway.
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Shark8637 posted...

You're right, it's about texture. Biscuits are hard. We consider American biscuits to be savory scones. The Wikipedia articles on shortbread and biscuit covers it:

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

Shortbread is just shortbread. We'd consider it a biscuit, but usually just call it shortbread. I'm wondering if you mean something different, because I've never heard of the plural, "shortbreads".

Nope, that is what I mean. I may actually be misusing the plural, but meh. I believe Scottish shortbread is a little more rigidly defined than what the term covers in NA (which, in turn, I believe has been heavily influenced by what the rest of Europe has done with the concept), but it's all variations on the simple sugar/butter/flour formula, which gets mixed together all at once in a sort of hybrid between a creaming method (mixing butter with sugar first) and a biscuit/scone method (coating fat particles with flour).

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