12 Translations of British and American Vegetable Names

American Vegetarians visiting the UK will pleasantly surprised by the selection of foods and commitment to vegetarian lifestyle that is available here. Brighton is like a vegetarian Mecca with an amazing array of restaurants to choose from. Events like Bristol's VegFest help bring food culture together in the spirit of celebration. And throughout England there is a network of health food stores, Vegetarian Societies, and Vegan Societies with a history that stretches back to the 1800s.

While you won't need a full on 'British English' course to able to fulfill all your Happy Cow desires, you might want to swat up on some of the words that British people use for some of your favourite foods. After all Britain and America are two countries separated by a common language.

To help better Anglo-American relations I thought it might be useful to put together a little 'Vegetable Dictionary' for travelers on both sides of the pond.

A zucchini, even if it's shaped like a duck, is called a 'courgette'.

'Collard Greens' and 'Spring Greens' are extremely similar vegetables, Spring Greens are just smaller.

'Garbanzo Beans' are called 'Chick Peas' in Britain.

I find this interesting because 'Navy Beans' sound really simple and 'Haricot' beans' sound fancy,
but they're the same bean!

Like 'Courgette' and 'Haricot', 'aubergine' comes from French.

Like 'Garbanzo', Americans take the word 'Cilantro' from Spanish.

'Green beans' are called 'Runner Beans' in the UK.

I'll be honest, I think the American 'rutabega' is a better word than the British 'swede'.

Not sure why the British call it 'soya' and Americans call it 'soy'.

I like saying 'Lima Bean'. Try it, it's nice.

Like 'zucchini', American's take the word 'arugala' from Italian.

In England, if you ask for 'a pickle' you'll get a sort of savoury jam, i.e. something that you would spread on a sandwich. They come in all sorts of flavours and they're generally really nice, but they are nothing like the pickles you'll get at a deli or dinner in the states.