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Originally Posted by DMB
MY origins are in southern England. For us, tea was a meal between lunch and dinner and apart from the beverage, often served with a choice of "Indian or China?", might be accompanied by bread and butter, sandwiches and the odd cake. "High tea" was something eaten by working-class people and northerners who might call their midday meal "dinner" and would probably still have the ubiquitous drink but a much more substantial hot meal.
I still remember the agony of going out to tea when I was a small child. The rule was always that one couldn't have cake until one had first eaten at least one slice of bread and butter. No children ever wanted to eat the bread and butter.
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I had thought "China tea" referred to the posh crockery used, as opposed to slopping out the beverage with everyday ware.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMB
I've just thought of another US/UK difference and that is "gravy". In the UK this is what you have with roast meat. It is typically made in the roasting tin after the joint is removed and involves the juices and fat from the meat, mixed with a little flour or other thickening agent with the addition of other liquids. I usually add wine and stock. I was astonished the first time I had gravy in the USA and it turned out to be white and served with American biscuits.
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If you are invited to a meal at an Italian-American home, you might well see tomato sauce in a gravy boat, referred to as "gravy". As mentioned the white gravy with biscuits is a southern American thing, though now found throughout the land.