Re: CHAT: cross-culturation

On 12/3/2001, Karapcik, Mike wrote,

>         Actually, "ham" is generally understood as "leg/butt of pig" in
> American English. It's all "pork". The reference to a person's (usually a
> woman's) butt has become fairly obscure, is usually associated with
> South-eastern US ("The South), and will get you slapped if the woman is
> nearby.
I've never really heard the Southern reference, here in Maryland or
anywhere.  As for ham, I have seen and eaten turkey ham; it's turkey
which has been processed to taste like ham.  "Ham" by itself is a cut
of pork.  "Sausage" by itself is also taken to be pork, though there
are beef sausages, turkey sausages, veal sausages, and so on.

>         For some reason, in American English, dishes that are based on
> chicken almost always expressly state the "chicken". However, in America
> (I'm not sure about UK or Australia/NZ), about the only bird you will
> commonly see on a menu is "chicken". You will occasionally see turkey or
> duck, but that's rare. I think the recipe names come from the fact that long
> ago in Britain, one would regularly eat chicken, goose, or duck, and in
> early America turkey was also common.
Really? Around here it's still pretty common! Granted, if there are
fowl dishes on the menu, they're likely to be chicken, but turkey is a
pretty close second. In fact, there's a sandwich shop near my office
that I sometimes visit for lunch, and my usual order there is a
grilled turkey sub with provolone cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise, and a
bit of hot peppers.  Every time the owner of the shop sees me coming
now, he begins fixing my turkey sandwich.  "Hi, Steve!  Your turkey's
comin' right up!"  :-)

--
Steve Kramer   -=oOo=-   scooter at buser dot net
Quote for the indeterminate time period:
  Snow: "It's a strange world."
  Wagner: "Let's keep it that way."
    == from "All Over the World", _Planetary_