English muffins are usually referred to simply as muffins in the UK; sweet American-style muffins are occasionally referred to as American muffins to differentiate. They are usually consumed with tea or coffee, and sometimes feature in afternoon tea served in UK hotels.
Size and shape: A crumpet and English muffin are both round breads cooked on a griddle that are about 3 inches in diameter. A crumpet is thinner than an English muffin and has delicate round holes on the top. An English muffin is thicker and the top is solid; it's served cut in half.
That said, the English muffin as many Americans know it, is the brainchild of British expat Samuel Bath Thomas who, in 1874, emigrated from his homeland of Plymouth, England, to the United States.
There would generally be a further specification on the first one (Blueberry muffin, etc.), much like in the US, but other than that, they're just both called muffins.
They've been around in England since long before Thomas popularized them here. Go to any British supermarket, like Tesco or Sainsbury's, and you'll see them marketed as simply “muffins,” or sometimes “breakfast muffins” or “toasting muffins.”
They've been around in England since long before Thomas popularized them here. Go to any British supermarket, like Tesco or Sainsbury's, and you'll see them marketed as simply “muffins,” or sometimes “breakfast muffins” or “toasting muffins.”
English muffins are split before serving. (Unless you happen to like your crumpets split.) As long as it serves as a vehicle for melted butter and jam, we're pretty equal opportunity when it comes to breakfast baked goods! Call it a crumpet or an English muffin, we'll give it a try either way.
A Biscuit (U.S.) Is a Scone (U.K.)
A British biscuit is not remotely similar to the fluffy and filling American biscuits made famous in Southern American cuisine. The closest British equivalent to those buttery miracles is a scone, which ain't too bad either.
Americans are the outlier on how we use "biscuit"
They are close to what the British would call scones. But American scones are different, because nothing about this is uncomplicated. To most of the rest of the English-speaking world, a biscuit is what Americans would refer to as either a cookie or a cracker.
A bialy (pronounced be-ALL-e) is a round Jewish bread that is a cross between a bagel and an English muffin, complete with nooks and crannies. Bialys are made of simple ingredients like yeast, flour, salt, and water.
Other names you might see in British supermarkets like Sainsbury's and Tesco include “muffins,” “toasting muffins” and “breakfast muffins.” So, if you're planning a trip to England and you want to enjoy an American-style breakfast or brunch, head to a local grocery store in England and look for them under any of these ...
McDonald's Egg McMuffin® recipe features a freshly cracked Grade A egg placed on a toasted English Muffin topped with real butter, lean Canadian bacon, and melty American cheese. There are 310 calories in an Egg McMuffin® from McDonald's.
Muffins are small, and round spongy cakes made with flour, while scone is a lightly sweetened cake made from flour, fat, and milk. Generally, muffins are sweeter than scones.
English muffins are usually referred to simply as muffins in the UK; sweet American-style muffins are occasionally referred to as American muffins to differentiate. They are usually consumed with tea or coffee, and sometimes feature in afternoon tea served in UK hotels.
It turns out that a Scottish-style crumpet is quite different from an English-style one. It's more like a pancake, the batter of which is yeast-free, but it does have an ingredient to leaven it, such as baking powder or beaten egg whites. The latter is what I used in the recipe below.
Crumpets are regionally known as pikelets, a name also applied to a thinner, more pancake-like griddle bread; a type of the latter is referred to as a crumpet in Scotland.
English zucchini goes by courgette in England, the French word for the green gourd. The United States inherited the Italian name, and both terms reference the summer squash. Note that the word squash refers to a fruity drink in Britain, and a mature version of the courgette fruit becomes marrow.
In the UK, 'chips' are a thicker version of what people in the US call 'fries'. If you want a bag of what Americans call 'chips' in the UK, just ask for crisps. A refreshing dessert made of frozen sweetened water with (usually fruit) flavouring.
Gherkin is a common name for a pickled cucumber, especially in British English.
Jelly (UK) / Jello (US)
Similarly, an eggplant is called an aubergine in the UK. The American yam is not commonly found in the UK, yet the term is often used in the US to refer to what the British call a sweet potato; the Brits eat theirs roasted (as they do most things) and have not yet warmed to the American dish of “marshmallow yams.”
So what the Australians call Pikelets are not Pikelets . . . or are they! Pikelets are basically a thin crumpet . . . or a crumpet is a thick Pikelet! In other words the recipe for each is very similar and the biggest difference is how they are cooked. Why they are called Crumpets or Pikelets seems rather confused.
A pikelet uses a crumpet batter, but it is not cooked in a ring, and is therefore thinner and more freeform in shape. The pikelet is believed to be of Welsh origin where it was known as 'bara pyglyd', later anglicised as pikelet.
Sense of “desirable woman” attested 1936, possibly as cockney rhyming slang for strumpet; alternatively, compare tart (“loose woman, prostitute”) (itself possibly cockney rhyming slang for heart or sweetheart).