Back on broiling again: We've got at least one attested - and I daresay respectable - incidence of the word in the UK. This from a discussion about Left Pond vs. Right Pond usages over at Languagehat.com:
“‘Twas brillig and the slithy toves…”
According to Humpty Dumpty in “Through the Looking Glass”:
“…’Brillig’ means four o’clock in the afternoon – the time when you begin broiling things for dinner…”
If Lewis Carrol was in the habit of beginning to broil his dinner at 4pm, I’d suggest he’d be likely to be braising it – but then again this is culinary advice from a large talking egg…
This was after prior commentary to the effect that in times gone by, broiling in Britain supposedly meant essentially the same thing as braising in a covered pot. Broiling in the New World sense had already been covered as well, so while it's hard to be certain, on the slimmest of indicators - only a hunch, really - I would assume that the author of the above post is himself from the UK.
So here's what I've gathered so far in this thread (and echoed at Languagehat), following the formula of Left Pond = Right Pond:
"braising" = "broiling" - but the word being obsolete in the UK, it doesn't really count anymore; looks like everyone says "braising" these days.
"broiling" = "grilling"
"grilling" = "barbecuing", I imagine, but we say it too.
"barbecuing" (the real thing) = I'm guessing probably "barbecuing" as well. So on to utensils:
"grill plate/pan" = "griddle"
"griddle" = "hotplate"
"hotplate" = I have no firm idea yet, but "electric hob" looks like a strong candidate.
"electric hob" would be met with blank stares in my environs, and so with that, this list must end.
If any of us plans to dine - or cook - on whichever side of the Pond, it behooves us to bone up on the proper lingo, otherwise we might be in for some surprises.
Although when it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches - what I believe are called toasties in the UK - all bets are off. They can be cooked in any number of ways, including by means of the grill they are named for (in both senses of the word), but the standard go-to I'm familiar with is a frying pan. Why they're called "grilled", then, is beyond me.
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