Why ordering these drinks and dishes overseas will give you a completely different result

HEADING to Italy and craving a hearty plate of spaghetti Bolognese? What about some French toast or an English muffin? Don’t even try it.

TRAVELLING the world might seem like a daunting thing to do even before you realise how differently we refer to what we eat and drink.

Aussies, at least when it comes to the English language, refer to almost everything differently than the rest of the world.

Here’s a few that will blow your mind and hopefully help you the next time you’re craving a hearty bowl of spaghetti Bolognese in Italy or a plate of French toast in France.

ORDERING AN ENGLISH MUFFIN IN ENGLAND

Thousands of Aussies love waking up and popping a delicious English muffin into the toaster which begs the question, what do English people call them?

Thankfully, plenty of British people on Twitter have been more than happy to end that confusion, posting photographic proof of what the bread is called across the pond.

But to make things just that bit trickier, the English also call the sweet, chocolate chip or blueberry cakes muffins.

Fact: In England, English muffins are just called muffins pic.twitter.com/YN1wuQzxZi

— Zahra Hasan (@Zahra_Hasan) February 3, 2016

Today we bought some muffins in England...or as we in the States call them, 'english muffins'. pic.twitter.com/TtR9Kz7e8o

— Vincent Sacco (@vpsacco) February 8, 2015

ORDERING FRENCH TOAST IN FRANCE

The genius combination of saving stale bread by dipping it in seasoned beaten eggs and milk before frying it on both sides has been known as French toast for more than 300 years but, obviously the French themselves aren’t calling it French toast.

The French took a more literal approach to naming the bread dish, instead calling it “pain perdu” which directly translates to “lost bread”. The lost part comes from French toast traditionally being made with bread you’re about to “lose”.

French toast made by Sydney cafe Mowbray Eatery. Picture: Adam Ward

ORDERING SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE IN ITALY

It’s the world’s favourite Italian dish (besides pizza) but spaghetti Bolognese doesn’t actually exist and you definitely won’t find it anywhere in Italy. Ask any Italian about spaghetti Bolognese and you’ll no doubt receive a quick lesson on fake Italian food.

While there is a dish called “ragu alla Bolognese” that comes from the northern Italian city Bologna, spaghetti Bolognese is completely different.

The word “ragu” simply means a meat sauce cooked over low heat for hours and “alla Bolognese” means from Bologna.

The traditional “ragu alla Bolognese” is also never served with spaghetti pasta but instead with tagliatelle — a fatter, ribbon-like pasta which Italian chefs insist holds the sauce better.

And while we’re on the topic of Italian “food travesties”, don’t even think about ordering things like Hawaiian pizzas, chicken Parmigianas or Neapolitan ice cream in Italy — it won’t end well.

The infamous spaghetti Bolognese.

ORDERING FOSTER’S IN AUSTRALIA

This one’s for the Foster loving Brits who are headed to Australia looking for a drop of the “amber nectar”.

In the UK, Foster’s uses the slogan “Get some Australian in you” but ironically, trying to get some Foster’s in you in Australia is basically impossible.

Foster’s started brewing back in Australia in 1887 but after it was bought by Carlton & United Breweries, the company started to neglect the iconic Aussie brand for its more popular Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitter.

Despite the kangaroo covered can struggling to sell in Australia, the UK well and truly fell in love with the beer and you’d be hard pressed to enter a British pub that didn’t sell Foster’s.

Australia has in fact fallen so out of love with Foster’s it isn’t even brewed here anymore.

A fact that stung one New York Foster’s lover who sued the company in 2015 after he found they were actually brewing the “exotic” Aussie beer in downtown Texas at the US beer giant MillerCoors.

Paul Hogan, who starred in Crocodile Dundee, was instrumental in getting the world to fall in love with Foster’s.

ORDERING CHIPS/CRISPS/WEDGES/FRIES ANYWHERE

When it comes to variations on the potato, Australia alone offers everything from hot chips to wedges, French fries and potato chips so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the rest of the world has plenty of its own confusing potato dishes.

In the UK, if you want a simple packet of potato chips (like Smith’s) you need to ask for crisps while there’s varying explanations for what we call them in Australia (packet of chips, potato chips).

And to make matters worse, France and Belgium are still fighting over who exactly invented French fries with the Belgians fiercely claiming they were the ones who invented the popular way we fry thin strips of potato.

The debate rages on about who invented and what to call French fries.

ORDERING TURKISH DELIGHT IN TURKEY

Just because you read it on a box of Favourites, doesn’t mean the sweet jelly is actually called Turkish delight.

While our own sweet companies have even changed the way the traditional gelatinous dessert that normally comes dusted with icing sugar is made, if you head to Turkey you’ll quickly see how different they are.

The name Turkish delight has become so synonymous with the treat that there’s plenty of touristy spots in Turkey that have adopted the name but technically in Turkish they’re called “lokma”.

When translated to English, “lokma” means “mouthful” or “morsel”.

The traditional way Turkish delight is supposed to be.

ORDERING A LATTE IN ITALY

A latte might be one of Australia’s favourite types of “coffee” but if you try and order a “latte” in Italy, you’ll be served with a big cup of warm milk — and nothing else.

The word “latte” is the exact Italian translation for “milk” which means if you go into an Italian cafe ordering a “latte”, that’s exactly what you’re going to get.

You wouldn’t get this in Italy if you asked for a latte. Peter Combe - Spaghetti Bolognese (snippet)