1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:Now I am totally confused. Is a British currant a currant, or something else?
In British English a currant is a type of dried grape as mentioned up-thread. This is the original meaning, dating to the 14th century and derived from the French 'raisins de Corauntz (Modern Corinth)'. They are "dried fruit prepared from a dwarf seedless variety of grape, grown in the Levant" OED
The use of the word "currant" to refer to redcurrants, blackcurrants etc. is a much later (17th C) use of the word. to cover other plants and fruits.
"They were vulgarly believed at first to be the source of the Levantine currant; Lyte calls them ‘Bastarde Currant’, and both Gerarde and Parkinson protested against the error of calling them ‘currants’. "
So you could say, "Yes, British currants are currants. American currents aren't."
5 hours ago, cakewalk said:I disagree with this. Ottolenghi's books are not marketed for the British Isles exclusively. He has a big market outside the British Isles, and that was a goal. It's not by chance that his recipes have both volume and weight measures. He could definitely have been more specific. He just wasn't.
All cookery writers write in the variety of English they are used to. How many American cookbooks, sold in the UK, include British English? I'd guess, none.
It is also worth remembering that, despite what many people assume, British/Commonwealth English is, by far, the most common variety used internationally. American English is the minority variety. Ottolenghi has nothing to apologise for, except his over-complicated recipes!
