A Babel Fish for international food terms

Over the last couple of weeks, I've come to realise just how different food terminology is in different countries ! What we really need is a babel fish for food terms, but failing that, I thought it might be nice to have a thread that performed a similar function.

So let me kick off...can someone please enlighten me on what Bing cherries are ? My Mrs Fields Cookie Book refers to them, and I'm not sure if they're a particular species of the fruit, or whether they're cherries that have been treated in a particular way (like maraschino ones). Are they sweet, or sour ? Thanks !

Celia

They are fresh, sweet cherries. Bing is the variety. Another you might see is Rainier.

Thanks John !

[Jenise]

What John said. And they're popular because they're big, juicy and crisp with rich flavor. In color, they're a blackish dark red. The Raniers he mentions are white with red blush spots.

Really J ? I've never seen a white cherry before ! I have to google that one..

Thanks, Celia

Edit : That's astonishing, Jenise, I've never seen cherries that look like that before !