Frosting or Icing

Rick Johnson   Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:27 pm GMT
What do you call the stuff on the top of Christmas cake?
I read once that in the US there's something of a north/south split with southerners saying icing and northerners saying frosting.
Uriel   Thu Dec 22, 2005 7:33 pm GMT
I say both. I don't have a preference. But then, I may not be a good example, since I've lived all over the US.
Tiffany   Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:32 pm GMT
Both too. I didn't know there was a difference.
Guest   Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:02 pm GMT
'Iceing'(I would spell it that way) and 'Sugar Cream' are more common terms in New Zealand though 'Frosting' is used sometimes too.
Travis   Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:03 am GMT
The primary term used here in southeastern Wisconsin for such is "frosting", and the term "icing" does not seem to be used much in practice by people here in Real Life.
andre in philly   Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:39 am GMT
There is indeed a North-South split. Look here: http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_94.html

I use icing.
Guest   Fri Dec 23, 2005 1:36 am GMT
<<There is indeed a North-South split. Look here: http://cfprod01.imt.uwm.edu/Dept/FLL/linguistics/dialect/staticmaps/q_94.html >>

That's interesting, but I have to admit it's far from conclusive. I think I read about the split in a Bill Bryson book. In Britain icing ends to be main word. Contrary to the study question, I tend to think of frosting as thin icing.
Lazar   Fri Dec 23, 2005 3:06 am GMT
I usually use the term "frosting", which the dialect survey indicates is the preferred term here in Massachusetts.
american nic   Fri Dec 23, 2005 3:23 am GMT
Not surprisingly, in Minnesota we have pretty much the same situation as Travis has in Wisconsin...I honestly can't say I've ever heard the word 'icing' used for frosting except in print and on TV. However, I wasn't aware that there was a geographic indication for its use.
Tiffany   Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:47 am GMT
I never knew there was any split either. I am from Miami, FL and as the map indicates, we use both :)
Brennus   Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:02 am GMT
Rick Johnson,

Re: any semantic distinction between 'icing' and 'frosting'.

I live in the western United States and have heard the two words used by people interchangeably all my life for the sugary glaze on top of cakes. The only exception might be for coffee cake, where the sugary glaze, if it has any, seems to be always called "icing."
Uriel   Fri Dec 23, 2005 7:07 am GMT
I also tend to think of icing as having a thinner consistency in certain contexts, but in a saying like "that's the icing on the cake", I take it to mean the same as frosting.

What do you call it, Rick? And what's a Christmas cake?
Guest   Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:19 am GMT
Well for me I would love a good old English pudding on a cold snowing Christmas night.

Oh and don't forget the old Christmas stories aside by a roaring log wood fire. =)
Rick Johnson   Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:17 pm GMT
<<What do you call it, Rick? And what's a Christmas cake?>>

Christmas Cake = large fruit cake covered in marzipan and "icing".
British Christmas meals are heavily influenced by N America for main courses (Turkey, Cranberry sauce, chestnuts etc) but have more traditional desserts- Christmas puddings and mince pies etc. Strangely, even though the recipes are 400 years old, most of the ingredients are not found natively in Britain.

........And there is no meat in mince meat!!
Adam   Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:15 pm GMT
"British Christmas meals are heavily influenced by N America for main courses (Turkey, Cranberry sauce, chestnuts etc)"

Don't talk rubbish.