Brits ‘haunted’ after realising pigs in blankets mean something very different in the US

Everyone’s got their old favourites when it comes to this time of year, whether you’re a fan of a good mince pie or are of the mindset that it’s not Christmas until you’ve had your first Festive Bake.

Many of us can’t even walk past a fridge without stealing a quick bite of brie... only to make your way into the next room to find a box of Celebrations calling your name out.

Yep, food is what the holiday season does best, and that’s before we’ve even got onto the star attraction: the Christmas dinner.

This often proves strangely controversial, from the oddly divisive Brussels sprouts to the Yorkshire puddings that may or may not belong on the plate. However, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that pigs in blankets will always be a popular bet for any carnivorous guests.

Sausages wrapped in bacon: what’s not to like?

Well, potentially quite a lot if you’re an American, who might be expecting something else altogether.

What's not to love about sausages wrapped in bacon? (SGAPhoto/Getty Images)

“American pigs in blankets really haunt me, why would you swap out the crucial element,” one person tweeted a few days ago in the lead-up to Christmas.

Another mindblown food fan also recently wrote: “Learning that American pigs in blankets are a totally different thing to ours has changed my worldview.”

Yep, it turns out pigs in blankets in the US really aren’t what people know and love in the UK, where chipolatas or cocktail sausages are wrapped in delicious, salty bacon and roasted in the oven until crisp.

They don’t have to just appear alongside a roast dinner, either, as come December they’re often used to jazz up everything from humble sandwiches to buffet tables.

In America, however, they’re known as ‘pigs in a blanket’ and swap out the bacon for pastry.

The sausages used also often tend to be hotdog-style over the banger used across the pond.

What you'd get if you asked for pigs in blankets in the US (Arthur Gurmankin/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

After they penny dropped a couple of years ago, one person wrote on Twitter: “Wait pigs in blankets in America are sausage wrapped in dough and not sausage wrapped in bacon??? What the f**k??”

They added: “IT’S LITERALLY A SAUSAGE ROLL OMG.”

Another agreed: “Wait… pigs in blankets in America are sausages wrapped in pastry? My dude - that’s called a sausage roll. Pigs in blankets are sausages wrapped in bacon. Ironically, wrapping a sausage in bacon seems more American than wrapping it in pastry.”

A third said: “Did you know that in America, their pigs in blankets are hotdogs in CROISSANT DOUGH?! To any Americans reading this, in the UK pigs in blankets are sausages wrapped in bacon.”