# Any other unique British grocery products I should try? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2007, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869 "2007-06-05T17:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/21 "2007-06-05T18:43:26Z")
Irn-Bru is a good one, but I think somebody said it was banned for import into the US (???). Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is also another good one - I understand that Cadbury’s chocolate is available in the US, but is made to a different recipe and not as good. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/22 "2007-06-05T18:49:41Z")
[QUOTE=Dominic Mulligan] Irn-Bru is a good one, but I think somebody said it was banned for import into the US (???). Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is also another good one - I understand that Cadbury’s chocolate is available in the US, but is made to a different recipe and not as good. [/QUOTE] Yes, here Cadbury’s is distributed by Hershey. It’s actually better than their regular chocolate, but not as good as it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/23 "2007-06-05T19:21:51Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] If you like a Pimms while lazing around on a sunny afternoon, you might like a [Hendrick’s Gin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick's_Gin) which, for me, hits many of the same flavour notes. [/QUOTE] That rates high, though I generally buy Quintessential. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/24 "2007-06-05T19:32:18Z")
[QUOTE=Dominic Mulligan] Irn-Bru is a good one, but I think somebody said it was banned for import into the US (???). Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is also another good one - I understand that Cadbury’s chocolate is available in the US, but is made to a different recipe and not as good. [/QUOTE] Import your Cadbury’s chocolate from Ireland, it’s nicer tasting to my tastebuds. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/25 "2007-06-05T19:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] If you like a Pimms while lazing around on a sunny afternoon, you might like a [Hendrick’s Gin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrick's_Gin) which, for me, hits many of the same flavour notes. [/QUOTE] It is available here in the [US](http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp?sku=00000060367&Dn=166+168&Nr=Store%3A99&Ntt=hendricks+gin&N=168+0&Nty=1&D=hendricks+gin&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/26 "2007-06-05T20:27:24Z")
I buy Bisto beef gravy granules for Doper **Kitchen Wench** , who can’t get it in the Midwest where she lives. She and her husband seem to love it. I also get Ribena black current drink for my girlfriend, who adores it. HP Sauce is pretty good, too. I was at an English-style pub that had it on the table, so I dipped my batter-fried fish and chips in it. Was that a condiment faux pas? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/27 "2007-06-05T20:38:37Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] HP Sauce is pretty good, too. I was at an English-style pub that had it on the table, so I dipped my batter-fried fish and chips in it. Was that a condiment faux pas? [/QUOTE] Oh of course not, but HP really comes into its own on a bacon butty. The best thing to go with fish and chips is the East of Scotland brown sauce. It’s about 50/50 generic brown sauce and vinegar. Have it with a couple of pickled onions, a pickled egg, and a single smoked sausage and, well, then you’ve got yourself an authentic Scottish post-pub feast. Or you could have a kebab I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Nancarrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c37758/32.png) [@Nancarrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nancarrow)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/28 "2007-06-05T21:50:11Z")
[QUOTE=Telperien] Yes, here Cadbury’s is distributed by Hershey. It’s actually better than their regular chocolate, but not as good as it should be. [/QUOTE] Your post and **Dominic Mulligan** ’s disturb me. My premise: Cadbury’s in Britain is utter crap. DM’s: Cadbury’s in the US isn’t as good as Cadbury’s in Britain. Yours: Hershey’s own kind aren’t as good as their Cadbury’s. Conclusion: Hershey’s is, what, the devil’s sputum? :eek: And I’ve actually heard many good things about it, I want to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/29 "2007-06-05T22:30:34Z")
Can you get [Galaxy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_(candy)) chocolate over there? - it’s worth trying - a lot smoother and creamier than Cadbury’s and many people think it’s the nicest of the mainstream chocolate bars. Green & Black’s chocolate ([http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/index.php](http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/index.php)) is really nice too. Other unique British products… Nobody has suggested Marmite yet. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/30 "2007-06-05T23:03:44Z")
When I was living in the US, it was plain digestive biscuits that I missed the most - the nearest local equivalents were always too sweet. And on my younger brother’s last trip back home to Blighty it was a [Scotch egg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_egg) that he most craved. ---
**Author:** ![ems](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@ems](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ems)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/31 "2007-06-05T23:10:51Z")
You may also want to try [http://ukgoods.com/](http://ukgoods.com/) As a displaced Brit living in California just recently moved from Wyoming they got me through some decnet chocolate cravings etc And the service is excellent! ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/32 "2007-06-05T23:14:52Z")
I second the Colman’s, my gods that stuff is fantastic. I had a heart attack looking at the sugar content in bottled dressings so I make my own for lunch-1/4 teaspoon to help bind the balsamic to the oil. You can actually get it over here (I found it in a Ralph’s, which I believe is owned by Kroger) but it isn’t going to be as hot. I hear by the time it gets out to the colonies the taste gets a bit deadened and the really fresh stuff is right out of Europe (New York Times dining had an article on this recently). So yeah. The Colman’s. Highly recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/33 "2007-06-05T23:26:41Z")
[QUOTE=Nancarrow] Your post and **Dominic Mulligan** ’s disturb me. My premise: Cadbury’s in Britain is utter crap. DM’s: Cadbury’s in the US isn’t as good as Cadbury’s in Britain. Yours: Hershey’s own kind aren’t as good as their Cadbury’s. Conclusion: Hershey’s is, what, the devil’s sputum? :eek: And I’ve actually heard many good things about it, I want to try it. [/QUOTE] What don’t you like about the Cadbury’s in Britain? Is it just crap all through, or is it a bit too much something or a bit too little something? Hershey’s has a weird smell, to me, which translates into taste. I don’t like plain Hershey bars and their dark chocolate is pretty bad. I thought I hated dark chocolate because all I’d had was Hershey dark chocolate. Not so–other kinds are fine. Hershey is now making these sort of fancy high-percentage cacao chocolate bars which might be better but I haven’t tried them yet. You might like Hershey’s just fine. I like their things like Reese’s peanut butter cups, where it’s not just the chocolate, and Hershey’s kisses taste better than the chocolate bars. But I can’t get over the smell. I like the sound of those McVities chocolate caramel digestives. I’m a caramel fanatic. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/34 "2007-06-05T23:36:03Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] Green & Black’s chocolate ([Mondelēz International, Inc.](http://www.greenandblacks.com/uk/index.php)) is really nice too. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t Cadbury Schweppes own Green & Blacks now? [And the president (still) and founder Craig Sams is a pillock, a pseudoscience apologist and a friend of Gillian McKeith](http://www.badscience.net/?p=398#more-398) ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/35 "2007-06-05T23:55:36Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] I buy Bisto beef gravy granules for Doper **Kitchen Wench** , who can’t get it in the Midwest where she lives. She and her husband seem to love it. I also get Ribena black current drink for my girlfriend, who adores it. HP Sauce is pretty good, too. I was at an English-style pub that had it on the table, so I dipped my batter-fried fish and chips in it. Was that a condiment faux pas? [/QUOTE] Piss off the Ribena, and get thee to some [Vimto](http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/shop.asp?action=search&uid=%7B267DB8CA-0C28-481F-B164-06CD805FE1EE%7D). Hubby taught me about Vimto. It’s lovely, blackcurrently like Ribena, but there’s other spicy flavours to it and it’s sublime. Also, seconding **cowgirl** ’s shout-out to Chocolate-Caramel McVities. How beautiful they are with a nicehotcupoftea… ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/36 "2007-06-06T00:06:47Z")
[QUOTE=Sierra Indigo] Piss off the Ribena, and get thee to some [Vimto](http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/shop.asp?action=search&uid=%7B267DB8CA-0C28-481F-B164-06CD805FE1EE%7D). Hubby taught me about Vimto. It’s lovely, blackcurrently like Ribena, but there’s other spicy flavours to it and it’s sublime. [/QUOTE] Oh, I love Vimto, although I only ever find it at the rare Middle Eastern market or restaurant. I tried to get the black currant-loving girlfriend to try it, but she wouldn’t drink anything that is an anagram for vomit. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/37 "2007-06-06T01:43:50Z")
[QUOTE=ScareyFaerie] Bishop’s Finger, of course! Or maybe Adnam’s Broadside, or Wells’ Bombardier, or Wychwood’s Hobgoblin. [/QUOTE] Hmm… had me a Bombardier last weekend, and Hobgoblin’s relatively easy to find around here. I seem to remember Bishop’s Finger being pretty decent, and I can’t remember having had Broadside. I also recall Ruddles County Ale being pretty good stuff when I was over there, although I’m not sure if they export it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/38 "2007-06-06T02:03:33Z")
[QUOTE=Sierra Indigo] Piss off the Ribena, and get thee to some [Vimto](http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/shop.asp?action=search&uid=%7B267DB8CA-0C28-481F-B164-06CD805FE1EE%7D). [/QUOTE] Vimto is hands down the best soft drink I’ve ever had. The local produce market used to stock it and I’d started inventing an excellent mixed drink with a bit of dark rum and pomegranite liquor using it which I’ll maybe never perfect now. They stopped carrying it and I won’t order it online, so I just have to keep my eyes peeled for the next shop that sells it. ---
**Author:** ![Sierra\_Indigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Sierra\_Indigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sierra_Indigo)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/39 "2007-06-06T02:30:01Z")
[QUOTE=Big Bad Voodoo Lou] Oh, I love Vimto, although I only ever find it at the rare Middle Eastern market or restaurant. I tried to get the black currant-loving girlfriend to try it, but she wouldn’t drink anything that is an anagram for vomit. [/QUOTE] Aww, pity for her. It’s awesome, as you’d probably know then. I’m crying now, however. Shipping from britshop over to here would cost me 29.95 pounds for anything under 2kg - that’s nearly $70 after the exchange rate. And I so sorely wanted to get my hubby some of the Lloyd Grossman balti sauce he’s been pining after ever since he left the fjord… er UK. [ETA]: N/m - found some info I needed. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2007, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869/40 "2007-06-06T05:45:54Z")
[QUOTE=Telperien] What don’t you like about the Cadbury’s in Britain? Is it just crap all through, or is it a bit too much something or a bit too little something? [/QUOTE] I’m not keen on it, either - I find it a bit greasy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-other-unique-british-grocery-products-i-should-try/406869.md?page=3)