# Are there no English muffins in England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402 "2004-12-17T19:39:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/21 "2004-12-17T22:18:38Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > A crumpet is like an English muffin, but not quite. > > Crumpets are fried. English muffins are baked. Crumpets are relatively sweet while English muffins have a bit of an acidic taste them which I assume comes from baking powder. I’ve had the opposite experience. The crumpets taste bland, I usually have them toasted and then add butter to fill the little holes… (don’t think Last Tango in Paris) while English muffins have tasted sweet mainly because they have raisins in them. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/22 "2004-12-17T22:23:19Z")
> [@](#): > > fried bread (pretty good if not overly greasy) Isn’t fried bread just French toast? What’s the difference? American French toast was fried bread before it got named French toast, AFAIK. My great-grandmother was bitterly disappointed as a child when she went to a restaurant for the very first time, ordered the most beautiful thing on the menu–French toast–and found that it was plain old fried bread like she ate all the time. In other news, Danishes are called Vienna bread in Denmark. What do the Viennese call them? ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/23 "2004-12-17T22:25:12Z")
> [@Callmeteem](#): > > I was in England a year ago and saw nary a crumpet. I saw a few strumpets but not a crumpet. If you saw strumpets then you saw some **bits** of crumpet. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/24 "2004-12-17T22:25:22Z")
How about Swedish Meatballs, Hawian Pizza, Turkish Delight, and Brazilian Bikini Wax? (That last one is a double) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/25 "2004-12-17T22:27:18Z")
Oh, and Vienna Sausages. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/26 "2004-12-17T22:27:31Z")
> [@dangermom](#): > > Isn’t fried bread just French toast? What’s the difference? I don’t know if fried bread is anything more than literally fried bread, but French toast is soaked in a mixture of eggs, milk and sugar before being fried. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/27 "2004-12-17T22:28:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Isn’t fried bread just French toast? What’s the difference? French toast is usually dipped in egg batter before being fried. I assume fried bread is sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/28 "2004-12-17T22:32:45Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > French toast is usually dipped in egg batter before being fried. I assume fried bread is sort of like a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese. My version is just a slice of bread put in after the bacon to soak up all the remaining fat . ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/29 "2004-12-17T22:50:22Z")
> [@Biffy the Elephant Shrew](#): > > I don’t know if fried bread is anything more than literally fried bread, but French toast is soaked in a mixture of eggs, milk and sugar before being fried. and vanilla extract ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/30 "2004-12-17T23:13:22Z")
> [@](#): > > If you saw strumpets then you saw some bits of crumpet. Aye. Strumpet crumpet. Fancy a bi’ o’. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/31 "2004-12-17T23:20:27Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Oh, and Vienna Sausages. Vienna Sausages would be called _Wienerwurst_, or ‘wieners’ for short. Vienna sausages _are_ rather hot-dog-like. But hot dogs are _Frankfurterwurst_ (Frankfurt sausages). I see little similarity between Wienerwurst and Frankfurterwurst. So how did franks come to be known as wieners? ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/32 "2004-12-17T23:27:45Z")
I did this same thread a while back. In fact, I think it was one of the first ones I started. What got me thinking about it was that I lived in Michigan most of my life, but had never head of a michigan sandwhich until I went to Maine. And they have Hawaian pizza in Hawaii. At least at some pizza places. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/33 "2004-12-17T23:28:54Z")
> [@Callmeteem](#): > > I was in England a year ago and saw nary a crumpet. I saw a few strumpets but not a crumpet. It’s true, they’re seldom seen. > [@](#): > > I saw other uniquely British or Scottish food and drink–haggis (not all that bad really) Agreed > [@](#): > > blood sausage (didn’t try it) Try it!!! It’s fabulous. (And please, _black pudding_…) > [@](#): > > fried bread In response to the other posts about this - yes, it’s just bread fried, in the pan with the sasuages, eggs etc. And it has to be bread sliced diagonally. That’s the law. (Well, it just makes it easier to dip in the HP sauce 😉 ) > [@](#): > > shandie, which is a mixture of beer and lemonade (refreshing actually). Agreed, but pure beer is more refreshing. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/34 "2004-12-18T00:01:59Z")
In Japan, you can buy “American dogs” from hotdog stands. I don’t eat red meat so I never tried one, but as best as I could tell from looking they’re the same as what we call “corndogs” in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/35 "2004-12-18T00:21:47Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > and vanilla extract Good point. It’s been a long, long time since I made any. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/36 "2004-12-18T01:03:12Z")
My grandmother, who was Puerto Rican, made blood sausages, only we called it morcilla. It was yummy and peppery with a whole lotta snap. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/37 "2004-12-18T02:23:26Z")
In France, the lunch wagon near my place of employment would serve a sandwich consisting of a length of baguette sliced open and filled with a hamburger steak that had been cut into two pieces acovered by a layer of _pommes frites_. This, probably due only to the presence of the ground beef, was known as an _Americaine_. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/38 "2004-12-18T02:34:13Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > IAgreed, but pure beer is more refreshing. 😛 Depends, doesn’t it? I didn’t find the beer you had me try to be refreshing. I wonder if I would have liked it with lemonade? On second thought . . . . eeeeeewwwwww. I don’t think anything will get me to like beer. You gave it a good shot, though. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/39 "2004-12-18T03:20:04Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > In France, the lunch wagon near my place of employment would serve a sandwich consisting of a length of baguette sliced open and filled with a hamburger steak that had been cut into two pieces acovered by a layer of _pommes frites_. This, probably due only to the presence of the ground beef, was known as an _Americaine_. Speaking of which – what do they call ground beef in Hamburg? ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy154](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ad7895/32.png) [@quiltguy154](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy154)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/40 "2004-12-18T03:26:32Z")
Always liked the French term for what we call French toast, they call it _pain perdu_ or “lost bread”[stale bread] Deliciously resurrected with the aforementioned egg/milk/sugar concoction. Crumpets are a quick bread, leavened with baking powder. They kinda’ look like a pancake, just before you flip it over-dry on the top and full of holes. All the more reason to slather on butter or jam. You don’t split them before toasting. English muffins are a yeast bread, consequently chewier and fatter than a crumpet. EM’s ARE split before toasting. Both are “baked”, but not in the oven. They’re done on a griddle[like pancakes] on top of the stove. Crumpets batter is poured free-form, EM’s are usually formed inside a metal ring[a 6oz tuna fish can, with the top and bottom removed(and well-scrubbed), does the job admirably] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402.md?page=3)