# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/41 "2004-12-18T11:39:59Z")
A [Crumpet.](http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~marj/crumpet.html) Already toasted. Not sliced in half or anything. [English muffin](http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/englishmuffin.jpg) sliced in twain. The two taste quite different, and have very different consistencies. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/42 "2004-12-18T12:02:16Z")
It’s been a few years and I can’t find my dictionary, but aren’t french fries in Germany also called _Pomme Frites_? ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/43 "2004-12-18T12:20:54Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > It’s been a few years and I can’t find my dictionary, but aren’t french fries in Germany also called _Pomme Frites_? The last time I was there (1991) they were. At least at McDonalds, which my stupid friend made me go to three times whist we were there. So much for “local flavor” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/44 "2004-12-18T14:35:47Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Well, we have back bacon, which is just named after the cut of meat. And Canadian and Danish bacon are simply any bacon from Canada and Denmark. The only thing I can think of that’s more like ham that bacon is gammon steaks. > > ANd [English Muffins](http://www.wholepop.com/features/toasters/othertoaster3.htm) are partly a product of successful branding. Thank you for the Link Does Bestfoods market its Thomas’ English Muffins in the UK - as is, or under a different name, with different ingredients, different taste, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/45 "2004-12-18T14:50:11Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I wonder if I would have liked it with lemonade? Bear in mind that what the British call “lemonade” is more what Americans experience with 7-Up or Sprite. The link to Bestfoods helped to clear up this ‘English Muffisn not found in England’ mystery I’ve been wondering about for decades. As for French Toast in France, what I’ve been told from friends in France is that it _can_ be found, usually in the south, but it’s quite rare. The people serving it may have even brought the concept back from the US. ---
**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 18, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/46 "2004-12-18T14:57:27Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > It’s been a few years and I can’t find my dictionary, but aren’t french fries in Germany also called _Pomme Frites_? Yes. In the area I lived in it was shortened to pommes (pronounced pum-mess). I don’t know if it was a regional thing or all over the country. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/47 "2004-12-18T15:28:03Z")
> [@Antiochus](#): > > Does Bestfoods market its Thomas’ English Muffins in the UK - as is, or under a different name, with different ingredients, different taste, etc.? I’ve never seen anything, and the [Unilever Bestfoods UK](http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/company_bestfoods.html) site doesn’t seem to feature them. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/48 "2004-12-18T16:29:05Z")
> [@Mycroft H.](#): > > The link to Bestfoods helped to clear up this ‘English Muffisn not found in England’ mystery I’ve been wondering about for decades. Does it? I’m still baffled: where did _they_ get the idea that English Muffins are unknown in England? > [@](#): > > He perhaps adapted the crumpet a bit to American tastes, or perhaps it was the “Bara Maen,” a Welsh bread cake baked on hot stones that dates back to the 10th century. No matter, he managed to create the prototype of the “English muffin” (still completely unknown, of course, in England), baked on a griddle instead of in an oven. Or perhaps he simply brought the recipe for muffins from England, where they were a common product, frequently sold on the street. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/49 "2004-12-18T16:41:42Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Yes. In the area I lived in it was shortened to pommes (pronounced pum-mess). I don’t know if it was a regional thing or all over the country. I’m pretty sure that “Pommes” is the standard word for French fries throughout Germany. What’s with French dressing? I don’t think the French would be caught dead eating a sickly sweet tomato-based concoction like that. If there is such a thing as a typical French dressing, it would more aptly be a vinaigrette with a bit of Dijon mustard in it. The Hungarians have something called French salad, which is (defrosted) frozen peas, carrots, and potatoes swimming in mayonnaise. WTF? I guarantee nobody in France eats this. Also, in Budapest there used to be a place which purported to sell “Chicago-style wraps.” As a long-time Chicago resident, that was news to me. What was it? Meat and mashed potatoes (no lettuce, tomatoes, or anything fresh or crispy) served wrapped in a flour tortilla. Nice try. I’ve also been to several Eastern European eateries riffing on the 50s American diner theme. Ya know, posters of Elvis, old fashioned jukeboxes, 57 Chevies… Unbelievably, many of them even got the _hamburger_ wrong. How the fuck do you mess up a hamburger, when you’ve got McDonald’s, Burger Kings, and Wendy’s throughout the city? How did they serve it? _Open-faced with a knife and fork_. What kind of culinary cretin does that? Yet, unbelievably, I was able to find a place in the same city which does an authentic home-made Mexican chorizo and throws a block party for Cinco de Mayo. In much of Europe, Mexican seems to mean “with corn.” ---
**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, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/50 "2004-12-18T17:26:19Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Or perhaps he simply brought the recipe for muffins from England, where they were a common product, frequently sold on the street. So if English muffins are just plain ‘muffins’ what do you call the things we Americans call muffins? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/51 "2004-12-18T18:24:38Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So if English muffins are just plain ‘muffins’ what do you call the things we Americans call muffins? “American muffins” 😃 Actually, we either specify the flavour – eg. blueberry muffins, chocolate chip muffins etc – or else just work it out from the context. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/52 "2004-12-18T19:05:32Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > So if English muffins are just plain ‘muffins’ what do you call the things we Americans call muffins? You’re missing the point - the things you call ‘English Muffins’ do not exist in England. ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/53 "2004-12-18T19:12:32Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > You’re missing the point - the things you call ‘English Muffins’ do not exist in England. Yes. They. Do. I, personally, have been eating them in this country for decades. Look in a supermarket. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/54 "2004-12-18T19:12:48Z")
Can some of our English dopers go down to Drury Lane and find out just what it is that the Muffin Man sells? ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/55 "2004-12-18T19:25:30Z")
If I didn’t call English Muffins “English”, I’d probably describe them as “Toaster Muffins”, maybe I’ve seen that name somewhere. ---
**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 18, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/56 "2004-12-18T21:16:52Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > If I didn’t call English Muffins “English”, I’d probably describe them as “Toaster Muffins”, maybe I’ve seen that name somewhere. I have something here called ‘Australian Toaster Bisuits’, which are ‘English Muffins’. I like them because they don’t have ‘all those nooks and crannies to hold the melted butter’, which is better when you’re eating them with Vegemite. ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/57 "2004-12-18T21:41:09Z")
Turkish Delight most assuredly exists in Turkey. We had a Turkish student in the lab and every time she went home, she would bring back a box of the best pistachio Turkish Delight. I don’t know what it is called there, though. Tex-Mex food is incredibly easy to screw up, apparently. I’ve never had good Tex-Mex outside of Texas (but granted I try to avoid Tex Mex places while traveling), and the further away one gets from Texas, the worse it is. I’ve had atrocious stuff in Israel and South Africa that was supposedly “Mexican” food. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/58 "2004-12-18T21:47:39Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > A [Crumpet.](http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~marj/crumpet.html) Already toasted. Not sliced in half or anything. > > [English muffin](http://www.foodsubs.com/Photos/englishmuffin.jpg) sliced in twain. > > The two taste quite different, and have very different consistencies. No kidding. My mom likes (imported) crumpets, but they feel strange to me. I’m not sure if the toaster is the problem, but the couple I tried wouldn’t get crisp at all. ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/59 "2004-12-18T22:50:14Z")
[English Muffins](http://www.foodreference.com/html/artenglishmuffins.html) > [@](#): > > The story is that an English baker, a certain Samuel B. Thomas, started making these flat chewy things in America over 100 years ago, from his mother’s tea cake recipe. The English deny that they ever heard or saw anything like it until they were imported from America. Today you can find Thomas’ English Muffins in most English supermarkets. Imported from America. > > The curious thing is that ‘muffins’ in the U.S. are not anything like these so-called ‘English Muffins’. (Maybe this was an inexperienced English immigrant baker’s attempt to make crumpets\* from a half remembered recipe of his mother’s. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/60 "2004-12-18T23:26:41Z")
Doper Brits. Please give me a brand name of a true English Muffin that I can find in my local supermarket right here in the USA. If you suggest more than one brand, so much the better. I now have an irresistible urge to taste the damned things, to learn first hand whether your muffins are more delectable than Thomas’ Pseudo-English quick bread. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402.md?page=4)