# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/61 "2004-12-19T02:12:11Z")
I know the [Vermont Country Store](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/) sells crumpets, and [Wolferman’s](http://www.wolfermans.com/) sells crumpets and scones, if you want to try these. ---
**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 19, 2004, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/62 "2004-12-19T05:43:58Z")
> [@Mycroft H.](#): > > Bear in mind that what the British call “lemonade” is more what Americans experience with 7-Up or Sprite. Actually, I had that lemonade; 7-Up and Sprite are pale imitations. The best lemonade I had the entire month I spent on the island was “homemade”, but I bought it at a tea room or cafe of some sort in Oxford. I’m thinking of another trip to the UK, and I’ve got designs on that lemonade recipe. ---
**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 19, 2004, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/63 "2004-12-19T06:12:32Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Does it? I’m still baffled: where did they get the idea that English Muffins are unknown in England? > [@Biggirl](#): > > So if English muffins are just plain ‘muffins’ what do you call the things we Americans call muffins? Muffins are not unknown in England, it’s the concoctions that Americans call “English Muffins” that are, I believe, unknown. A British dictionary that I have defines muffin as “light round spongy, flat, scone. – muffin-man.” (OK, it’s not a great dictionary, just a small pocket one, but at least it’s British and not American English.) The American English Muffin is definitely not a scone. The consistency is lighter. They’re more bread-like, although they are about the size of a scone. And as mentioned by others, scones are generally sweeter in taste. (In reviewing the postings, this was actually in reference to crumpets. I can’t recall from my living in England the similarity or difference between scones and crumpet.) And although my culinary searches in Britain has been more towards fish & chips shops, pub grub and B&B breakfasts, I’ve never come across in England (or Scotland, Wales or Ireland either for that matter) anything that looks like an American style English Muffin. If in fact they were made in America by a transplanted Englishman, that would explain a lot. Of course, I still could be entirely wrong and I’ve just missed the areas in the UK where they serve up muffins that are the same as what we purchase in the US supermarkets. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/64 "2004-12-19T06:39:43Z")
> [@Rex Fenestrarum](#): > > 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: 3 times may be excesive, but you should eat a McDonalds (once) in every country you travel to. Best Mickey-Ds: Jundai, Brazil. I suspect they don’t use that ‘vegetable shortening’ or whatever. I dunno. It was _good_: Crispy, hot, flavorful fries. Burgers actually fried, rather than steamed. Worst: Rome, Italy. Makes sense, I suppose. As to muffins, when in London I had some for breakfast one day. I ordered ‘muffins’. Tasted like (American) English muffins, looked like scones (sort of rougher, not smooth like American English muffins). Eh. It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/65 "2004-12-19T13:13:13Z")
> [@Mycroft H.](#): > > I can’t recall from my living in England the similarity or difference between scones and crumpet. [This](http://www.searchforgoodhealth.com.au/crumpet.htm) page sums the difference up quite simply: > [@](#): > > Crumpets use a very similiar recipe to muffins…except that crumpets are wetter, dry fried and cooked mostly on one side. Actually, crumpets are no more like muffins than bagels are like bread rolls. ---
**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 19, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/66 "2004-12-19T14:09:32Z")
Thank you **GorillaMan** for the info. I do plan on trying out the recipes. And pardon me for sounding like a daft bugger for posting statements nicely made by others, but the problem is that I really am a daft bugger. I hadn’t noticed the second page of informative comments. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/67 "2004-12-19T16:40:02Z")
Just to confuse matters a little , crumpets ( i.e. the things with holes in them ) are called picklets in the West Midlands. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/68 "2004-12-19T17:04:39Z")
Even more confusion , I have found out they can also be spelled _pyclets_ ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/69 "2004-12-21T21:54:45Z")
To confuse things even further: What the English call a crumpet, up here in Scotalnd we’d usually call that an “English Muffin”. What we call a crumpet the English would call a pancake. And what we call pancakes are in reality dropped scones. (Although I think due to standardisation in supermarkets etc we’re beginning to fall in line with our English oppressors 😉 , and don’t get me started on the whole turnip/swede issue) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/70 "2004-12-21T22:12:32Z")
Just in case you were wondering, “French Fries” aren’t directly named after France. In cooking, “to french” something, means to cut it in thin strips before cooking it. So, these are “french fried potatoes”. ---
**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 21, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/71 "2004-12-21T23:23:48Z")
What do they call a Yorkshire Pudding in Yorkshire? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402/72 "2004-12-21T23:59:37Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > What do they call a Yorkshire Pudding in Yorkshire? Yorkshire Puddings. No mystery, I’m afraid. (Of course, what they were called in past times would be a different matter, and probably far more interesting…) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-no-english-muffins-in-england/280402.md?page=3)