# British food appreciation thread **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 5, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749 "2003-10-05T19:31:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/61 "2003-10-09T09:40:01Z")
We have the definitive word, now, thanks to **Hugh Jass**. A fine and comprehensive report, well done, you! And don’t be afraid of the piccalilli - treat it with respect and you will be entranced by its complex, delicate flavours and textures, but if you are a piccalilli virgin and you heap it high, it could do lasting psychological damage, not to mention actual bodily harm as it sears through your soft palate, shrivels your tongue and blisters your teeth. Once you are an accompished piccalillist, you can eat it straight from the jar in spoonfuls, but expect your mouth to resemble nothing so much as a cat in reverse; something like this, but with more eye watering :eek: Make sure you have some nice tasty cheese or ham and some warm crusty bread to go with and it if you are doing the Branston pickle thing as well, eat the Branston before the piccalilli, as you won’t be able to taste the Branston if you do it the other way around. Best of luck with your pickle extravaganza, and let us know how you get on with it! PS Have you got custard for your spotted dick? E-blinking-ssential ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/62 "2003-10-09T09:58:09Z")
I recommend picalilli with grilled halloumi with sliced tomatoes on a panini. It’s kinda like sauerkraut and dill pickles meets French’s mustard. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/63 "2003-10-09T10:33:47Z")
I’m with you guys on: - roast beef or lamb with roast veges and gray - Yorkshire pud - branston pickle - bangers and mash - Devonshire tea - crumpets And I’m adding: - pork pie (get it from the deli, eat it cold) - haslet - mince pies - toad in the hole - Spalding sausages I loooooove english food. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLivia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@AnnaLivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLivia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/64 "2003-10-09T13:27:22Z")
The food up here is fantastic (as long as you stay away from the central refractory) Personal Abdn favs: Macaroni pies. Macaroni and cheese in a pie. yessss. Aberdeen butteries. Oh. God. Eccles cakes from Lancashire. I should hate what they’re filled with. I do in America. Raisins. Eww. Eccles cakes. Drool. Chocolate boubons. And the horrible, horrible culture collision known as curry chips. The union shop sells spotted dick in a can, but I can’t stop laughing long enough to pick it up. AL ---
**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:** [October 9, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/65 "2003-10-09T13:54:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I recommend picalilli with grilled halloumi with sliced tomatoes on a panini. \*\* I have some halloumi in the fridge; I’ve gotta try this (maybe I’ll put it all in a croissant…). ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/66 "2003-10-09T14:32:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*I have some halloumi in the fridge; I’ve gotta try this (maybe I’ll put it all in a croissant…). \*\* That’s the standard way it was served to me in Cyprus. Actually, I tried grilling halloumi recently and it went very crumbly, so maybe they fry it. You’re aiming for the squeaky kind of texture. They put the panini in one of those hot sandwich presses once they’ve filled it. It’s divine. Lots of picallili to make your eyes water. ---
**Author:** ![brainfizz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/da6949/32.png) [@brainfizz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainfizz)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/67 "2003-10-09T14:37:15Z")
> [@](#): > > The free t-shirt had a picture of Tony the Tiger surfing on it. We were quite amused by the idea of a kid in England wearing a shirt with a surfer on it. Hey! I spent 10 years of my youth surfing every single day in Cornwall. We’re an **island** , there tends to be surf! I must say that, coming from Cornwall, the food there is great: except for one thing… Starry-Gazy Pie! Urgh! Yuck! The most singly disgusting sight that I’ve ever set eyes on! [Here is the recipe - not for the faint hearted!](http://www.hwatson.force9.co.uk/cookbook/recipes/fish/stargazeypie.htm) I’ve been all over the globe, and I’ve really enjoyed the different foods everywhere, except in the US it was difficult to get anything that didn’t taste of cardboard. I went to 5 star restaurants and bistros but only the Mexican restaurant’s food had any zing to it. (ouch that was poor grammar!). Some of the fish up in Seattle was very good though, and coming from a man brought up in a fishing village, that’s high praise. I’m always glad to get back home when I’ve been abroad, though. It’s great to go out and tuck in to a nice plate of fish and chips after you’ve been eating paella or pizza for too long 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![curly\_chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ba0ec/32.png) [@curly\_chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curly_chick)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/68 "2003-10-09T14:40:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*I recommend picalilli with grilled halloumi with sliced tomatoes on a panini. > > It’s kinda like sauerkraut and dill pickles meets French’s mustard. \*\* That’s one hell of a euro sandwich, there **jjimm** , my man: British pickle, Greek cheese, unspecified tomatoes - let’s say they were grown in here, in Lusk, maybe - and Italian bread, described by you in terms of Germany, Poland and France. If there was a Eurovison Sandwich Contest, you’d be the winner. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/69 "2003-10-09T15:57:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by curly chick \* > \*\*If there was a Eurovison Sandwich Contest, you’d be the winner. > 😃 \*\* I kid you not: this was actually done, by FreshWays I think, when the euro came in. A “Eurosandwich”. Italian sausage, French cheese, Irish bread, etc. It was disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/70 "2003-10-09T16:41:59Z")
Well then **jjimm** , you should enter your sandwich next time. That sounds like a scene from the British version of American Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/71 "2003-10-09T16:42:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AnnaLivia \* > \*\*The food up here is fantastic (as long as you stay away from the central refractory) \*\* Are you going to Uni of Aberdeen? That’s where I went. 🙂 The Auld Toon Cafe sells great sandwiches; look for the ones with the oaty covered bread – they’re the best. Love those butteries… miss them very much. Got a recipe to make them homemade, but the ingredients were horrific. (Think heaps and heaps of lard.) ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/72 "2003-10-09T17:00:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SciFiSam \* > \*\*Well then **jjimm** , you should enter your sandwich next time. > > That sounds like a scene from the British version of American Pie. \*\* That would be English sausage then. Now now madam, a saveloy not a chippolata. ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLivia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@AnnaLivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLivia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/73 "2003-10-09T17:35:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Nimue \* > \*\*Are you going to Uni of Aberdeen? That’s where I went. 🙂 The Auld Toon Cafe sells great sandwiches; look for the ones with the oaty covered bread – they’re the best. > > Love those butteries… miss them very much. Got a recipe to make them homemade, but the ingredients were horrific. (Think heaps and heaps of lard.) \*\* Replying to you live, from the basement of the Humanity Manse and thinking about going over to the Red Lion for the Creative Writing Society. Everything’s got horrific ingredients here…but so good…so very, very, good. If I weren’t actually abstaining from meat, I’d live at Auld Toon. I’m drooling on my nifty euro-keyboard. AL ---
**Author:** ![ouisey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9fc29f/32.png) [@ouisey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouisey)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/74 "2003-10-09T17:56:55Z")
I miss Auntie’s Tea Room in Cambridge. Huge thick tuna and cress sandwiches. I can’t seem to find english-style watercress in America. Alfalfa sprouts have a completely different taste. Hot scones with clotted cream and jam. Huge pot of tea with plenty of cream and sugar to round it off. Best meal I’ve ever had. I particularly miss Ambrosia rice pudding in a can “from Our Devonshire Creamery!”. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/75 "2003-10-09T18:21:06Z")
mmm … irn-bru … you can get something similar here, from a West Indian food company called ‘Grace’ called ‘Kola champagne’ or something. It’s not quite Irn-bru but it’s just as good ! and a bit less cloyingly sweet, which is also nice. Marmite-flavoured rice cakes. You can’t get them here, for some reason … ---
**Author:** ![unclviny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e274bd/32.png) [@unclviny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unclviny)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/76 "2003-10-09T18:24:06Z")
When I was in Stafford I went to a pub in Hilverstone and I was offered “cheese and onion sandwiches”, at first I refused (after all what kind of idiot would make a sandwich like that) but later on I tried one and it was WONDERFUL, but now I am back home (Texas) and I can’t seem to find the proper cheese, help me find the proper cheese please it was like a cross between Velveeta and Cheddar. In short, give me your instructions for making a cheese and onion sandwich. unclviny ---
**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:** [October 9, 2003, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/77 "2003-10-09T19:37:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jjimm \* > \*\*That’s the standard way it was served to me in Cyprus. Actually, I tried grilling halloumi recently and it went very crumbly, so maybe they fry it. You’re aiming for the squeaky kind of texture. \*\* it is best cooked quite fast on a barbecue, - it browns up on the outside, while becomeing rubbery and squeaky on the inside. Halloumi is a great food to prepare if you’re expecting vegetarians for dinner. (I lived in Cyprus for a while as a child and that was how they most commonly served it there (back in the 1970s, anyway)) ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/78 "2003-10-09T22:05:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by unclviny \* > \*\*When I was in Stafford I went to a pub in Hilverstone and I was offered “cheese and onion sandwiches”, at first I refused (after all what kind of idiot would make a sandwich like that) but later on I tried one and it was WONDERFUL, but now I am back home (Texas) and I can’t seem to find the proper cheese, help me find the proper cheese please it was like a cross between Velveeta and Cheddar. > In short, give me your instructions for making a cheese and onion sandwich. > > unclviny \*\* Nice though they are, I find that the taste of cheese and onion sandwiches does tend to linger in the mouth for, oh, a few days. The cheese would very probably have been supermarket Cheddar - in Britain, an unqualified ‘cheese’ generally means that, especially in sandwiches. But there are hundreds of varieties, some quite different from others, so it may not have had the flavour or texture of what you think of as Cheddar. ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLivia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@AnnaLivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLivia)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2003, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/79 "2003-10-10T09:17:00Z")
With apologies to the Rutles: _I have always thought, in the back of my mind_ _Cheese and Onions…_ Oh, yes. How did you know what I was having for lunch? Mine seem to have that orange cheddar, mayo and spring onions. But I could be wrong. I’m wrong often. And in the name of Zevon fans everywhere, even if it’s not the _exact_ same cheese, you’d best enjoy that sandwich. I’m told the kebabs here are also delightful. But the veg thing keeps getting in the way. _Do I have to spell it out?_ ---
**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:** [October 10, 2003, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749/80 "2003-10-10T11:54:37Z")
Regarding cheese and onion sandwiches - the choice of onion is important. Instead of using ordinary cooking onions try and find what we call here “Spanish Onions” .These are larger , milder and sweeter than the regular kind and are ideal for eating raw either in a sandwich or in a salad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/british-food-appreciation-thread/205749.md?page=5)