Cream teas are one of the things I look forward to most when visiting England–with proper, clotted Devonshire cream, mind you, not that suspiciously like CoolWhip stuff you sometimes get in the east and north. I believe that clotted cream is one of the finest dairy products on this Earth.
I also recommend carry-out fish&chips with malt vinegar, eaten out of a crumpled bit of paper in a public park or at sea-side.
And full English breakfasts: eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms, baked beans, innumerable slices of toast, and a tiny, acidic glass of orange juice. I’ve tried to reproduce this at home, but American sausage is not quite the same, and HP Brown Sauce nearly impossible to obtain.
Reading the site that was linked in the OP made me remember just how closely the UK and Canada are linked. I think the fact that my step-father is the first generation born in Canada to British parents also helps. I make mincemeat tarts and Christmas pudding, and grew up with bangers & mash, toad in the hole, Digestive cookies (so yummy!), and steak and kidney pie. The steak & kidney pie is something that my Dad loves, but none of the rest of us would eat it - RENAL FUNCTION, people!
I’m making a roast beef tonight, maybe I should make Yorkshire pud, as well. I’m almost 100% sure Dave has never had it.
I don’t have much experience with British food outside Scottish cuisine but I can tell you…
Haggis is…quite tasty, as long as it’s prepared by someone who knows what they’re doing. I had two servings of good haggis (one of which was fried…) and one serving of bland, tasteless haggis while in Scotland. Goes well with neeps and tatties - turnips and potatoes.
Smoked Salmon is divine.
Of course, single-malt Scotch whisky is the nectar of the gods.
I will go on record saying it’s much easier to find Indian food than traditional Scottish food in Scotland.
Marmite is delicious! Though admittedly an acquired taste. Never tried Vegemite, so I won’t make any claims. But don’t skip the Marmite, at least try it. After all, why travel if you don’t want an adventure?
This has been, sadly, entirely true in my limited experience.
The wierdest sandwiches I’ve ever had have been English. Yes, they always seem to have butter on them. Not always a bad thing, but not what you expect with, say, a corned beef sandwich. I think the oddest, least palatable one I ever had was grated cheese mixed with salad cream–the bread was buttered, too, of course.
You forgot warnings about shandy, which is absolutely, bar none, the most disgusting drink I’ve ever had. With the possible exception of the non-carbonated, cola flavored beverage I found in my packed lunch one day.
Fish and chips, in my experience, is spotty. When it’s good, it’s wonderful. When it’s bad, it’s disgusting. I second the recommendation of getting recomendations, if possible.
Bren_Cameron sandwiches without butter are a vile construct of the evo; on men’s hearts. Whoever first put mayo on a sandwich should be hung drawn and quatered (twice if possible).
Sandwich = bread + butter + filling
Cornedbeef sandwich should deffinately be bread butter corned beef and branston pickle.
Chip Butty should be bread butter and chips (french fries) that have been cooked in lard if at all possible. Smothered in brown sauce or ketchup.
I am addicted to Branston Pickle, now that it is available in my local Houston supermarket. I get a handful of Wheat Thins and a big blob of Branston and chow down!
My personal favourite as a former English resident - Cadbury’s Chocolate! It’s produced in a different way from most other chocolate (European brands love to kick up a fuss over this) and you can really taste it. The company also uses their chocolate in a multitude of snack bars - may I recommend the Fruit and Nut, Dairy Milk, Fudge, Twirl, Flake - ah, screw that - try them all!
You appear to get Cadbury’s in parts of the USA, but it’s manafactured by Hershey’s, so there is a different taste and range of products. Live the difference!
Hats off the New Zealand and Australia who do an amazing job with their Cadbury factories. Gotta love Moro and Pinky bars, then the insane amount of variations on the standard bar. I’ve also spotted regular Cadbury’s in Egypt and Ecuador, and the Australasian products leak as far as Singapore (and probably further).
Wherever it may be, the name is certainly of English origin. For every English restaurant there isn’t in foreign countries, there is a shop selling Cadbury’s.
On the subject of snack foods, if you get thirsty, give Irn-Bru a chance. It’s Scottish, and has almost become part of the Scot stereotype in parts of England. I’m not sure what Ginger Ale tastes like in the USA, but in case it tastes like the watered down lemonade they serve in Switzerland, then give it a shot in the UK. Also try Tango, even if it’s just for the irritating black bottles that hide the fizzing (about to erupt) liquid from your view. Coke’s regional soft drink is Lilt, while being nothing special, doesn’t exist in (m)any other places.
I could go on for ever… but I better end this and go catch some sleep. Enjoy your trip, real food and snacky junk food I’ve mentioned here!
Do you get the Mini-Eggs at Easter time? In the U.S., they’re small chocolate eggs with a candy-coated shell (my favorite candy BTW). As for whether the Cadbury chocolate tastes different here than in Europe I can’t say because I’ve had the British-made stuff. However, I can say American Cadbury milk chocolate does taste different from Hershey’s milk chocolate in that Cadbury’s is richer and more mellow while Hershey’s has a sour tinge to it.
There are numerous brands of Ginger Ale in the U.S. of which Canada Dry and Schwep’s are probably the most popular. Most are pretty mild in comparison to Irn-Bru but there are at least a couple regional brands that might give it competition: Vernor’s (Michigan) and Blenheim (not sure about the name but it’s from the South).
There is a wonderful Ginger Ale called Dominion, which is brewed just up the road from Jonathan Chance’s. I’m going to ask him to pick up a case for me before we see him this weekend.
Did you mean to type Schweppe’s? That’s a British company (actually a division of Cadbury Schweppes). Barr’s Irn Bru isn’t lemonade or ginger ale (and beware of the link – it’s got music).
I lived in the Lakes District for over a year, and i have the sweetest tooth on the planet, but i really can’t stand this stuff. Each to their own, however.
As a sweet-tooth, my favourite British food is the desserts. I worked in a country house hotel when i was in the Lakes District, and made a point of getting on well with the pastry chef. It was my ticket to steamed pudding (syrup or ginger), syllabubs, bread and butter pudding, as well as a bunch of great non-English stuff like mille-feuille, creme brulee, tart tatin, etc., etc.
In terms of more general foodstuffs, British food is not so friendly to vegetarians like me. As many have noted, things like roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, and fish and chips are some of the better-known dishes.
Much of the stuff i ate in England is not specifically English - indeed, i spent lots of time in the many great Indian restaurants.
After all, everyone knows that the whole British empire was the by-product of the Brits’ world-wide search for a decent meal.
We have Toblerone in the US, but it’s not anywhere near as popular here as it was at home in Canada. I’ve had a difficult time finding it, although there’s a national ad campaign for it.
Dirty Dick’s is opposite Liverpool St Station. It is now completely cleaned up. There are pictures of its previous filth. It’s now full of floppy haired city boys.
