# US dopers - what food do us UK people have that you don't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2003, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208 "2003-06-29T19:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/21 "2003-06-29T23:16:34Z")
Interesting. No blood, no offal. We Americans are well and truly fucked! šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/22 "2003-06-29T23:27:19Z")
The Wal-Mart in my town carries duck and lamb in the meat section. Nobody in the States, though, seems to carry jelly babies (which Iā€™ve never had, but have been itching to try ever since I saw Dr Who). ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/23 "2003-06-29T23:28:04Z")
_Not sure if yer average English grocer has all these ā€œexoticā€ meats I listed_ It varies. Major supermarkets have duck, venison (the latter usually as burgers), and diced farmed rabbit. Anything more exotic tends to be in the territory of small upmarket butcher shops. Oh, and goat depends where you live. Itā€™s easy to find in markets in areas such as Birmingham where thereā€™s a significant Afro-Caribbean population, but not otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/24 "2003-06-29T23:30:45Z")
For years, my mother had a hard time finding Turkish Delight or Jelly Babies. Meijer now has an international food section that carries both, at quite high prices. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/25 "2003-06-29T23:40:26Z")
Iā€™ve never seen eel here, as a food. In all my life, Iā€™ve only had Yorkshire Pudding once. In a pricey restaurant in California, it was served with prime rib of beef. Pudding, here, is usually a thick, sweet stuff sorta like what youā€™d get if you made a chocolate gravy, thick enough to stay on an upside-down spoon. The exception is bread pudding. Thatā€™s made from stale bread, hard sauce, and raisins. I believe the reason we donā€™t eat organ meats and rarely eat bread pudding is that theyā€™re regarded as ā€œpovertyā€ foods. Folks like my parents, who lived through the Great Depression, vowed never to eat like that once they got back on their feet again. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/26 "2003-06-30T00:33:38Z")
Iā€™ve never seen haggis here, and hope I never do. Iā€™m one of the brave souls who forced myself to swallow one bite, and still canā€™t get the taste out of my mouth. They even have vegetarian haggis, which is just as bad. And Iā€™ve never seen crocodile steak, which I bought in an Aussie store in London (tastes like fish, but with a ā€œbiteā€). And of course crumpets. ---
**Author:** ![Sharopolis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Sharopolis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sharopolis)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/27 "2003-06-30T00:34:04Z")
This may not be the case today, or throughout the whole of the US, but I do remember from when I visited Florida that flavoured chrisps (or chips) didnā€™t seem to be widely available. There were a few variations on the theme of cheese, but nothing like the bizarre vareity we enjoy in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/28 "2003-06-30T01:00:03Z")
**Sharopolis** : like vinegar and dill? Ugh. Mainly, though it is cheese. We Americans like our artificial orange cheese dust that coats various foods. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/29 "2003-06-30T01:11:51Z")
Twiglets. Jelly babies. Hedgehog flavoured potato crisps. When I saw those, I couldnā€™t believe what I was seeing. I thought Iā€™d walked through some sort of space warp connecting Heathrow Airport with the alternate reality Britain that exists only in old Monty Python sketchesā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/30 "2003-06-30T01:15:18Z")
The lack of chip/crisp variety is endemic to the whole USā€¦ although they have added barbecue, sour cream/onion, and salt and vinegar, they still dont have cheese and onion, prawn cocktail, or any of the other stuff Walkersā€™ does so well. (Possibly because they donā€™t have Gary Lineker here?) Anyway, I have seen those Barber Foods Kievs, (thanks Rex), but in Orlando and Cocoa at any rate they donā€™t stock the garlic ones. Incidentally, it took me ages to find a deli that stocked really good pate (sorry, Iā€™m using the normal text entry box so I canā€™t add the accents)ā€¦ MLSā€¦ I was referring to the actual chain you saw them in šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/31 "2003-06-30T01:16:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*Iā€™ve never seen eel here, as a food. \*\* Canā€™t say as Iā€™ve seen it in the grocery store but eel is on most Sushi restaurant menus Iā€™ve seen. If they can get it Iā€™m sure you can tooā€¦somewhere. Add another person who sees Chicken Kiev all over the place. One of my favorites! As to ā€˜organ meatsā€™ I always hated going to my auntā€™s house for Thanksgiving dinner as sheā€™d chop-up all the nasty organs from the turkey into her stuffing. Stuffing is my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner and having the heart and liver and god knows what else mixed in ruined it for me. The turkey came with a bag of the birdā€™s organs inside but frankly I donā€™t know if this is done anymore. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/32 "2003-06-30T01:17:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rex Fenestrarum \* > \*\*Huh?? Every grocery store Iā€™ve been to in Atlanta and Charlotte carries [these](http://www.barberfoods.com/retail_product_th/7581KIEVretbox.jpg). Not that theyā€™re ā€œfine diningā€, but I canā€™t imagine finding Chicken Kiev would be that difficult. \*\* I guess I shouldā€™ve put a šŸ™‚ after my post.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/33 "2003-06-30T02:08:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dutchboy208 \* > \*\* > MLSā€¦ I was referring to the actual chain you saw them in šŸ˜‰ \*\* Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Foodtownā€¦ Just about any supermarket. It may be just one of those regional things, that the markets in your area donā€™t carry them. Try asking the manager in your market if heā€™s ever considered them. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/34 "2003-06-30T02:10:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \* > \*\* > The turkey came with a bag of the birdā€™s organs inside but frankly I donā€™t know if this is done anymore. \*\* Yes, they usually do. I was the only one in my family while growing up who didnā€™t like the liver. Blecchhh. Fortunately, neither my husband or my children like it, so we just throw it out, now that we donā€™t have a dog any more. Even the cats donā€™t like it. But now that you mention it, I always did like the gizzard and heart of the chicken or turkey. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/35 "2003-06-30T02:15:43Z")
I didā€¦ he didnā€™t know what they were, and suggested that there was no market for ā€œgarlicky foodsā€ around here. Then I asked ā€œso your salami is produced with some kind of garlic substitute?ā€ and he got really crankyā€¦ And Iā€™ve never seen any of those chains around hereā€¦ in Central Florida we have Publix, Albertsons, Winn-Dixie, WalMart, Food Lion, and Goodingsā€™ (although I think they are now out of businessā€¦) I drove up to South Carolina a couple years ago, and the only strange supermarket I saw was Piggly Wiggly. ---
**Author:** ![rolandgunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cdc98d/32.png) [@rolandgunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rolandgunslinger)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/36 "2003-06-30T02:19:13Z")
I was watching ā€œAre you being served?ā€ on our local PBS station and they mentioned ā€œSpotted Dickā€ā€¦What the hell is that?!! ---
**Author:** ![ooga\_booga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b77776/32.png) [@ooga\_booga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ooga_booga)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/37 "2003-06-30T02:32:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shrinking Violet \* > **I once gave an American internet friend my Grandmotherā€™s recipe for Christmas Pudding. It called for ā€œbeef suetā€, and my friend couldnā€™t get it anywhere ā€¦ in the end I had to send some over to her from the UK.** Someone jump in here and correct me if Iā€™m wrong, but isnā€™t ā€˜beef suetā€™ justā€¦lard? If so, then thatā€™s available in pretty much every grocery store worth its salt - though you may have to do a bit of digging. (My local one stocks it over with the Mexican food ingredients. šŸ˜• ) ---
**Author:** ![OkProf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/fbc32d/32.png) [@OkProf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OkProf)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/38 "2003-06-30T02:35:01Z")
Has anyone ever seen Dandelion & Burdock in diet or light? I can get it at a British store here in Oklahoma, but only the fully loaded stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/39 "2003-06-30T02:38:23Z")
The bane of my childhood existence. Mom used to make it for my grandparents on occaision. I _think_ it was suet pudding with raisins inā€¦ none of us kids wanted to go near it. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208/40 "2003-06-30T02:44:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chaoticdonkey \* > \*\ ***Sharopolis** : like vinegar and dill? Ugh. Mainly, though it is cheese. We Americans like our artificial orange cheese dust that coats various foods. \*\* I take offense to that :). My wifeā€™s family is the largest importer of high-end specialty cheeses in the U.S. They sell over 2000 different kinds to supermarkets and specialty food stores all over the U.S. Right now, she is at the New York Fancy Food show marketing and buying cheese that the average afficiado has never even heard of. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-what-food-do-us-uk-people-have-that-you-dont/185208.md?page=3)