# What UK goodies are rare in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 9, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889 "2011-06-09T18:21:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/1 "2011-06-09T18:21:07Z")
When I travel to Green Bay in a couple of weeks for work, I thought it would be nice to arrive bearing gifts, namely British biscuits or chocolates. I figure it would be better to take something not readily available in the US. What would you suggest? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/2 "2011-06-09T18:33:01Z")
Most candy made by Cadbury is rare or, if it is available, it doesn’t taste the same in US. Anything flavored with blackcurrant (a virtually unknown flavoring in American products) is exotic and British. (50/50 whether they find it disgusting, though). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/3 "2011-06-09T18:38:00Z")
Plain Chocolate Hobnobs. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/4 "2011-06-09T18:41:11Z")
Cadbury Flake FTW. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/5 "2011-06-09T18:43:59Z")
Well, you do know that what you refer to as a biscuit and what the people in Green Bay think of as a biscuit are two entirely different things, right? The Cheese Heads in Green Bay are going to call what you bring a cracker. A Wisconsin biscuit is a fluffy thing that you might put gravy or jam on. And Cheese Head is a term of endearment regarding Green Bay football fans. And no it’s not what you would refer to as football either. But you probably already know these things. 😉 > **[Biscuit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit)** > > A biscuit, in most English speaking countries, is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be savoury, similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, biscotti, and speculaas. > In mos... [http://www.cheesehead.com/greenbaylinks.asp](http://www.cheesehead.com/greenbaylinks.asp) ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/6 "2011-06-09T18:52:59Z")
Lion Chocolate Bars. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/7 "2011-06-09T18:53:57Z")
Some hot British chicks with big titties would go over well here in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/8 "2011-06-09T18:56:17Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > The Cheese Heads in Green Bay are going to call what you bring a cracker. Are you sure about that? I’m pretty sure british biscuits are american cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/9 "2011-06-09T19:02:58Z")
My British boss just brought me back some Cadbury candy from her vacation back home. This time she brought me something called Allure which was flaky and incredibly delicious, and a pack of chocolate called Buttons. Yeah, I just came in this thread to mention Cadbury. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/10 "2011-06-09T19:09:44Z")
Boost bar. Twix on steroids. Yow. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/11 "2011-06-09T19:27:46Z")
A vote for Cadbury Wispas. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/12 "2011-06-09T19:34:23Z")
> [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](#): > > Boost bar. Twix on steroids. Yow. ah yes, owner of the immortal advertising slogan [it’s slightly rippled with a flat underside](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNDvJyJDXro) My contribution, black pudding, food of the gods. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/13 "2011-06-09T19:56:40Z")
Kinder Bueno (are those the ones with the hippos on the wrapper? Aero bars Cadbury Flake ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/14 "2011-06-09T20:03:02Z")
Have you a working T.A.R.D.I.S.? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/15 "2011-06-09T20:14:31Z")
You could bring Marmite but it’s not likely that would be a universally-loved gift. 😃 HP Sauce might be more appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/16 "2011-06-09T20:22:14Z")
[Faggots](http://thereturnofwolfgangpuck.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/faggots.jpg) are worth it for the camp value alone 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/17 "2011-06-09T20:28:20Z")
Tea. I ended up sending my sister a care package with [nice tea](http://www.suki-tea.com/black-tea/fairtrade-belfast-brew-irish-breakfast.html), because she couldn’t find any in New York. Chocolate Digestives- explain that they aren’t the same as Graham Crackers. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/18 "2011-06-09T20:33:30Z")
As a Brit who lived for 20 years in America, the following were the things I most craved, and paid a premium to get: [ul] [li]Marmite (although this a taste that few Americans will have acquired).[/li] [li]Golden syrup (quite unknown)[/li] [li]Custard, especially the instant custard mix. (My American nephews fell in love with British custard when they visited England, and my American born daughters love it too. You can sometimes find the old fashioned custard powder in American stores - the stuff that you had to boil with milk and stir for several minutes - but the instant stuff in not available except as imported.)[/li] [li]McVities chocolate digestive biscuits.[/li] [li]Crunchie bars (The American Butterfinger is vaguely similar, but not as good, and it contains, and tastes faintly of, peanuts.)[/li] [li]Refreshers[/li] [li]Rowntrees Fruit Gums and/or Pastilles[/li] [li]Mint sauce (concentrated or ready mixed - if you find mint sauce, as opposed to jelly, at all in the U.S., it is _very_ weak and watery stuff.)[/li] [li]Bisto instant gravy granules (American gravy mixes taste fine, but are not nearly so easy to make. You have to boil and stir.)[/li][/ul] Many types of Cadbury’s chocolate are, in fact, readily available in the U.S. It is true that it is really made by Hershey’s (under license, I guess) and is not the same as the home grown product, but there may be good reasons for this. Certainly in the hotter regions of the U.S., where I lived, actual British chocolate melts very readily, and all chocolate needs to be kept in the fridge, and is made to eaten fridge cold. (Though I guess that may not be an issue in Green Bay.) Anyway, I always found American made Cadbury’s quite acceptable. The standard, cheap American chocolate (notably actual _Hershey Bars_) is crap, but if you pay just a little more for American Cadbury’s, or, come to that, brands such as _Hershey’s Symphony_ or _Dove_, it is just as good as you will get in Britain. (I find _Dove_ quite similar to British _Galaxy_.) ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/19 "2011-06-09T20:38:04Z")
Most British candy would probably be interesting as a novelty if nothing else. I swear that the Cadbury you get in the UK is better than what you get here, but I could be making that up since I haven’t really done a side by side taste test. If you are able to get beer through customs, British ales would probably go over well. Fancy tea would probably go over very well. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889/20 "2011-06-09T20:42:39Z")
> [@NAF1138](#): > > Most British candy would probably be interesting as a novelty if nothing else. I swear that the Cadbury you get in the UK is better than what you get here, but I could be making that up since I haven’t really done a side by side taste test. You’re not making it up. My boss said UK Cadbury chocolate has a much higher butter/fat content than what we have in the U.S. Basically, the U.S. does chocolate like we do beer. Cheap, watered-down, and overall inferior. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-uk-goodies-are-rare-in-the-us/584889.md?page=2)