What UK goodies are rare in the US?

[SeldomSeen]

Kipper!! Real English kipper. And ditto on the specialty cheeses.
SS

[silenus]

@pulykamell

Yes, different parts of the US have different availabilities of ethnic products based on their local populations. That’s obvious. I thought Marmite and Golden Syrup had crossed that barrier into “yuppie supermarket” staples, because it’s not like there’s a huge ethnic British enclave around here. As I admitted above, apparently I am incorrect about this.

Anyhow, “rare” or not, the important point should be that Marmite and Golden Syrup rarely make a good gift, unless somebody specifically asks for them.

You’re not mistaken. The local grocery in my hometown carries Marmite, Lyle’s Golden Syrup, Daddie’s Sauce, non-Canadian HP sauce, Bovril and all sorts of other British items. We’re hardly Little Birmingham around here either.

[ralph124c]

Where does one buy those horrible steak/kidney/grease pies?

[njtt]

@silenus

You’re not mistaken. The local grocery in my hometown carries Marmite, Lyle’s Golden Syrup, Daddie’s Sauce, non-Canadian HP sauce, Bovril and all sorts of other British items. We’re hardly Little Birmingham around here either.

It’s too late now, as I have moved back to Britain, but if I was still in So Cal I would be asking for the address! What is the name of this local supermarket? Do you perhaps live right near pulykamell?

As I said, I lived in So cal for 20 years and I had to, and did, search hard to find these things (well, not the sauces, I’m not partial to those). On occasion, I have driven from Pasadena to the British pub in Santa Monica to get certain British foods. I learned of a few specialty stores or mom-and-pop supermarkets in my general area that stocked them (mostly they were not in business very long), but they absolutely were not in the major So Cal chain supermarkets like Vons, Ralphs or Albertsons, or in chain specialty stores like Trader Joe’s.

The small* Fresh and Easy* chain are a subsidiary of the British Tescos, and do carry a few British items, including Marmite. However, they have not been around very long, are not very widespread, and are widely thought to have been a business failure that may not last much longer. Does your local market just happen to be a Fresh and Easy?

But Bovril?! Maybe the vegetarian Bovril, but it was generally impossible to get the real beef stuff even in specialty British food stores, or from online British grocers (which I also sometimes had to resort to for other items). I think, because of mad cow disease, it was (and may still be) illegal to import it into the U.S.

[pulykamell]

@njtt

Do you perhaps live right near pulykamell?

Nah, I’m in the Midwest (Chicago.) It is, in my experience, relatively recently (last 5-10 years) that the availability of these foodstuffs have become much more widespread. I lived briefly in England and Scotland, and when I returned in 1996, it took a good bit of effort to find some of those things. For example, Braston pickle–damn near impossible to find. Now, two of the three grocery stores I regularly shop at (Meijer and Treasure Island) stock it. Seems like many supermarkets now have an aisle of “foreign” stuff that goes beyond just Mexican and generic Asian, and usually there’s a couple of shelves devoted to foods from the British aisles. Branston Pickle is not one of the easier ones to find–that’s still very hit or miss. Marmite, HP Sauce, Heinz baked beans, Lyle’s Golden Syrup–those are the more usual products. I don’t believe I’ve seen Bovril here, though. I’ll check next time I’m shopping, but I’m pretty sure Marmite is all I’ve seen. I’m pretty sure it’s something I’d pick up if I’d seen it.

[An_Gadai]

British and Irish style fish and chips seem to be rare in the US, or even non-existent. Plenty of places have fish and chips and although the fish is sometimes about right, the chips are never right.

[Lukeinva]

Have only heard about them reading various things British, certainly have never seen them in this country. That is, the bacon butty.

[An_Gadai]

@lukeinva

Have only heard about them reading various things British, certainly have never seen them in this country. That is, the bacon butty.

Cook two slices of bacon, butter two slices of bread, put bacon on bread, and there you have a genuine bacon butty.

[Lukeinva]

@An_Gadai

Cook two slices of bacon, butter two slices of bread, put bacon on bread, and there you have a genuine bacon butty.

T’were it that simple there would be good Fish & Chips here, too.

[amarone]

@An_Gadai

Cook two slices of bacon, butter two slices of bread, put bacon on bread, and there you have a genuine bacon butty.

For a truly heart-arresting version, do not use butter; use the fat from cooking the bacon.

Actually, the problem in the US is getting the right bacon - it’s all streaky. Bacon butties need back bacon, which I’ve never seen here other than in a specialty British food store. I wonder what Americans do with that part of the pig.

[Bam_Boo_Gut]

@blindboyard

Angel Delight

Especially Butterscotch flavour.

[silenus]

@njtt

It’s too late now, as I have moved back to Britain, but if I was still in So Cal I would be asking for the address! What is the name of this local supermarket? Do you perhaps live right near pulykamell?

As I said, I lived in So cal for 20 years and I had to, and did, search hard to find these things (well, not the sauces, I’m not partial to those). On occasion, I have driven from Pasadena to the British pub in Santa Monica to get certain British foods. I learned of a few specialty stores or mom-and-pop supermarkets in my general area that stocked them (mostly they were not in business very long), but they absolutely were not in the major So Cal chain supermarkets like Vons, Ralphs or Albertsons, or in chain specialty stores like Trader Joe’s.

The small* Fresh and Easy* chain are a subsidiary of the British Tescos, and do carry a few British items, including Marmite. However, they have not been around very long, are not very widespread, and are widely thought to have been a business failure that may not last much longer. Does your local market just happen to be a Fresh and Easy?

But Bovril?! Maybe the vegetarian Bovril, but it was generally impossible to get the real beef stuff even in specialty British food stores, or from online British grocers (which I also sometimes had to resort to for other items). I think, because of mad cow disease, it was (and may still be) illegal to import it into the U.S.

Not near puly, and the local store is an independent (Gerrards, in Redlands.). They just happen to stock a wide variety of British items, and an excellent selection of sodas from around the country.

You may be right about the Bovril. I didn’t look at the label too closely.

[Nawth_Chucka]

@Motorgirl

Kinder Bueno (are those the ones with the hippos on the wrapper?
Aero bars
Cadbury Flake

Kinder Surprise as well, but you’d better re-wrap them in something else, they’re illegal here and will be confiscated.

[Mahaloth]

This is easy.

Get a bunch of Fry’s Turkish Delight and pass it around. Everyone will love it.

[bump]

@Hello_Again

hose items ARE all rare - you could find them, if you knew what they were and wanted them. But they are rare, meaning, the opposite of commonplace, meaning, not things that are average or popular items for consumption in the US. The majority of Americans have never heard of them, or if they’ve heard of it (like Marmite) never tried them.

Just because you live in a backwater doesn’t mean that those things are uncommon at all.

EVERY Kroger store (massive nationwide grocery chain) around here carries most if not all of those items that njtt mentioned on their international aisle, along with stuff from Latin America and Asia. If I go to the local gourmet grocers, ethnic food markets and/or import stores, I can get quite a bit more stuff from the UK and the rest of the world.

Lyle’s Golden Syrup is so common that it’s in most Kroger stores, some Wal-Marts and the Albertson’s near us. We even get 2 forms- the metal can, and the plastic squeeze bottle. Treacle is a little less common, but not impossible to find.

[Stendhal_Syndrome]

@njtt

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.)

My fiance just purchased thisfrom a convenience store in downtown Berkeley; not even a specialty shop. I can ask him to send you some if you want.

[Nawth_Chucka]

Several of the items mentioned above are found at my favorite Indian grocer as well. It’s where I go for my McVitie’s fix. (Mango creme for me, thanks.)

[elfkin477]

@Lare

A vote for Cadbury Wispas.

Me too. Hersey just came out with an aerated chocolate bar this month, but it’s not as good as Wispas (why god, did they stop selling these in the US in the 80s??) or Nestle Aero bars.

[carnut]

An international warehouser called Kehe foods outside of Chicago has made it much easier and cheaper for mainstream supermarkets to get ahold of treats from other countries. However, if you want it cheap and fresh, try to find a supermarket with the ethnic background of the food you are looking for.

I go to Indian groceries to score good prices on really good tea and spices, Chinese and Japanese markets for yummy sauces and rice noodles, Hispanic markets for panca pepper sauce and Ikea (yup!) for some gluten-free desserts and cloudberry jam. I always bring home something new to experiment with from these places. It’s fun.

Still though, there is always something a friend can bring from other countries that will be welcome in my home.

[Doctor]

Jelly Babies! Never seen them in the US (except at a Doctor Who convention).