British food....

[Topaz_M]

Real pork sausages, pork pie, scotch egg, jacket potato, roast beef and yorkshire pudding & gravy (just like my Mum makes) and typical pub meal - ploughman's lunch.

 

Yum, can't wait to taste all these again on my December trip to the UK and Europe!!

 

Cheers,

Moira :)

[h3rjp]

Real pork sausages, pork pie, scotch egg, jacket potato, roast beef and yorkshire pudding & gravy (just like my Mum makes) and typical pub meal - ploughman's lunch.

 

All on one plate? that's quite a taste journey ;)

[John Bull]

Lots of true British grub mentioned on this thread, I've put on a couple of pounds just reading!

 

But there's a big downer - at Heathrow hotels & outlets, and in the tourist hot-spots of central London, you'll find very few of these options (other than a British breakfast) as the establishments are mainly world-wide cloned chains or ethnic. You may get the impression that British food is burgers, pizzas, curries & kebabs!!!!

You'll need to go off the tourist trail, though only mebbe a few hundred yards, to get a more "British" choice. In London, cab-drivers know the best places, elsewhere its a lot easier to find British food.

 

Bon appetit, as we say in Britain (LOL)

 

John Bull

[Northender]

Thanks so very much to all of you. I can't wait to see your wonderful City again and have some good food.

 

One more ? - what is clotted cream:D

 

Growing up in Nova Scotia, when your ordered your "chips" they would pour gravy over them. We loved it, but you would see tourists looking like this :confused: Now they serve it on the side and have ketchup on the table:cool:

[AmoMondo]

Eton mess definitely gets my vote too. Also have to try our chocolsat, I may be biased but I think it is far superior to the US varieties. My brother's first wife was from Arizona and totally agreed with me. Every time I went for a visit she had make take out huge giant bars for her.

 

I also like sherry trifle. For main meals instead of just going for the traditional favourites look out for dishes showcasing some of the better ingredients from around the British isles, such as Scottish Salmon, or Aberdeen Angus beef; fromWales - Welsh lamb has a great reputation. Some of the English cheeses are fantastic like Wensleydale and there are plenty of other great local specialities to try.

[Longtonian]

Thanks so very much to all of you. I can't wait to see your wonderful City again and have some good food.

 

One more ? - what is clotted cream:D

 

Growing up in Nova Scotia, when your ordered your "chips" they would pour gravy over them. We loved it, but you would see tourists looking like this :confused: Now they serve it on the side and have ketchup on the table:cool:

 

Clotted cream is a thick yellow cream made by heating cow's milk and then leaving it in shallow pans for several hours. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms 'clots'. Sounds nice, eh? It's a pretty rich cream, very high fat I think, traditionally served with scones and jam and associated with counties such as Devon and Cornwall in the SW of England.

 

You can have chips any way you like in the UK. Chips with gravy are commonly served in fish and chip shops as are chips with curry sauce. Traditionally these are eaten on the street after a heavy night in the pub and once you have had your fill, the container and any remaining chips dropped onto the pavement (sidewalk) - this is an ancient British tradition.

 

Seriously though, the most common way of eating chips from a chip shop is simply with salt and vinegar. We used to eat them from newpapers, so your chips may have sometimes been stained with inky headlines such as "Hitler invades Poland" or "Accident victim at death's door, but doctors pull him through" (on a particularly long chip). Sadly, this tradition was halted a few years back due to H&S reasons.

[Longtonian]

Just a thought on my post above - is the North American definition of gravy the same as the UK's? I once saw something on a cruise ship called "biscuits and gravy" which to us looked like scones with custard (I assume it was savoury though)!

Gravy for us is the dark brown stuff served with meat.

[Nancipants]

There's different styles of gravy - brown gravy, chicken gravy, and country style, which is what is used in biscuits and gravy. B&G is a southern dish.

[English_in_Spain]

Don't forget, what you call 'chips' we call 'crisps' and our 'chips' are equivalent to your 'fries' (more or less).

 

Also good to eat is Meat Pie, especially if you can find one that is 'homemade'. eg Steak & Kidney or Steak & Guinness.

Also, Lancashire Hotpot - a kind of meat stew with sliced potatoes on top.

 

All of these are best found in a pub. Pub food is about the most economical way to eat in UK, especially, as someone else said, if you get away from the tourist areas.

 

If you can get out of London and other cities into the country then try a real old fashioned country pub - nothing in the world like it. I now live in Spain and really miss my local pub in England.

[Globaliser]

I have to say that I'm impressed: 34 posts, and nobody has yet suggested that "British food" is an oxymoron ... ;)

[Longtonian]

I have to say that I'm impressed: 34 posts, and nobody has yet suggested that "British food" is an oxymoron ... ;)

 

Yes, it's impressive; but do you like your oxymorons fried or boiled?

[pj-atsea]

Nobody has mentioned bubble and squeak... or fried bread. pj:)

[newport dave]

Nobody has mentioned bubble and squeak... or fried bread. pj:)

 

or gypsy toast / eggy bread......

[Rickey 88]

I may have missed it, but how about "Mushy Peas"?

[Deep68]

I am a Brit who now lives in the US and one thing I miss is sausage rolls and British cakes. Sausage rolls are flaky pastry filled with sausage meat.

 

A great idea for a cheap lunch is go into a local bakery and order a meat pie, cornish pasty (pastry filled with meat, potato & vegetable), sausage roll or filled Bap (roll).

Then have a desert of a custard slice, scone, jam tart or other yummy cake. :D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Come to Canada then. We certainly have sausage rolls, and from time to time you can find mushy peas in the right kind of pub.

[Deep68]

Come to Canada then. We certainly have sausage rolls, and from time to time you can find mushy peas in the right kind of pub.

 

We will actually be in Victoria at the end of an Alaska cruise in August. We are looking forward to afternoon tea and dinner in a pub.

[sheeper370]

If you're in the Midlands try a Staffordshire oatcake -

 

delicious when filled with cheese, bacon, sausage and mushrooms!!

 

Yum

 

http://www.staffordshireoatcakes.com/

[Hambagahle]

I don't think anyone mentioned sausage rolls and pork pies...my favourites! Hot sausage roll with a cold beer for lunch is heaven. Pork pie with Branston pickle and salad very close second!!:)

[Tesla]

I hate to say it but this was the one country we're as much as I tried I could not enjoy their standard fare :rolleyes:. But this all depends on one's tastes because they do have excellent Indian and Caribbean food places in and around London.

[coxswain]

A Soda Farl or potato bread mmmmmm

 

 

 

 

jj....

[sheeper370]

I hate to say it but this was the one country we're as much as I tried I could not enjoy their standard fare :rolleyes:. But this all depends on one's tastes because they do have excellent Indian and Caribbean food places in and around London.

 

You won't get much "standard Fare" in London - it's all cooked up for tourists.

[Towncar T]

If you're in the Midlands try a Staffordshire oatcake -

 

delicious when filled with cheese, bacon, sausage and mushrooms!!

 

Yum

 

http://www.staffordshireoatcakes.com/

 

I've never tried a Staffordshire oatcake, but they look delicious!

 

A personal favourite of mine is a Melton Mowbray pork pie, with some HP fruity sauce!:)

[Globaliser]

I hate to say it but this was the one country we're as much as I tried I could not enjoy their standard fare

I hope you weren't eating "standard fare" in pubs?

 

I cannot begin to understand the mania for eating in pubs. Most pub food today is dreadful mass factory-produced rubbish that is simply re-heated in the pub and smacked onto a plate. If you're really lucky, the oik in the pub kitchen might even have followed the factory's instructions as to how the food should be re-heated.

[newport dave]

I hope you weren't eating "standard fare" in pubs?

 

I cannot begin to understand the mania for eating in pubs. Most pub food today is dreadful mass factory-produced rubbish that is simply re-heated in the pub and smacked onto a plate. If you're really lucky, the oik in the pub kitchen might even have followed the factory's instructions as to how the food should be re-heated.

 

You obviously go to the wrong pubs..........anyway you can't beat a good Eccles cake.