Which of these British foods should this American try first?

[BananaPudding]

My little Texan village grocery has expanded and is trying to be very posh all of a sudden (which is a change from the standard Velveeta and Hamburger Helper choices) and has put in a British section of food! Imagine my shock to find some of the things you talk about in my own store here. It's quite pricy as it's all imported, so I want to try just one or two things at a time. Here's what they have to offer:

HP Brown Sauce and Fruity Sauce
Branston Pickle
Marmite
Heinz Baked Beans (apparently different than ours?)
Blackcurrant jam
Galaxy bars
Bounty bars
Bird's Custard
Bisto granules
Robinsons barley water

Think there are more but can't remember. Of these, what should I try?

Oh, almost forgot the Heinz Spotted Dick. It's creating hilarity/shock throught the town

BP, that chesse looks fine for the branston pickle.

Can you buy nice ham in America? Or is that tinned as well?

Eeeewwwwwwwww, tinned ham! No, we have some very nice ham. We've got quite a nice selection of fresh cut deli meats.

Tinned ham. Blech.

Let us know how you get on with the Marmite BP.

I'll make sure I have some later

Even cheap wine isn't as cheap as squash - one 2l bottle for about £1 can last the best part of a month!

Happy Marmite Day BP!

Let us know how you get on BP. Remember to spread plenty of butter on your bread before the Marmite, or better still blend the butter and Marmite before spreading. And only use a teensy bit.

mmmm... marmite and Philadelphia sarny....

Have you had your marmite yet? Come on, we need your honest opinion!

I am sorry to report that to me, marmite is nasty. Dh loved it though! Going to try it on dd after school.

I am going to try cooking with it, I think it might give a lovely flavor to some things. Same as a stock cube...but I would never eat one of those plain!

Marmite, cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches. MMMMMMMMMMM!

Found US ham disappointing. The only kind that wasn't boiled and extruded and formed into a ham log for slicing that I could find was 'Bavarian style', Kretschmar brand.

, learned from experience to avoid Cadburys made in PA.

Was it that bad?
Bananapudding, how could you?! You can't have eaten it right. Marmite is a food of the Gods.

Can't believe you don't like it.

Add it to soups, makes it lovely.

Lyra, I did it exactly as instructed! Toasted bread, butter, very thin scraping of marmite.

Marmite tastes like being kicked in the mouth by someone wearing a shoe made of salty multivitamins. Somehow, I don't think it will be my new favorite thing!

I do have high hopes for the Branston though. I love pickle-y things.

Almost forgot: I always buy nice ham Never that strange square boiled stuff. I'm leery of any food with a perfect geometric shape.

Sounds like you put too much on. Really, you need just the tiniest amount on the tip of your knife.

And it's better on non-toasted bread, in a sandwich. Go on, try it again, just for me

At least now you will understand the phrase "it's like marmite" when used to describe something people either completely love or absolutely hate.

There is no middle ground with Marmite

So what's next on your tasting list?

I'm a Texan, but "exiled" in the UK! LOL .... can't even bear the smell of Marmite! No one could make me eat it!

What I need here is a bit more extenisve American aisle! I really miss grape jelly (as in jam, not UK jelly), but never seen any here in the 6 years I've been in the UK.

This page is tempting www.americansoda.co.uk/uk/American-Soda/Home/default.aspx but prices are high as the sky!

As for hams & cheeses in USA, I think we had a much better selection in the deli of local supermarkets over there. Colby Jack cheese is fab, as is munster - just a lot of boring or strong cheeses over here! ... having said that, I do survive quite happily on UK food ... but if I think about it long enough, there are plenty of things I miss from the other side of the pond!

Rachel, want to trade packages? I'll send you a couple bottles of Welch's Concord Grape (but you are Texan, do you prefer Bama?) and you can send me some real Cadbury bars

Next up is Branston pickle. I think I'm going to like it

I just realized that the UK probably doesn't do breakfast tacos. Poor Rachel

In our household we:

Marmite has to be "dabbed on" the buttered toast must not be spread!

Also Beans on Toast with grated cheddar cheese

and finally a huge must HP sauce on a good old bacon buttie - translates posh version bacon sandwiche of course on white bread or toast

Have a look here Rachel. The prices might be better than American Soda.

What's in a breakfast taco?