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

[abra1d]

Those aren't posh British foods, they're just processed gunk. (I like Marmite but I'd never pretend it was anything else than nice processed gunk.)

Posh(er) British food would be:

Carr's Water biscuits
Oat cakes
Dundee fruit cake
Shortbread
Marmelade
Stilton cheese
Elderflower cordial

[ZippysMum]

at "Vegemite is much the same thing as Marmite".

Wash your mouth out!

[nooka]

I do miss Elderflower cordial. You can't even make it here - I don't think Elders grown in North America. I've had to learn how to make cordials (not at all difficult though).

And real bacon... I think you can find it in Irish areas, but I've only ever seen streaky, which is basically just salty fat.

[nooka]

Oh and apologies! I really thought they were pretty much the same thing. In my defense I don't really like either (I'm a Bovril girl myself) and my Australia BIL has never spoken about the difference.

[GoldenSnitch]

tethersend - of course I'm not kidding! As Nooka said, American streaky bacon is 90% fat so you'd have no meat for your sandwich - just fat and sauce - yuk!

[ZippysMum]

Aaah Nooka, you are forgiven.

Vegemite is much more 'yeasty' than Marmite, and Vegemite has a strange aftertaste of something like gravy. And it has with a slightly coarser texture (Marmite is very, very smooth.) And it needs to be applied a little more thickly than Marmite.

Do I spend too much time with condiments?

[ByTheSea]

I'm an American who's lived in the UK for over 12 years now. Of all those things, the only edible one IMO is the galaxy bar. Bounty is just like a Mounds bar. Bisto granules are okay if you can't be asked to make homemade gravy. I find anything blackcurrant to be an acquired taste and it took me ages to get used to it and not expect purple candy to taste like grapes.

[makedoandmend]

Actually hatwoman has a good point - ask the store to open a jar of marmite and lots of toast and sample it - they'll probably sell loads. In the UK the adverts for it play on the fact that you either absolutely hate it or really love it.

I'd go for Galaxy (although agree you'll never look back so could be dangerous) and some blackcurrent jam on white bread - thick, hand cut, crusty white bread.

Oh and marmite on thin, precut, toasted white bread (thickness of bread is vital )

Actually if you have a breakfast fry up HP sauce is a must.

[BananaPudding]

Okay have just had a galaxy (go for the chocolate first). Why was the chocolate an almost chewy texture? It seemed I had to chew it into submission before it would get melty. Was it gone off?

[tethersend]

mmmm.... (crispy) fat and sauce....

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one, goldensnitch

[makedoandmend]

As i remember it American chocolate is quite brittle - less milk I think so maybe Galaxy tastes chewier to you. Doubt it's off.

did you like it though?

[mellifluouscauliflower]

I think all dairy products in the UK are richer than US (including the milk chocolate). I think it's something to do with the large quantity of rain creating all that lush green grass which then makes the milk taste different.

To be honest, Galaxy is a bit more of an errm..comfort.. product than a gourmet thing.

You could try Green & Black's or Charbonnel & Walker which are both more upmarket UK chocolate brands.

[Katisha]

Oh no she's going to hate the custard - I know it...

[CarmenSanDiego]

Yeah, the 7 pound Marmite is common here. I tend to order from britishcornershop.com which I find much cheaper than the imported stuff in supermarkets.

OP, I buy in loads of bisto and make stews in my crockpot. Brown onions and some steak tips or chicken , add veggies and then you just mix up some bisto with cold water in a cup and add that. I tend to put a big spoonful of marmite in too. Very tasty!

I struggle because casseroles etc. all seem to be based on mushroom soup which I'm allergic to

[mathanxiety]

Blackcurrant jam!!!!!! Oh what a lucky MNer you are!!!! There used to be no blackcurrant jam or blackcurrant drink in the US..Everything purple is grape flavoured. So disappointing. I was overjoyed when I found out that Polish and East European groceries usually stock blackcurrant this and that
Marmite on thick toasted bread with butter, yum. It's the breakfast of champions

[mathanxiety]

What is Velveeta? Actually that's a very good question. Nobody knows.

[mathanxiety]

Hester, when you get back from the US you will smack anyone who dares criticises British food. The only good thing I ever ate was a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich (and that only with Irish bacon). I acquired a taste for all foods (and drinks Polish, Russian and East European in Chicago...

[MuppetsMuggle]

Cheddar with Branston is a must.
Followed by a galaxy bar.

Would not pay £7 for a jar of marmite. You can get a large jar over here for £2.67

[MuppetsMuggle]

Cheddar with Branston is a must.
Followed by a galaxy bar.

Would not pay £7 for a jar of marmite. You can get a large jar over here for £2.67

[hatwoman]

dh didn't believe me about the blackcurrant jam. do they not grow blackcurrants in the states?

[MmeLindt]

Get the PG Tipps, much better than Twinnings.

Perhaps you could give the owner of the grocery store a list, for the next order he puts in to the importer.

I would ask him to get:

Proper Cheddar (if he does not sell that already)

Weetabix

Salt and Vinegar/Cheese and Onion crisps

Digestive biscuits

HobNob biscuits

Cadbury's Hot Chocolate

Cadbury's Curly Wurly bar

No idea if these products are available in US, but they are the ones that I buy if I find them in the supermarkets in France/Switzerland.

[ib]

I think it's only fair to warn you that all of the above foods (except the blackcurrant jam) are very much acquired tastes, and if you haven't been eating them since you were a child, you may well find them .... well.... pretty grim.

[Katisha]

How anyone not love custard?

[ben5]

birds custard yummy on spotty dick!! or jam roly poly!!

[GrimmaTheNome]

No blackcurrants - then add Ribena to the list! And as I mentioned before, Cadbury's Flakes. Apart from sticking them into icecream to make 99s, you need them to decorate the trifles you'll want to make with some of that custard.

Sigh. Its actually ages since I had any custard, though I have had a few 99s this summer.