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

Def PG Tips Teabags.

can't stand custard, although DD & DP eat it cold - bleurgh.

noooo. not PG tips tea bags. If you want a good cup of tea you need good quality loose-leaf Assam, a tea pot, and a lesson in tea-making.

Hatwomen - sounds like to much work LOL!

PG tips each time in this household

Hatwoman is right. It takes no more time to warm the pot, bung in some loose tea and put boiling water on than it does to fart about trying to squash teabags and get them out of the mug without dripping tea all over the kitchen!
You can also have several cups of tea out of the same teapot then without having to either squash used teabags further or get new ones!

You prob are right.

I have a teapot too, just never used it!

I would try blackcurrant jam, beans and pickle.

I'm a Canadian in London. Most of that 'food' is gross. I'm with the Brits on the bacon - everyone here eats back bacon (or Canadian bacon. Or peameal?), not the normal American stuff.

Branston pickle and marmite are both really really gross.

Brown sauce is gross and troubling: since when was 'brown' a flavour?

I prefer Twinings breakfast tea to PG tips but like loose tea better than both.

Do you have vimto in the states?

Nonono, real tea is the stuff that the foreigners think that the Brits drink.

My guests in Germany were always really disappointed to see me bung a couple tea bags in the pot (no pot warming nonsence here) until they tasted the tea. They thought that having a Brit prepare tea meant a complicated ceremony, not PG Tipps.

How the hell can Galazy, Bounty and Robinson's Barley water be an acquired taste? Caviar is an acquired taste. Olives are an acquired taste.

I used to be cynical about pot warming, but have found that it does improve the taste of the tea.

How is putting loose tea in a teapot which you have just swilled out with a bit of the boiling water a complicated ceremony?

Hate hate hate being given a cup with a tea bag floating about in it.

Harrumph.

I don't know what barley water is. Yeah, Galaxy is fine, ditto Bounty (if you like coconut) but they're hardly great chocolate are they?

Blackcurrant is the King of Jams! On crusty white bread with butter. Yum. Do you not have blackcurrants in the US? Gosh, who knew?

Marmite at £7 a pop would be an expensive mistake if you hate it, but the start of a beautiful friendship if you like it.

And if you can get hold of proper bacon (even streaky, I would say) a sandwich with HP sauce, bacon and a sliced tomato is Sunday breakfast heaven, as long as you have a good strong mug of tea (do not use a cup and saucer)and a Sunday paper to go with it.

Likewise, beans on toast (buttered toast) is teatime food par excellence. Preferably served on a plate on your knee in front of some Saturday evening telly.

A home made spotted dick would be far preferable to a tinned one, though the custard has a multitude of uses (apple crumble, apple pie, syrup sponge...)

get beans and the gravy,then you can make cottage pie and have it with beans and broccoli and pour gravy all over... yummy!galaxy for afters!

notquiteacockney sory to hijack this thread but am in need of some advice re moving to canada/quebec...would appreciate some inside info?!!would you mind emailing [email protected] be very grateful!

Sure, will email you, I'm good on Quebec.

What a great thread.

OP - if Texans are currently laughing at the concept of Spotted Dick, ask the shop to start stocking Brain's Faggots, that'll get them talking!

Oh love Branstons pickle. Agree a sandwich with this with strong cheddar and crusty bread is heaven.

Surprised there is no squash in America.

My brother lives in California, and the only thing he misses is slices of beetroot in vinegar. He takes several big jars of it bakc when he comes to visit.

I sent his girlfriend's kids a box of UK sweets some time ago - rhubarb & custard, cola cubes, fizzy cola bottles, chocolate brazils, kinder chocs, lemon bon bons, sherbet pips and the like. They were both bemused and entranced!

faggots

forgot op..you have to get the hp sauce to put in the mince and gravy when you make your cottage pie!

ooh,good notquite cheers,look forward to it1dh desperate to move,i'm gonna need some convincing!

Why not invite some people over for afternoon tea? From your shop you will need the Marmite, PG Tips and blackcurrant jam.

Mix the Marmite together with room temp butter (unsalted) until you get an evenly-coloured spreadable brown gloop. Spread onto white sliced bread cut into triangles with the crusts off. (If you tried spreading Marmite straight onto untoasted bread without doing this you'd tear the bread, which is why it's most commonly eaten on toast.) Eat the Marmite sandwiches with some cucumber sandwiches (white bread, salted butter, peeled and cored cucumber sliced as thinly as possible) cut into triangles in the same way. Drink with PG Tips. Follow with scones and blackcurrant jam.

Branston pickle certainly requires proper cheddar. Marmite also works well with grilled cheddar cheese.

Are they milk chocolate (blue packaging) or plain chocolate (red packaging) Bounties? Red much nicer inho.

It's not the making of loose-leaf tea that's a hassle, it's the cleaning of the teapot afterwards.

You clean your teapot??

I just chuck the old tea down the sink, swill it out and that's that.

Marmite is vile!!!!

Go for the Bounty

banannapudding, american baked beans are usually flavoured with a chunk of bacon fat (blech) and have brown sugar and other weird flavours. british baked beans are simply tomato sauce and beans. great over toast with grated cheddar. when I go back to visit my family, I can't eat baked beans anymore.

also, custard is lovely. it's most similar to pudding packets i remember when i was little.

being in the UK for 12 years, I miss Root beer, proper ranch dressing (my mom sends loads of Hidden Valley mixes), proper tex mex food.

Momino, I bought Root Beer from Asda only last week. You can get it here, but it's not that common.