The Royal Wedding

[EnglishLady]

Nothing, but it's all rapidly downhill after that. According to the Titanic Awards, the awards given in celebration of the worst in travel, Britain snags the title of "World's Worst National Cuisine." It received 25.1 percent of the first place votes. The USA was a distant second with 10.3 percent. China (3.5%), Russia (3.2%) and Germany (2.6%) rounded out the top 5.

Most of British cuisine is like a crime scene on a plate. From the terribly unappetizing names (spotted dіck) to the horrible ingredients (cow's blood and pig trotters) everything about British food is just awful. Don't get me started on jellied eels (chopped eel boiled in a spiced stock that is allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly, yum) to haggis (OK, technically Scottish).

At the very least, these thoroughly disgusting dishes should have an appetizing name. But the British go the other way, and take ghastly dishes and give them ghastly names to match. Like the Fitless Cоck, which is oatmeal, chopped onion and suet, beaten with an egg, and shaped into the form a chicken and cooked. Scottish Woodcоck is toast served with scrambled eggs and anchovy paste. At least you can giggle a bit before you throw up after eating it, if you can get it down at all. Or a Girdle Sponge. Tasty.

The Brits have this meatball dish made from a pig’s heart, liver and belly. If that one ever showed up on a menu in the States with the original name, the GLBT crowd would have a cow.

Then the Brits also take perfectly good food and give them nasty names as well. Eton Mess sounds like an accident in the bedroom, but it's just strawberries, pieces of meringue and whipped cream. Dean's Cream is another one in the same category.

But my favorite is where they take perfectly good mashed potatoes with chives and butter, and call it Clapshot. Because it's always nice to think of gonorrhea at the dinner table. Then again, I suppose gonorrhea doesn't look all that different from Clapshot.

But hey, Clapshot makes a good compliment to a Banger.

Oh my goodness - where did you live when you were over there?

it had to be in the North of England with food like that

Hand on heart, I can honestly say ..... I have never even heard of what you mentioned above, let alone eat it (thank goodness lol )

 

[Turtle]

Oh my goodness - where did you live when you were over there?

it had to be in the North of England with food like that

Actually, I've only visited briefly, back in the early to mid 70's, but we were only in London for three days. It was part of a two week European tour of the Cincinnati Youth Symphony Orchestra. We spent time in several countries, giving concerts almost every night. One of the highlights was the day we went to Leipzig in the DDR, which has a rich musical history (Bach, Mahler, Mendelssohn, Wagner). We gave a concert along with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the oldest symphony orchestra in the world. We were the first official cultural anything that was allowed into the DDR. We didn't bring The Wall down, but I like to think we at least cracked it a little.

Hand on heart, I can honestly say ..... I have never even heard of what you mentioned above, let alone eat it (thank goodness lol )

Surely you've heard of haggis. You never heard of that gоt meatball dish? LOL

I've actually eaten everything I've mentioned, except for the jellied eels. I've seen it up close and personal, but try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to try it. It looked like cold boiled snot. While there I ate several English dishes, including Black Pudding (as disgusting as the ingredients are, it's actually very good) and of course Yorksire Pudding, but one that I've since prepared several times is the Chip Butty, which I think originated in Liverpool. If you haven't had a Chip Butty, you haven't lived. LOL

I'm actually a trained chef, trained in a French kitchen, so I know a little about food, and have always been interested in the foods of other countries, and how the foods of different regions play into the history and the lives of the people there. You mentioned norther England, where yeah, a lot of those foods can be found. I find it interesting how the food can be do different from the north to the south, since it's not even that far away. But there are different regions of Italy where things are dramatically different, we well. It's all about what was available to the locals at the time, and how it's been developed over time.

 

[EnglishLady]

Actually, I've only visited briefly, back in the early to mid 70's, but we were only in London for three days.

You were only in England for 3 DAYS !!

Surely you've heard of haggis. You never heard of that gоt meatball dish? LOL .

Oh Yes - but I asked what was in it first LOL

I've actually eaten everything I've mentioned, except for the jellied eels .

You were only in England 3 DAYS !!

jellied eels. I've seen it up close and personal, but try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to try it. It looked like cold boiled snot.

Couldn't agree more - nasty looking things ....yuk

If you haven't had a Chip Butty, you haven't lived. LOL .

Again I couldn't agree more LOL - I carry my Sarsons Vinegar with me (actually found Sarsons and other English goodies in Giant Eagle in Ohio )
Normally I would only eat my chip butty at home, have not been brave enough to eat it at a truckstop yet LOL


Sounds like you had a great time on your European Vacation

 

[Turtle]

First of all, I want to make it clear to those who may not know, that haggis and gοt are not the same dish. It may have read that way. gοt is the meatball thing. Haggis is something altogether different. Haggis is sheep and/or lamb innards stuffed into a sheep's stomach and then boiled. That'll put some hair on yer chest.

I also don't want to leave the impression that all I did for three days in England was eat. We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner, of course, but amidst sightseeing and giving two concerts. Then it was off to, if I remember correctly, Brussels, Wiesbaden for 2 days, then Leipzig, Vienna, Naples, Rome, Bern, and then finally Paris for 3 days. The we flew home. We both did buses and air travel around Europe. All of our air travel was on chartered Swiss Air. I cannot recommend them too highly. They're awesome.

But the food, well it was great all over Europe, except England, of course. LOL Some of the English, uh, delicacies, I had in London, the others I've had here. Most of the British dishes I've had here were cooked by people from England, tho. The old saying, "When it Rome, do as the Romans do," was what a lot of us did wherever we went while in Europe, and tried to stick with the local cuisine for the most part. You wouldn't want to go to Rome and then eat dinner at McDonalds. You'd want to eat what the Romans eat, which is Italian food. You know what they call Italian food in Italy? Food.

I also remember eating Cornish Pasty. I've made them a few times. There's also a place in Mesa, AZ called, oddly enough, The Cornish Pasty Company, that's a restaurant run by a Cornwall native, where you can get traditional Cornish pasties, as well as Americanized versions. I've eaten there twice. I think he's got another location in Tempe, but the Mesa location is right by the university. So if ya get out that way, look 'em up. They got this apple-caramel pasty dessert thingy that's just killer.

 

[EnglishLady]

I also remember eating Cornish Pasty. I've made them a few times. There's also a place in Mesa, AZ called, oddly enough, The Cornish Pasty Company, that's a restaurant run by a Cornwall native, where you can get traditional Cornish pasties, as well as Americanized versions. I've eaten there twice. I think he's got another location in Tempe, but the Mesa location is right by the university. So if ya get out that way, look 'em up. They got this apple-caramel pasty dessert thingy that's just killer.

Now that is about the only thing the Cornish do well

Did you try Clotted Cream while you were there? The Cornish do not make that aswell as the Devonshire do LOL

For those that may not know .... The Counties of Devon and Cornwall have a LONG history of outdoing each other LOL

 

[cheri1122]

Pasties are something I'd like to try - if I understand, they're much like pierogi & empanadas, right? [A pocket of dough, with meat or veg or fruit filling.]
Yorkshire pudding sounds good, too - but you can keep the haggis - yukkk!

 

[EnglishLady]

Pasties are something I'd like to try - if I understand, they're much like pierogi & empanadas, right? [A pocket of dough, with meat or veg or fruit filling.]
Yorkshire pudding sounds good, too - but you can keep the haggis - yukkk!

Pasties are shortcrust pastry, with a filling of meat, potato & carrot diced, with just a little veg gravy ....... yummy

Yorkshire puds are batter, like pancakes but a bit thinner. The yorkshires with the Roast Beef are little cake size, but you can make extra big ones and fill them with whatever you want - sausage, onion and gravy is goooood

 

[cheri1122]

Oooh, lovely! [Can you tell I'm hungry? lol Tried to do Golden Corral for dinner, to pig out on stuff I like, but it wasn't there anymore. Checked the buffet at Petro, it looked awful - course, I don't much like turkey, but it all looked pretty sad. Had meatloaf instead.]
I like English cooking, and think artsy 'gourmet' food often looks like a crime scene, like when they drizzle & splatter sauce on it - ewww.
Let me know if there's someplace to get Yorkshire pudding - I'm willing to travel!

 

[EnglishLady]

Oooh, lovely! [Can you tell I'm hungry? lol Tried to do Golden Corral for dinner, to pig out on stuff I like, but it wasn't there anymore. Checked the buffet at Petro, it looked awful - course, I don't much like turkey, but it all looked pretty sad. Had meatloaf instead.]
I like English cooking, and think artsy 'gourmet' food often looks like a crime scene, like when they drizzle & splatter sauce on it - ewww.
Let me know if there's someplace to get Yorkshire pudding - I'm willing to travel!

The Petro here at Youngstown OH did a spectacular job with the buffet ....

turkey (on the bone or sliced), ham, pork, mashed pots, sweet pots, greenbeans, corn, stuffing, cranberries, cherry or apple or pumpkin pie .. the whole caboodle
We were stuffed

As for yorkshire pud - anytime you are in NC give us a shout and I will make you some

 

[Turtle]

Yeah, Cheri, except the pasties aren't little like perogis are. At least the ones I've seen. Each one is a meal in itself. They're like a cross between a calzone and a large Hot Pocket. Except calzones are made with essentially pizza dough, and pasties are made with essentially a pie crust. First time I saw one I thought of a calzone.

I did have the clotted cream. We had Devon Cream and scones with this strawberry jam that had large chunks of strawberries in it. That's good eats right there. I'm surprised clotted cream hasn't caught on over here. It's really good stuff. I've ordered a few jars from some place online. Comes in 6 ounce jars. The only problem with it is once opened, you've got to eat it all within 2 or 3 days. OK, it's not a REAL problem, as going through an entire jar in an afternoon is pretty easy.

Sheesh. Now I want some.

 

[EnglishLady]

I did have the clotted cream. We had Devon Cream and scones with this strawberry jam that had large chunks of strawberries in it. That's good eats right there. I'm surprised clotted cream hasn't caught on over here. It's really good stuff. I've ordered a few jars from some place online. Comes in 6 ounce jars. The only problem with it is once opened, you've got to eat it all within 2 or 3 days. OK, it's not a REAL problem, as going through an entire jar in an afternoon is pretty easy.

Sheesh. Now I want some.

LOL - you must let me know where you are ordering it from

 

[Turtle]

I order it from igourmet.com

But I also just found Devon and Clotted cream on Amazon and at the English Tea Store.

I order lots of stuff from iGourmet. They're probably the biggest importer we've got, so even if they don't have something they can get it.

I don't carry it in the truck, so I don't order it like I used to, but I'm a big fan of some of the higher dollar 25 and 30 year balsamic vinegars (more like a sweet, thick syrup), especially the ones from Reggio Emilia, like the Extra Vecchio and the Tradizionale. I got a 50-year, gold seal, 100ml bottle as a gift once. It costs like $800 a bottle. Other stuff, too, like truffle oil and different kinds of mushrooms. I also order Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from there (but you can also get real Parmigiano Reggiano at any Whole Foods Market).

For those who don't know, Parmigiano Reggiano isn't exactly your everyday Kraft grated Parmesan cheese. The Vacche Rosse is made of the milk from Reggiana cow, a cow with a distinctive deep red coat, and only in one region of Italy (the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Modena). It's awesome grated, but chunked and drizzled with a little balsamico, OMG.

Sorry, we were talking about Devon Creme, I think. Got distracted. But I've ordered Devon Creme several times from there, usually 3 or 6 jars at a time. It's good stuff, I highly recommend it. Slather that over a toasted bagel and some smoked salmon, whoo wee. It's even make an English muffin palatable.

Do they even have English muffins in England?

 

[EnglishLady]

I order it from igourmet.com

But I also just found Devon and Clotted cream on Amazon and at the English Tea Store.

I order lots of stuff from iGourmet. They're probably the biggest importer we've got, so even if they don't have something they can get it.

I don't carry it in the truck, so I don't order it like I used to, but I'm a big fan of some of the higher dollar 25 and 30 year balsamic vinegars (more like a sweet, thick syrup), especially the ones from Reggio Emilia, like the Extra Vecchio and the Tradizionale. I got a 50-year, gold seal, 100ml bottle as a gift once. It costs like $800 a bottle. Other stuff, too, like truffle oil and different kinds of mushrooms. I also order Parmigiano Reggiano cheese from there (but you can also get real Parmigiano Reggiano at any Whole Foods Market).

For those who don't know, Parmigiano Reggiano isn't exactly your everyday Kraft grated Parmesan cheese. The Extra Vecchio is made of the milk from Reggiana cow, a cow with a distinctive deep red coat, and only in one region of Italy (the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia, and Modena). It's awesome grated, but chunked and drizzled with a little balsamico, OMG.

Sorry, we were talking about Devon Creme, I think. Got distracted. But I've ordered Devon Creme several times from there, usually 3 or 6 jars at a time. It's good stuff, I highly recommend it. Slather that over a toasted bagel and some smoked salmon, whoo wee. It's even make an English muffin palatable.

Do they even have English muffins in England?

Oh my, what a site .... so much to choose from LOL

I looked at another online site a while back "the british food shop" the site offered everything I could have shopped for back in an English Supermarket but it was so expensive once you added shipping that it was not cost effective.
So igourmet looks VERY interesting LOL.

Yes we do have toasted muffins but not common. More common are toasted teacakes (same size & shape as a toasted muffin but currant bread), but it is the crumpet that rules
It is hard to describe - it is a bread product, again the size of a toasted muffin. Crumpets have little holes in the top side where all the butter seeps into - can be messy but well worth it with syrup too

Be careful how you use the term "Crumpet" btw - cos it is also a derogatory name for a pretty girl ... example "nice crumpet" (I was being polite with that example LOL)

I definitely can't get used to USA dumplings
Our dumplings are large, round and fluffy - super in a stew

Thank you for the info on igourmet.

 

[cheri1122]

Sue, you can get crumpets at Giant Eagle, lol, I've loved them for many years. And when I make dumplings, they're large, and fluffy as a cloud, cos that's how I like them. {My ex 's were dense, & sunk like a stone, and he was so arrogant that I wouldn't tell him what he was doing wrong, teehee}
Dumplings and piecrust are 2 things I can do very well - but I can't make decent cookies [biscuits?] to save my life - weird.
O - what in blue blazes is a 'digestive biscuit'?!

 

[EnglishLady]

Sue, you can get crumpets at Giant Eagle, lol, I've loved them for many years. And when I make dumplings, they're large, and fluffy as a cloud, cos that's how I like them. {My ex 's were dense, & sunk like a stone, and he was so arrogant that I wouldn't tell him what he was doing wrong, teehee}
Dumplings and piecrust are 2 things I can do very well - but I can't make decent cookies [biscuits?] to save my life - weird.
O - what in blue blazes is a 'digestive biscuit'?!

LOL as soon as I read your post I did a search for the nearest Giant Eagle - its only 4 miles from here so guess where we are going tomorrow

A digestive biscuit is similar to your oatmeal cookie, but finer chopped oats, the chocolate covered (one side) are delicious

Thanks Cheri - Tony said Thanks aswell but not quite in the tone I said it ...... hold on maybe that was his wallet groaning in preparation for tomorrow LOL

 

[cheri1122]

Look for the crumpets in front of the deli case, like where the Hawaiian rolls are. [it took 4 tries to spell that, lol]
And tell your better half they're not expensive, especially compared to a plane ticket, say....

 

[EnglishLady]

Look for the crumpets in front of the deli case, like where the Hawaiian rolls are. [it took 4 tries to spell that, lol]
And tell your better half they're not expensive, especially compared to a plane ticket, say....

ROFL

He's not worried if that was all I would be buying while we are in there LOL

 

[EnglishLady]

Look for the crumpets in front of the deli case, like where the Hawaiian rolls are. [it took 4 tries to spell that, lol]
And tell your better half they're not expensive, especially compared to a plane ticket, say....

Well disappointment

we went to 2 Giant Eagles, one had no British food at all and the other had very little. Had to settle for English muffins afterall
Also picked up Farmhouse Cheddar, HP Sauce, and REAL baked beans and of course my Earl Grey Tea

 

[cheri1122]

I'm sorry - don't know what constitutes 'British' food, just know I found crumpets at the Giant Eagle on Snow Road in Brook Park [suburb of Cleveland] Ohio, for most of the 20 yrs I lived there.
I'll keep my peepers peeled at other stores, now.

 

[Turtle]

I know for sure you can get them at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Whole Foods has organic crumpets. For that matter, now that I think of it, I've seen clotted cream at Whole Foods, too. You can also almost certainly find them, and lots of British foods, at Cost Plus World Market. It's been a while since I've been in one of those, and they're mostly in California, but I've seen them in a few places in the Midwest, Florida for sure. They used to be in Memphis, but they closed the stores down there. Same with Cincinnati, where they closed them a couple of years ago.

I like Whole Foods a lot (complete store list). I have a Whole Foods POI on the Garmin. I seek them out often. They're right up my alley where they, like me, believe that you shouldn’t have to read the labels to find out if you’re buying real actual food or an artificial invented imitation. You won’t find artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, preservatives or any of that crap there. Food generally tastes better when it's real food, as far as I'm concerned. They're not a bad place to go for lunch or dinner, either, since they have lots of freshly prepared foods and a restaurant.