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.