Food not available in the UK

things I frequently ask sent over are:

Frito lay corn chips, plain and bbq flavor
Frito lay bean dip
Little Debbie Brownies and honeybuns
Hostess twinkies, cupcakes, and zingers
Corn nuts, plain, ranch, and bbq
Fluff marshmallow creme
Zero, butterfinger, and baby ruth candy bars
Teddy Grahams
Ruffles cheese and sour cream chips
Barqs Root Beer
Mountain Dew
Triscuits
Cheese wiz- (for shame!)
cheezits
wheat thins

most else, I can find or do without.

Baking soda is everywhere, called Bicarbonate of Soda
I found some odd but tasty graham crackers in Chinese grocery store.
Old El Paso Corn Tortillas can be found in supermarkets, ocado.com (which sells some Amy's soups), etc.

Mountain Dew and Fluff marshmallow creme are available from various outlets.

I really would love to see Nabisco bring their wheat thins here, or Ritze their sour cream whatever they call it.

On the other hand, I want some cinnamon chips to make cookies and can't find them, I'll have to phone King Arthur and get shipping costs.

Doug

I would ask for cosmetics though if I were you in addition to food products.  At least for me, I either haven't been able to find the stuff I used in the US, or it costs a small fortune to buy it.  Even nail polish (varnish).... I spent like 4 quid on the tiniest bottle ever the other day at Tesco...

If I were a cosmetics kind of girl, I might.  But I so rarely wear it it doesn't make it worth it.  And I refuse to ship over anything I can get in the UK, so I'm not taking along shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, etc. Which is why my mom and my aunt decided to do this kind of stocking instead.  Personally, I wish they'd give up the idea since I figure I'll either find substitutions or make do without the US products, but they refuse to not give me a stocking to open.

I've not heard about the baking soda, as you can buy Arm & Hammer over here, although it make take you a bit of searching to find it.  You may be thinking of Baking Powder which is double acting in the US, but single acting in the UK.  The single acting baking powder begins to release the gas as soon as it becomes wet while the double acting releases the gas in two parts, one with the liquid and the other with the heat.  With the single acting baking powder you cannot mix up a batter and then set it aside for any period of time, you must bake it immediately.  So if you have cookies that need refrigerating you'll see they won't turn out the same here if you use UK baking powder.   Wink

A-ha, that's probably what I was thinking of. Thanks!


OH, and I probably should have specified that I like the Peppermint Mocha coffeemate stuff. It's only sold at Christmas ,so I always stock up this time of year. Cheaper than going to Starbucks and getting a Peppermint Mocha latte!  (though I suppose I could get peppermint syrup for the same effect).

Also, I haven't seen flavoured coffee in the UK. My mom sent me a small bag of Hazelnut last year and Tim went nuts over the stuff.

littlelady - as a side note, I found corn nuts for the first time ever last month!  They are from the Indian food section and only come in a generic 'spicy' flavor, but are sooooo good.

you know i didnt go to sainsburys..........ill look them up online......will save me buying angel hair pasta here..................yea i did end up finding corn tortillas el paso brand at tescos but they didnt look like the ones i use here........so im just gonna make em myself.....thanks for the info on the press.

does anyone know of any stores that would be like our sallys beauty supply?

I'm pretty sure there are Sally's Beauty Supply stores in the UK.

ETA: http://www.sallyexpress.com/ 

oh my you make me excited.......im addicted to hair color......lol.......looking it up right now.......thanks

food items that aren't available in the UK that I might be looking for as I transition into cooking full time in the UK. 

Dunno.
Why don't you simply start as you mean to go on, and start cooking UK style, rather than 'transitioning'?

http://www.partridges.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/shop.category/categoryid/25

Various kinds of Graham crackers, wheat thins, fluff, Triscuits.

Doug

Dunno.
Why don't you simply start as you mean to go on, and start cooking UK style, rather than 'transitioning'?

Because my family refuses to listen to me. I was fine for the 6 months I was there cooking with only UK available items, but they are insisting on giving me "something".  Money to stock my pantry once I arrive is not an option, either.

Because my family refuses to listen to me. I was fine for the 6 months I was there cooking with only UK available items, but they are insisting on giving me "something".  Money to stock my pantry once I arrive is not an option, either.

well, i suppose that's nice of them, but... are they ever-so-slightly controlling?

If I were a cosmetics kind of girl, I might.  But I so rarely wear it it doesn't make it worth it.  And I refuse to ship over anything I can get in the UK, so I'm not taking along shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, etc. Which is why my mom and my aunt decided to do this kind of stocking instead.  Personally, I wish they'd give up the idea since I figure I'll either find substitutions or make do without the US products, but they refuse to not give me a stocking to open.

I wasn't referring to shampoo, conditioner, etc. because those things are pretty much the same price in the UK and most of the same brands. Plus WAY to heavy to even bother packing. I'm talking blush, concealer, mascara... those things are expensive here! I don't wear much make-up (basically those listed before) however, I will definitely be stocking up the next time I'm back in the US.

http://www.partridges.co.uk/index.php/fuseaction/shop.category/categoryid/25

Various kinds of Graham crackers, wheat thins, fluff, Triscuits.

Doug

Yes, but not at reasonable prices.

If its your family forcing you, then make a list of light weight items.  You will need all the space and weight available in your luggage and boxes and it would be silly to fill up with things just because your family wont listen to you.

What about asking them for a "rain-proof kit" instead of food products?   They can get you a nice waterproof jacket, a cute umbrella, some waterproof shoes (I quickly realized I had none of these when it started to rain every day the past week or so!) , one of those cutsie books about things to do on a rainy day, etc etc.  I know you spent 6 mos there before, so may have all this stuff, and of course it could be purchased here, but at least it would be useful and still make them feel involved.

What about asking them for a "rain-proof kit" instead of food products?   They can get you a nice waterproof jacket, a cute umbrella, some waterproof shoes (I quickly realized I had none of these when it started to rain every day the past week or so!) , one of those cutsie books about things to do on a rainy day, etc etc.  I know you spent 6 mos there before, so may have all this stuff, and of course it could be purchased here, but at least it would be useful and still make them feel involved.

Totally cute idea mirrajay!!! Which reminds me, umbrella needs to go onto my Christmas list because the one I have purchased is cr@p.