British Cooking

I love that more lamb is eaten here. I prefer a roasted lamb joint to pork or beef but you don't really see it served that much in the US.

I think British food is delicious if it's prepared properly. I agree with historyrenne that often it's just way over cooked. And I don't like all the gravy and cream. I LIKE gravy (don't like cream), I just don't feel my food needs to be swimming in it. My favorite British foods are toad in the hole, proper fish and chips, all of the delicious curries, scones, and brussel sprouts. Yes, I know they have sprouts in America, but I never ate them until I lived in England and now they're one of my favorite vegetables!

Oh yes lamb!  I'd never eaten lamb before until I moved here. 

Hated brussel sprouts in the US, but learned to love them here.

I can't believe  nobody has mentioned curry yet.

ETA: Oops, I missed it in Bmore's post.

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I had my first proper Cornish Pasty in Dartmouth a few months ago.  Apple and pork sausage.  I loved it.  Sooo good. And I was full for about 24 hours!

I also like all the sprouts and parsnips and some of the other sides...

I had my first proper Cornish Pasty in Dartmouth a few months ago.  Apple and pork sausage.  I loved it.  Sooo good. And I was full for about 24 hours!

I also like all the sprouts and parsnips and some of the other sides...

The thing is, over here Cornish pasties are sold as fast food and after a while they get boring.

Same with fish and chips.

I had my first proper Cornish Pasty in Dartmouth a few months ago.  Apple and pork sausage.  I loved it.  Sooo good. And I was full for about 24 hours!

My turn to be pedantic! A proper Cornish pasty is definitely not apple and pork sausage!  

The thing is, over here Cornish pasties are sold as fast food and after a while they get boring.

Same with fish and chips.

But that doesn't make them good. The 'fast food' versions of those bear very little resemblance to the real deal!

No-one has mentioned bread and butter pudding. I don't really like the traditional British desserts like crumble and I hate steamed pudding but bread and butter pudding in winter is delish!

My turn to be pedantic! A proper Cornish pasty is definitely not apple and pork sausage!  

But that doesn't make them good. The 'fast food' versions of those bear very little resemblance to the real deal!

Oops! I just looked them up on Wikipedia to check my spelling and.. oops!  These were hand-made and amazing, and now that I think about it, it might have been a signage issue (they had a big font "Cornish Pasty" and then *more* fillings underneath, so maybe the sign was just emphasizing the Cornish ones?). They definitely weren't Greggs/fast food though.

I had the BEST Cumberland sausages in Ambleside (yeah, Cumbria, go figure!) They must've come from the local butcher, because they were infinitely better than the ones you get in the supermarket.

I guess I was lucky in that I'd had all of the foods mentioned so far in the US - with the exception of pease pudding which I've never had but which sounds lovely!

It's really nice. You can get it in the supermarkets here (as Balmerhon mentioned) as it's very popular up north (our local Co-Op has it) but you can't beat my FIL's homemade recipe that's been passed down. I need to learn from him! Sometimes he makes it with little bits of ham in it, which is nice, too. He says it's dead easy. I guess it just tastes better homemade. You let it set in the fridge until it becomes sort of a cold paste. He says you can heat it up and eat it like soup, but I've only ever had it cold on ham sandwiches and it's lovely. Only problem is that everytime he makes it, he brings us far more than we could ever eat!

The cheese... oh, the cheese! How did I live before Wensleydale! And I have a weird obsession with Dairylea slices. I know it's processed cheese, but I never dreamed processed cheese could be so delicious and creamy, unlike the yellow plastic-y slices they sell in the US.  

Scones with clotted cream and jam are delicious (is that what you mean by a cream tea?)

And I personally love the steamed puddings - chocolate and sticky toffee puddings are delicious!  

No-one has mentioned bread and butter pudding. I don't really like the traditional British desserts like crumble and I hate steamed pudding but bread and butter pudding in winter is delish!

I think bread and butter pudding is my all-time favourite dessert! But it's pretty similar to bread pudding or Indian pudding in the US, which I also loved.

It's really nice. You can get it in the supermarkets here (as Balmerhon mentioned) as it's very popular up north (our local Co-Op has it) but you can't beat my FIL's homemade recipe that's been passed down. I need to learn from him! Sometimes he makes it with little bits of ham in it, which is nice, too. He says it's dead easy. I guess it just tastes better homemade. You let it set in the fridge until it becomes sort of a cold paste. He says you can heat it up and eat it like soup, but I've only ever had it cold on ham sandwiches and it's lovely. Only problem is that everytime he makes it, he brings us far more than we could ever eat!

I looked up some recipes, and it sounds as if the 'authentic' stuff always has ham or bacon in it. Would it be too bland without that? I don't eat four-legged beasts, so I'd have to leave that out.  

I guess I just don't see curry as 'British' despite the huge popularity of it there. I find most curry eaten there (from the local takeaways) to be just as mediocre as run-of-the-mill Mexican here in the US. Yes, there are great Indian restaurants and great home cooks who can do amazing curry but I can't think of a single really amazing curry I ate in the UK that wasn't home made. I could never afford the good restuarants, though! Oh, one exception - a south Indian restuarant in Newcastle. Must try to remember the name of it.

Just my humble 2p - I'm sure I'm decidedly in the minority on that!

I do love the lamb there. And the pork that is humanely raised. LOVE it!

I guess I just don't see curry as 'British' despite the huge popularity of it there. I find most curry eaten there (from the local takeaways) to be just as mediocre as run-of-the-mill Mexican here in the US. Yes, there are great Indian restaurants and great home cooks who can do amazing curry but I can't think of a single really amazing curry I ate in the UK that wasn't home made. I could never afford the good restuarants, though! Oh, one exception - a south Indian restuarant in Newcastle. Must try to remember the name of it.

Just my humble 2p - I'm sure I'm decidedly in the minority on that!

I'd agree with that. Your run of the mill curry house is usually not that great. Of course, there are exceptions, but I've found that more often than not those curries are decidedly subpar. If you find somewhere that makes a good one, you're lucky! I had an excellent Indian restaurant within walking distance of my house in the US, so I don't really see curry as something new and exciting here. Also, my father is of Indian heritage so I grew up eating some pretty damned good Indian food!

Mmmm I love the food here!  We have some fantastic restaurants where I live.
My American colleagues who take business trips here are so surprised when they come here, thinking this middle of nowhere place in Scotland will have overcooked grey, slimy congealed, overcooked vegetables, haggis everything (and they have misconceptions of how nice haggis actually is!) and nothing nice for them to eat all. Boy are they shocked!

I had an AMAZING curry at a restaurant in Bristol. That being said, I had an AMAZING curry in College Park, MD.    C, there's a great restaurant on Rt 193 if you're interested!

Maybe it's the availability of take away curries in the UK compared to the US where I would have never considered getting take away curry.