What's Your Favourite British Dish?

crumpets smothered in butter and honey and a cup of tea.  Yum!!

This is getting out of hand. Now I'm going to get honey on the way home tonight.

Yes, how could I forget crumpets? Delish!

I had my first cream tea in a converted medieval almshouse in the small town of Axbridge over the weekend (cheated a bit because I had a caramel latte rather than tea) but the scone with clotted cream and jam was to die for!

It was many lunches out before I could get myself to order something besides a cream tea - not the world's healthiest lunch, but soooooo good!

Interestingly, I don't care for scones that we've bought to eat in.  They never taste fresh enough to me.  Yet crumpets are only eaten when we are at home.  In fact they've become our traditional Sunday tea since Sunday lunch is so large.  The eating is good around here on a Sunday.   

My theory is that only the British can make decent scones (as only Americans can make decent muffins).  Scones in most US coffee places are nothing like the real thing.

My theory is that only the British can make decent scones (as only Americans can make decent muffins).  Scones in most US coffee places are nothing like the real thing.

I've had passable scones over here but, as you say, nothing like back home. The American 'Biscuit' actually comes closer to a scone than anything. I love them!

Who here was served Tea and Biscuits in England and was surprised when they got cookies? Come on, hands up! I was mortified when in one of my very early skype conversations with my wife she told me she had "Sausage & Biscuits & Cream Gravy" for breakfast.

My response to her was "Sausage & Biscuits?!? What in the name of bloody hell is going on over there?! Nowhere on this earth should sausage and gravy be anywhere near the Digestive!"

It led to much confusion and then much later, laughter.

I has to explain to someone only the other week that 'sausage gravy and biscuits' was not Bisto poured over cookies.  They were very relieved to have their fears quelled.

I has to explain to someone only the other week that 'sausage gravy and biscuits' was not Bisto poured over cookies.  They were very relieved to have their fears quelled.

Haha as was I!

I've had passable scones over here but, as you say, nothing like back home. The American 'Biscuit' actually comes closer to a scone than anything. I love them!

Who here was served Tea and Biscuits in England and was surprised when they got cookies? Come on, hands up! I was mortified when in one of my very early skype conversations with my wife she told me she had "Sausage & Biscuits & Cream Gravy" for breakfast.

My response to her was "Sausage & Biscuits?!? What in the name of bloody hell is going on over there?! Nowhere on this earth should sausage and gravy be anywhere near the Digestive!"

It led to much confusion and then much later, laughter.

LOL - I can just imagine the mental picture that made for you!  The closest I can come is the moment my fiance used the phrase "eat tea".  I'm pretty sure something snapped in my brain trying to work that one out! (and I'm sorry for repeating this story from another post - I just hope it isn't in this thread!  )

I always thought the biscuits in 'tea and biscuits' referred to the scones and not the cookies, because scones look like biscuits to me (as you pointed out yourself).  I can't remember when I was corrected on this subject, but I'm still confused about the difference between biscuit cookies and cookie cookies. 

LOL - I can just imagine the mental picture that made for you!  The closest I can come is the moment my fiance used the phrase "eat tea".  I'm pretty sure something snapped in my brain trying to work that one out! (and I'm sorry for repeating this story from another post - I just hope it isn't in this thread!  )

I always thought the biscuits in 'tea and biscuits' referred to the scones and not the cookies, because scones look like biscuits to me (as you pointed out yourself).  I can't remember when I was corrected on this subject, but I'm still confused about the difference between biscuit cookies and cookie cookies. 

The only cookies I ever knew that were called cookies in Britain were the Maryland Chocolate Chip variety. Generally there's no difference I suppose. I was trying to explain this to my wife's boss recently and he just couldn't get his head around it. (He's in his 70s, lived in Texas all his life and never been out of the country except over the border to Mexico) and I was telling him that, generally, UK biscuits can be savoury as well as sweet where cookies can't be anything but sweet really. I've seen people spread butter on a digestive and also serve them with cheese.

Personally, I prefer Digestives just for dunking with tea.

Haha! Don't ask me to explain how we know the difference between drinking tea and eating tea. I suppose it's all in the context.

If someone asked me what I was going to have for tea tonight, I wouldn't say "English Breakfast or Earl Grey, Haven't decided!" for fear of looking like a smart ars*!

It's generally a regional thing in Britain I think. For example, I lived in South Devon and I rarely heard "I'm going home for my tea now", "What you having for tea?", etc.. but when I lived in South Wales, everybody used it frequently to describe supper time.

Love Wensleydale on digestives!!

I would tend to think of biscuits as shop bought, either sweet or savoury.  But cookies have come to mean to me home-made.  That's just mid-Atlantic speak though.

Love Wensleydale on digestives!!

I would tend to think of biscuits as shop bought, either sweet or savoury.  But cookies have come to mean to me home-made.  That's just mid-Atlantic speak though.

Actually that's a pretty good distinction. Cookies are home made, biscuits are bought in the supermarket! I like it!

Love Wensleydale on digestives!!

I would tend to think of biscuits as shop bought, either sweet or savoury.  But cookies have come to mean to me home-made.  That's just mid-Atlantic speak though.

Actually that's a pretty good distinction. Cookies are home made, biscuits are bought in the supermarket! I like it!

Yup, that works for me too.  I also thought it had to do with the item having come from America as a "cookie".  Like chocolate chip cookies are called cookies because there was never anything called a chocolate chip biscuit? 

Actually, I think I hurt something by attempting that explanation, and I have no idea if it makes any sense or not!  I'm popping brain cells right and left trying to get my head around some of these things!   

I think digestives are amazing things - so versatile!  Lovely with tea and nothing else, great with peanut butter, apples and honey (but the Brit in this house thinks that is heresy - *snicker*  ), and fabulous with cheese. 

Now, if I could only get them to stop crumbling when I spread peanut butter on them....   

Now, if I could only get them to stop crumbling when I spread peanut butter on them....   

Trick is to just dollop it on with a spoon and sod spreading it!

I was going to start a new thread about the difference in Bread between the US & UK. When I first came here I noticed that a general loaf of bread is smaller and much more square than what I was used to before. Also it was extremely sweet which was very weird to me!

I've gotten the bran and wheat bread and I can eat that but I'm sitting here with my peanut butter and jam...sorry...JELLY...sandwich and I can't help but think how good this would be on a Kingsmill loaf! 

Anyone here prefer one over the other? My mother in law doesn't eat that much bread at all, I've told her she wouldn't do well in Britain as most things are on toast! 

I prefer bread in the US but I am sure that is because that's what I grew up eating.  I have learned that my small corner of NE Ohio is spoiled for choice when it comes to food.  We have a local grocery chain that sources all of its meat and produce from a farm 15 miles from the main store (owned by the same family).  The bakery in-store makes its own bread daily so I tend to not like any packaged bread be it US or UK.

PS- the number of times that I have had to explain the difference between Jam and Jelly over here is astounding!