British food is not the most popular among Americans, but that has nothing to do with the flavors or recipes. The dishes are delicious but misunderstood. The recipes may seem a little off, but British food will take you on a journey that challenges your senses.
You may not understand the food from its presentation, or your palate may be shocked after the first taste, but one thing is for sure, you will not regret having them.
However, not all British foods are available to Americans. Some foods have managed to remain within the country. Some are sweets, desserts like Cadbury chocolate, or even drinks. Here are a few foods readily available in Britain but rare in America.
British foods Americans don’t have
Brits love sausages, pies, and fried foods. They also love curries and fish. However, the recipes in America differ from those in Britain. And those are not the only variations. Here are foods that may seem simple but are rare in America:
Scotch eggs
This Fortnum & Mason invention is a typical snack in British pubs. The recipe for scotch eggs includes eggs, breadcrumbs, sausage meat, and oil.
You hard boil the eggs to make them, then wrap them in the sausage meat. You then coat the combination in breadcrumbs before deep frying it in vegetable oil.
You can dip the scotch eggs in ketchup or mustard when enjoying them as a snack. Alternatively, you can enjoy the eggs as part of a Ploughman’s lunch or with a salad.
At the pub, Brits enjoy Scotch eggs with a beer or a glass of cold vino. These places serve the best Scotch eggs since they make them from scratch, unlike the tasteless and dry eggs you get from supermarkets.
Cornish Pasties
Cornish pasties are native to Cornwall. The authentic recipe includes savory flaky pastry pockets, which you fill with beef or vegetables. The dish has a long and rich heritage in Britain.
The traditional Cornish pasties can only include beef, Swede, onions, potatoes, salt, and pepper. It is strictly traditional only to have these ingredients in the Cornish pastry. In addition, all ingredients should be raw during preparation, after which you can cook them slowly in an oven.
If you visit Britain, walk into a Pastries from Greggs and try out the famous Cornish pasties.
Yorkshire pudding
The Yorkshire pudding comprises a hollow muffin. Usually, the muffin comes with roast beef, a typical meal during Christmas dinner.
A Yorkshire pudding recipe consists of plain flour, eggs, milk, and sunflower oil. To make them, you start by preheating the oven. While it heats up, you prepare the batter by mixing the flour, eggs, and milk until you get a smooth consistency.
You then pour the mixture into the hot muffin tins from the oven before popping them back for about 25 minutes. The Yorkshire pudding goes well with roast beef or potatoes.
The authentic and original Yorkshire pudding should be savory, but not sweet, cooked, slightly fatty, but not greasy, and definitely eggy.
Fish pie
Fish pie is another traditional British dish. Ingredients of the fish pie include fresh or smoked fish, white sauce, or cheddar cheese. You can throw in some hard-boiled eggs, chives, parsley, and potatoes. You can use different types of fish, including cod, salmon, or halibut.
Some fish pies can also have shrimp or lobster. But for a real kicker, you can try combining smoked and fresh fish in your pie.
The pie can be thick, thin, piped, swirled, or flattened. After taking your pie out of the oven is a pure pleasure for your palate.
While on the same topic, you can try the stargazy pie, which may have a strange presentation but is yummy.
Black pudding
Black pudding is another original dish from Britain, which mainly accompanies breakfast. Most brits enjoy black pudding alongside toast, eggs, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, and sausage.
Well, the pudding has nothing to do with flour or fruit. Instead, it is a blood sausage native to the UK and Ireland. Pork and beef blood are the typical ingredients, while some people include pork fat, grain cereal, onions, and seasoning.
To enjoy black pudding, you can cut it into tiny pieces before mixing it with mashed potatoes, use it as a stuffing, or bake potato cakes with them.
Black currant
While it seems like an ordinary berry, black currants were made illegal in the US on claims to spread fungus to wood. For this reason, a lot of Americans have no idea what a black currant Ribena tastes like. They also have no idea that black currant jam is a hit.
Black currant desserts like crumbles or pies are also unheard of in the US.
Bedfordshire Clanger
The Bedfordshire Clanger is similar to the American sausage roll, only this time, it also includes potatoes and onions. Unlike the name, which suggests a mistake of combining savory and sweet fillings, the Bedfordshire clanger is no mistake.
However, it comprises a savory filling consisting of potatoes and gammon. The sweet filling contains jam or stewed apples.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of delicacies in Britain. Britain is full of surprises, from their full English breakfast, fish, and chips to some fantastic treats. However, not all these food are available to other people outside Britain. So, when you visit Britain next time, try out their black pudding, scotch eggs, or black currant products.
