Unique British Foods That Confuse the Rest of the World
Scotch Eggs
You may be wondering what a Scotch egg is. It’s basically a hard-boiled egg rolled in sausage meat and breadcrumbs. It’s then deep-fried until the outside is golden brown and the inside is still soft. It is strange, yes. However, it appears that this classic British food is very popular with Brits; you can find it in almost everyone’s picnic basket during the warm summer months. That is, when it doesn’t rain.
People in the United States love eggs, sausage, and anything else that’s deep-fried. However, putting them all together and calling it a Scotch egg seems a bit much.
Baked Beans
It appears that “Beans” translates to “Heinz.” The English and their palates are so fond of baked beans that there is a well-known song about them that goes, “Beans, beans, good for your heart.” According to the song, “You fart more when you eat!” For some reason, this song actually tells the British people that eating beans will make their stomachs hurt, but they still eat them with almost every meal.
Yes, baked beans are a staple addition to people’s pantries. Brits have them with their full English breakfast, on top of their baked potatoes, or on toast with some grated cheese on top.
Jelly and Ice Cream
Jelly is known as jelly-O in the UK. We’re not sure if that makes this British food better or worse, though. We know for sure that young Brits love this dessert mix. At any English kid’s birthday party, you can be sure that there will be bowls and bowls of this stuff. We can’t help but be curious about these strange textures, though.
On the one hand, there’s the weird, jelly-like feel. But on the other hand, the ice cream has an icy feel to it. Does it make sense? It looks like it does, though.
Mushy Peas
The British must have different tastes than us. To us, foods that people in Britain think are gourmet often look like cooking disasters gone wrong. Mushy peas are just one example of this. Since everyone likes peas, why change something that works? But those Brits messed up a traditional treat by mashing the peas to make a thick, bright green sauce.
In fact, mushy peas are an essential side dish for traditional British fish and chips. If you don’t get a pot of this with your order at the chippy (where you buy fish and chips), you’re considered pretty weird.
Chip Butty
You should already know that the British love fish and chips. In Britain, while some people are content with fries, fish, and the dreaded mushy peas on their plate, the vast majority of people enjoy finishing their meal with a chip butty. You might be wondering what that is. It’s just a bunch of extra fries popped into a buttered bun!
In fact, buns are often on the menu at fish-and-chip shops because so many people buy them as a side dish to finish their meal. We think it’s because they love carbs so much.
Laverbread
We’re not sure which is stranger: the name of this strange food, the way it looks like jelly, or the fact that laverbread is made from seaweed. It appears that this unique food has gained popularity worldwide, with the exception of Wales! On the other hand, the people there love it so much that they put this thick, brown spread on their toast every morning for breakfast. Although breakfast is the most important meal of the day, we won’t bother.
It sounds like laverbread tastes a lot like oysters. We’re not sure if this will help or hurt your stomach. Are you ready for oysters on toast?
Chips and Curry Sauce
American and British chips are very different, in case you didn’t know. American chips are flat, crispy, and come in a bag. British chips, on the other hand, are thick and chunky, more like big fries. But it looks like those aren’t the only strange chip choices. When Brits don’t slather their chips in Ketchup or mustard when they treat themselves to one of their favorite treats. Instead, they cover them with curry sauce.
In fact, it’s curry sauce! No idea why, but Brits love putting a hot, thick sauce on their chips and letting it soak in. And this makes us really wonder what they taste like.
Cheese and Pickle Sandwich
We love sandwiches just as much as everyone else. But there’s no doubt that the way Brits make sandwiches is a little different. Let’s look at a cheese and pickle sandwich. Everyone in the US thinks it’s strange that someone would eat a cheese and pickle sandwich straight from the jar. Even stranger is the fact that British pickles aren’t at all like that!
Pickles are a real treat in the UK, and Branston Pickle is a well-known brand that is believed to be unbeatable. This brand has chunks of diced veggies in a hot, black sauce.
Toad in the Hole
Toad in the hole may appear to be the most unappealing scenario for an animal, but it is a renowned British delicacy, despite its unremarkable beige appearance. Because toad in the hole is sausages on Yorkshire puddings. Despite its peculiar name, Brits adore this dish, particularly when it comes with mashed potatoes and gravy on the side.
We think you won’t find a toad in the hole anywhere else in the world, so we’re curious if this picture strikes your fancy or turns you off. We think it’s very interesting.
Custard Creams
First, let’s all agree that this is a challenging language to understand. People from Britain think of custard cream as a biscuit, but not the kind of biscuit we eat with sauce! We think of custard cream as a cookie, but don’t get us started on what the British think of as a cookie. It’s a very strange cookie. Look at it for a minute!
We wonder what the intricate pattern is all about, but we do know that this English biscuit consists of two cookies stacked on top of each other, filled with vanilla cream. Strange, huh?
Prawn Cocktail Crisps
In the UK, we refer to it as a shrimp cocktail, but you may already be familiar with it as such. Brits like to eat shrimp cocktail as a starter, and Walkers, the British version of Lays, has made this appetizer into a chip flavor. Having chips that taste like prawn cocktail sounds pretty strange to most people, but people across the pond love them.
In fact, prawn cocktail is the fifth most popular chip taste in the United Kingdom. These chips are ideal for vegetarians because they don’t have any peanuts in them, which is a big plus.
Lasagna, Chips, and Garlic Bread
It’s no secret that Britons love carbs, especially white ones! Some Italians might be swearing at the sky when they see this picture, but it looks like Brits don’t mind putting different kinds of food on the same plate. In reality, they enjoy consuming lasagna with chips (okay, that’s not okay) and garlic bread (okay, that’s okay). Why? We don’t know why, though.
We think that the Brits are getting too many carbs from the pasta and garlic bread, which is why they decide to add fries to their plate as well.
Spaghetti on Toast
Even though Brits and Americans share the same language, our tastes are very different. It appears that the picture below depicts spaghetti on toast. People in the UK seem to know spaghetti as “spaghetti hoops,” while we know it as long, thin pasta with a lot of history in Italy. This stuff is delicious on toast.
Some people think of spaghetti hoops as being a lot like baked beans, but instead of beans in tomato sauce, they use small, soft pasta rings. Please make sense of it.
Brown Sauce
What a clever name, huh? In the UK, do they call mustard “yellow sauce” or mayonnaise “white sauce”? No matter what the reason is, brown sauce is without a doubt a very famous condiment in The Netherlands. You can find this British treat in every food store. There are a few different brands, but HP is clearly the best brown sauce.
Brown sauce, a thick tomato sauce, incorporates a hint of spice from vinegar and additional ingredients. People in Britain use brown sauce in both their sandwiches and full English lunches.
Marmite
For British people, Marmite is like Vegemite is for Australians. If you’re from the US, you probably won’t get it at all. But it’s straightforward to see why people from other parts of the world don’t get this British food, even though Brits love to burn their taste buds by putting it on toast in the morning. That’s because Marmite is made from things that are left over after making beer. That seems strange, doesn’t it?
British people love putting this on toast every morning, despite its odd origins. They have jars of it stacked up in their cabinets.
Colin the Caterpillar Cake
On their birthday, everyone should have a cake, right? You should be glad to know that English people agree with you. They really enjoy birthday cakes, but there’s one that sells out every single day. That is the Colin the Caterpillar cake that the British shopping store Marks & Spencer made. Okay, so it’s silly and cute, but what makes this cake so unique?
We feel awful for all the other cakes that don’t make it to the store shelves. After all, it must be difficult to compete with something that Britons think of as a treat.
Haggis
You were aware that this item would eventually appear on the list, correct? Anyway, haggis is well-known. Despite its popularity, not many people in Britain actually eat haggis, but a significant number in Scotland do. Scotland has even named it their official food, but before you try it on your trip there, you might want to read what we have to say about it.
Typically, the stomach of a sheep filled with haggis is filled with the lungs, heart, and liver of the same animal. Then, people eat it with mashed potatoes and swede.
Vienetta
People around the world may know about this British treat. This is due to the widespread availability of Vienetta throughout North America. It is definitely less famous in the US than in the UK. People in Britain love this ice cream log so much that you can find different tastes in any British grocery store’s freezer.
People with children appreciate this treat because they can place it in the center of the table and allow their children to serve themselves, much like an ice cream cake. We guess that makes sense.
Fish Finger Sandwich
It looks like people in Britain agree that frozen foods are useful to have on hand for times when they don’t want to cook. They keep a lot of different things in their freezer, like fish fingers, turkey dinosaurs, potato smileys, and frozen chips (fries to you and me). Of course, that does happen sometimes. But it’s not normal for Brits to eat these fish fingers in a sandwich!
Yes, they put some of these fish fingers between two pieces of toasted bread and add ketchup on top for extra flavor. They sometimes add mayo, too.
A Crisp Butty
It appears that the British and their taste buds can’t get enough butties. They will put anything in a sandwich, which is likely why they like crisp butties so much! These guys will either make a crispy butty from scratch with bread and a box of crisps, or they’ll add the crisps to a sandwich that they’ve already made, which is pretty strange.
So it seems that the British people have a favorite crisp snack. They love cheese and onion crisps inside white buttered bread more than any other kind of crisp sandwich.
Scraps
Several people have wondered what this picture is. Also, the word “scraps” probably doesn’t make things better. However, it turns out that this British food is a real treat that makes a Brit’s taste buds dance. But what are scraps? Scraps are bits of batter left in the pan after restaurants cook fish or sausages in batter.
Many fish and chip shops will give their customers these leftovers for free as a wonderful way to top their chips. This food is known by different names across the country, such as “bits” and “dubs.”
Corned Beef Sandwich
You don’t eat corned beef very often, right? Corned beef is a popular food all over the world. The recipe involves slow cooking of beef brisket to achieve a tender texture. But when it comes to corned beef, things are a little different in the UK. Instead of letting the meat do all the work itself, they add gelatin to the beef. After that, they put it on their bread.
Yes, this is yet another example of how the British will always find a way to fit food between two pieces of bread. They eat sandwiches all the time.
Worcestershire Sauce
Though you’ve probably heard this name, can you say it correctly? There is still some disagreement about how to make all those consonants sound like a real word, but there is no doubt that Brits love this kind of sauce. People often call this sauce “Lea and Perrins.” It’s a thin, spicy sauce that I can’t explain.
We do know that Britons love this sauce on their cheese on toast (which we Americans call a grilled cheese) and in their shepherd’s pie.
Butter Pie
If you thought that butter pie was really a pie made from butter, we wouldn’t blame you. In the end, it makes sense. It appears that the British have a tendency to confuse us with their food names, as a butter pie is often filled with potatoes and onions. In the north, people love this rich pie, which is usually available.
This does sound like it could be nice, to be honest. Something about the pie’s name, though, turns us off. It sounds like a heart attack on a plate.
Curry and Chips
It’s like peanut butter and jelly, or salt and pepper. All of these things go well together. But it looks like English people also think curry and chips go well together. When they order a traditional Indian stew, chips are always on the menu. They also slather their chip shop chips with a thick curry sauce. That’s how the British do things.
We wonder if this choice insults Indian culture, but Brits seem determined to eat beige food.
Iced Buns
Since Britain is close to France, which is known as the “pastry capital of the world,” you might think that British food would be full of delicious cakes and sweets. However, this assumption is highly questionable. When you witness instances such as these, the truth becomes even more evident. This is what the British call an “iced bun,” folks. Also, it’s not a frozen treat.
An iced bun is basically a hot dog bun with white icing on top. We know, that sounds really weird to you. Still, it’s a famous treat on the other side of the pond.
Full English Breakfast
A full English breakfast is a must-have for any list of British foods, right? Many people around the world think this is one of the most popular British foods ever. English people really enjoy their breakfast. There are sausages, bacon, baked beans, and more on a full English breakfast plate. Some people even eat chips (also called fries) for breakfast because they love bland foods so much.
But each British person has their own idea of what the best full English breakfast is. Individuals either adhere to the fundamentals or opt for extravagant additions.
Crumpets
You might think of tea and crumpets when you think of life in Britain. Have you ever thought about what a crumpet is? Crumpets, a baked good popular in Britain, have big holes, making them tasty. Some say that Brits put a lot of butter on their crumpets and make sure that the melting butter gets into all the holes to make the taste even better!
It goes without saying that this food probably won’t work for people who are afraid of spiders or just don’t like the idea of holes in their food.
A Sausage Roll
People in England are crazy about the bakery business Greggs. If you’ve ever been there, you know what I mean. There is one of these restaurants in every town. In fact, there are more Greggs’ than McDonald’s in the country! Despite offering a wide variety of food options, the majority of customers will undoubtedly choose one of their signature sausage rolls. They seem to be well-known.
These sausage rolls, made with sausage meat and wrapped in dough, are a staple in Britain. Some people will even eat it every day.
Roast Dinner
On most days, Sunday is a day to rest. But in the UK, Sunday is dinner time! A lot of Brits take this very seriously and make plans to spend the whole day around this delicious meal. Brits debate whether to eat a roast for lunch or dinner, but most agree to eat one every Sunday. Not an exception!
You could compare a Sunday roast to Thanksgiving dinner because it has a big roast of meat and all the fixings, like potatoes and veggies. Of course, there were Yorkshire puddings!
Battered Fish
Our new name for British people would be “beige-lovers,” since they only seem to eat things that have been covered in some kind of beige substance. This is definitely true for fish. Some people don’t eat fish as it is, but instead cover it in batter and put it in the fryer to make it crispy. While this may enhance the flavor, it may not be beneficial for your health.
Nonetheless, a plethora of fish and chip shops exist throughout England, where the majority of customers request their fish to be deep-fried. Naturally, they garnish it with salt and vinegar.
Clotted Cream
You should try afternoon tea in the UK if you ever get the chance. You can get tea, scones, pickle sandwiches, and small cakes here. However, these scones aren’t just for consumption! It looks like you need to cover these in whipped cream. This is made by heating cow’s milk with steam and then letting it thicken. In the end, it turns out to be more like ice cream than thin cream.
Even though the name makes it sound pretty strange, this British treat tastes great. That’s right, it works great on scones when mixed with jam.
Bacon Butty
You should already know that Britons love bread. People make anything in bread and call it the best sandwich. But a bacon butty? Now that’s a sandwich we can all support. A bacon butty is a bacon sandwich in its most basic form. However, British bacon is not at all like American bacon. It is much leaner, which can sometimes make it crispier.
Before indulging in a British-made bacon butty, consider inspecting its interior. They like to put ketchup and HP sauce on their bacon, so be aware if you don’t like those two sauces.
Potato Bread
You probably already know how versatile potatoes are. You can fry, cook, bake, mash, or even make waffles out of them! But have you ever heard of making bread out of potatoes? Well, it looks like the English carb-lovers have done it again. In England, potato bread is very common, though the names vary from place to place.
There are different names for them, like potato cakes, tattie scones, and potato farls have different names. If you don’t mind, these cakes are packed with bread and potatoes, which can cause discomfort in our stomachs.
Black Pudding
If you go to the UK and order a full English, but then see some black rings on your plate, you might want to change your mind. You received black pudding, a British delicacy that bears a striking resemblance to blood sausage. Typically, the ingredients include cow or pig blood, rice, onions, cereals, and animal fat. They then stuff it into a stomach to form a sausage.
This could be the scariest thing many people have ever heard of. However, British people who enjoy it will still eat it with their full English breakfast.
Sealed Toasties
Let’s be honest; grilled cheeses are the best. There are different iterations of this iconic food across the globe, and in true fashion the Brits always have to be different. Instead of making their grilled cheese in a pan, they make sealed toasties in a toastie maker. And what makes this so different is the fact that the edges are sealed – something we’re not used to in the United States!
It seems like a beneficial idea now that you think about it. By closing the edges, you can ensure that none spill out. But you don’t get the crispy ends.
Turkey Dinosaurs
Despite the UK’s reputation for its abundance of fruits and root vegetables, it appears that Brits prefer a distinct type of British treat. You can confidently predict that this treat will have a brown hue! Indeed, the popularity of turkey dinosaurs among the locals is undeniable. This food is quite unique, resembling dinosaur-shaped turkey chicken nuggets.
You can also freeze them, which makes them ideal for quick and simple dinners during the week. However, a turkey dinosaur meal would be incomplete without the addition of potato smileys, wouldn’t it?
Rarebit
People in Britain do eat rabbit, but rarebit is not the same thing. Wales is the primary location for this dish, but it has gained popularity throughout the UK. It looks like everyone is crazy about Welsh rarebit. If you’re not sure what it is, it’s basically a fancy grilled cheese. Of course, people in the UK would call it “cheese on toast.”
There is regular cheese on the bottom, but chili pepper, mustard, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce are added on top and mixed in. A lot of people also add bacon and a fried egg on top.
Crumbles
Fruit pies are something most people know about. After all, you can find these tasty treats in a huge number of places around the world. Without a doubt, the British can make a great fruit pie. But they’ve also made another dessert that’s just as good. Let’s talk about the fruit dessert! It has cooked fruit at the bottom, similar to a fruit pie. It doesn’t have a pastry top, though. Instead, oats, sugar, butter, and float form a broken top.
If you visit any bar in the UK, you will almost certainly find crumble on the menu. And while Apple is clearly the choice, Blackberry seems to be a close second!
Soda Bread With Jam
You may not know, but UK food is very different. This is due to the small size of the country. In Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the rest of England, you can find a wide range of foods that are only accessible in those places. That’s exactly what happens with the jam and soda bread below.
Northern Ireland loves soda bread. The use of buttermilk instead of yeast gives it a slightly different taste. And while some Irish people like to put tasty things inside, others love to put sticky jam on top.
