English Food

Do  you like checking out grocery stores in places you visit to compare? So do I! Here's what we've noticed so far about grocery shopping in England.

 Notice anything strange about this picture? They keep the eggs on the pantry shelves. I've heard that people who keep hens don't refrigerate them when using them within a day or two, but I've never seen eggs out of the refrigerated section at the grocery store before. I must admit, I take them home and promptly place them in the fridge. It just feels wrong putting them in the pantry.

 There were some things I had heard rumors I might not be able to find here in England: popcorn, peanut butter, baking powder, American-style bacon. But as you can see (except for the unpictured bacon), I've easily found them all. The popcorn kernels do come in this petite package though, instead of the industrial-sized popcorn I buy at Costco in the states. And if you order something with bacon at a restaurant, it is generally close to what we'd call Canadian bacon. But they do have the American style in the grocery stores.

Things that we haven't been able to find are the exact brands of cereal my girls generally eat for breakfast. They have some American brands, but not all, and even if it's called the same thing, it sometimes doesn't taste the same. Also, we used to eat Carnation Instant Breakfast. I'm sure we shouldn't have been eating it anyway, but it was a way to guarantee that my picky eaters got some calcium. Mike and I like the cheese here at least as well, perhaps better, but Anya won't try it, because the cheddar is not dyed orange. Sigh. Also, coming from San Diego, we miss good tortilla chips and store-bought salsa.

 I went on a grocery store treasure hunt with my girls, asking them to find products they don't see in America. Camille picked out these quail eggs. It's possible they're found in the states, but they're pretty common here.

 Anya decided to take pictures of things that were the same. You can always find Starbucks.

And they have this booth at the mall that sells American products. Why do American-themed sections always feature Fluff? Does anyone know anyone who ever buys or eats that stuff?

 We buy our fruit at the farmer fruit stand. It comes in these bags, with the edges twisted like this, which I find kind of cute.

 Meringues seem to be more popular here than in the states. Another thing that it's possible you can easily find, but I never noticed before.

 Of course they have pre-made cakes in the bakery section of the grocery stores in the states. The thing that seems different here is that they also have pre-made cakes boxed up on the shelves.

All the stores seem very big on selling sandwiches. You can find them at grocery stores, drug stores, and even the dollar store (called "Poundland"). At the beginning of the work day and at lunch time the stores are very crowded with people buying sandwiches.

We haven't been super brave about trying English food so far. I did try some of Mike's fish and chips one day, and have to say I liked it. I generally don't like fish, unless it has absolutely none of what I'd call a "fishy taste". This fish passed the test. It comes with the bone in, so you eat it with a fork. I'm not sure how you eat the ones they supposedly sell wrapped in newspaper off carts on the streets. I haven't actually seen anything like that. We tried English-style stuffing at Mike's work party. I can't even really say what it was. Nothing like American stuffing. Green, with a smoother texture and to me, less flavor. And then we've just tried crumpets. They're good! I guess there's some controversy about how to describe them, but to me they taste less bread-y - less crumb and not as crunchy - as an "English muffin". To me they tasted a little like a pancake, but maybe less sweet, more spongey. Hard to describe, but very tastey!