“Local” foods that international friends don’t understand!

Okay I’ve been inspired by another thread about Canadian bar-thingies, with Graham’s Crackers and S’Mores. I have no idea what they are.

So here’s some UK foods - don’t know if our international neighbours have them or know what they are!

Bubble and squeak
Haggis, neeps and tatties

Over to everyone else! 🤣
«1345

Replies

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    Oh bugger, now I really NEED haggis! Oh, and Haggis and Black Pepper crisps.

    Stamppot with smoked sausage.
  • festerw
    festerw Posts: 233 Member
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    I'm not sure someone from Ireland would recognize what we in Massachusetts have for St. Patrick's Day - are there really supposed to be raisins in Irish Soda Bread? ;)

    I also make New England Boiled Dinner: corned beef, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,656 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited March 2021
    I've never heard of some of these things, lol.

    15 foods only New Englanders eat: Fluffernutters, chow mein sandwiches and more

    1. American Chop Suey
    2. B&M Baked Beans with hot dogs or on toast (the article doesn't mention that we also have it with Boston Brown Bread, which can be bought in cans that live near the baked beans in the supermarket.)
    3. Boston Cream Pie (actually a cake)
    4. Coffee Milk (I learned about this one from my partner's brother who gets it at our local ice cream stand when he visits)
    5. Frappe
    6. Fiddleheads (young fern tops)
    7. Fluffernutter
    8. New England Steamers (most people in my family are fans. I hate all bivalves, yuck.)
    9. Indian pudding
    10. Johnnycake
    11. Moxie and milk
    12. Apple pie with cheddar cheese
    13. Chow Mein sandwich
    14. Maple sugar candy
    15. Clam chowder: Sometimes, stereotypes are true. While the city of Boston isn't full of people in Red Sox hats yelling "Chowdah" at each other, it's impossible to ignore the popularity of the soup in the region. You also can't mess with it. Seriously, it's illegal. There's a law in Massachusetts banning the addition of tomato sauce to clam chowder.
  • festerw
    festerw Posts: 233 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!

    Best way I can describe it is like fluffy caramel covered in chocolate.
    https://www.yourerie.com/digital-first/digital-exclusive/digital-exclusive-sponge-candy-explained/
  • Hooliekom
    Hooliekom Posts: 94 Member
    In the far north of Scotland we have, amongst other things:

    Clapshot
    Bere Bannock
    Stovies
    Oatcakes
    Carvey Biscuits, Abernethy Biscuits and Parkin
    Clootie Dumpling
    Tablet
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Ooh, though I’m a Mancunian living in Canada I recognize all and love most of the Scottish delights.
    (Dad was Aberdonian)

    For a OTC sponge candy in North America see if you can find a Crunchy Bar. I can buy them in our supermarkets but not sure of the continent wide availability.

    Lancashire hot pot
    Eccles cakes
    Chorley cakes
    Muffins (a cross between a Kaiser roll and a Scotch Bap, nothing like the NAmerica muffin)

    Chocolate biscuit cake ( we always had to make these as treats on birthdays etc, last year in Scotland I saw them in shops ready made, the nerve! :))
    ‘Tater ash
    Steak and kidney pudding
    Mushy peas
    Butter pie (savoury)
    Treacle toffee.

    Maybe strange mixes I eat between bread and butter.
    Chip butties
    Crisp butties
    Sugar butties
    ‘Tater ash butties.

    Cheers, h.
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,656 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!

    Best way I can describe it is like fluffy caramel covered in chocolate.
    https://www.yourerie.com/digital-first/digital-exclusive/digital-exclusive-sponge-candy-explained/

    Oh that’s hilarious - I clicked on the link but the content is banned for Europeans 🤣🤣 so I can’t even find out what it is!
  • gutzbgon
    gutzbgon Posts: 57 Member
    @middlehaitch eccles are my favourite cake of all time, but are getting harder to find here in Australia
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2021
    Just for fun, I will make comments on the New England list:

    1. American Chop Suey -- I've had, don't associate with New England, but don't think I've seen since I was a kid.

    2. B&M Baked Beans with hot dogs or on toast (the article doesn't mention that we also have it with Boston Brown Bread, which can be bought in cans that live near the baked beans in the supermarket.) -- okay, will accept. We would have baked beans as a side with burgers at times. Not B&M brand.

    3. Boston Cream Pie (actually a cake) -- I've had, think it's common across the country despite the name.

    4. Coffee Milk (I learned about this one from my partner's brother who gets it at our local ice cream stand when he visits) -- never heard of this.

    5. Frappe -- I heard this used for milkshake when I was in college in MA.

    6. Fiddleheads (young fern tops) -- this is a get it when it's briefly in season here in the midwest too.

    7. Fluffernutter -- this was a thing when I was a kid, so I think it's country wide. Disgusting, anyway.

    8. New England Steamers (most people in my family are fans. I hate all bivalves, yuck.) -- love, love bivalves.

    9. Indian pudding -- will accept as New England specific
    10. Johnnycake -- will accept as New England specific
    11. Moxie and milk -- never heard of

    12. Apple pie with cheddar cheese -- no, I think this is country wide, it was a thing in my midwestern/western family

    13. Chow Mein sandwich -- never heard of

    14. Maple sugar candy -- I think this is a thing in MI and Canada, at least, too. I had it in Michigan, although I can see the New England connection.

    15. Clam chowder -- Popular across the country (and Manhattan style is a travesty) but sure, will give them this. There's a whole chowder chapter in Moby Dick.
  • festerw
    festerw Posts: 233 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!

    Best way I can describe it is like fluffy caramel covered in chocolate.
    https://www.yourerie.com/digital-first/digital-exclusive/digital-exclusive-sponge-candy-explained/

    Oh that’s hilarious - I clicked on the link but the content is banned for Europeans 🤣🤣 so I can’t even find out what it is!

    Let's try this one lol
    https://www.stefanelliscandies.com/collections/sponge-candy
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Burgoo, shelly beans, and bread pudding. :-)
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,622 Member
    Part of my problem is I don't know what other places *don't* have. I brought up S'Mores, ice cream pie, and 7-layer bars in the other thread, because it was blowing my mind that someone said there weren't Graham crackers in the UK, and Graham crackers are pretty essential to those three foods here.

    Yes, Michigan has maple sugar candy, though maybe less than I've seen in Canada. We do have fiddleheads in season, and there are native morels that are also seasonal.

    I can't think of anything else that I think other places don't have (AFAIK), other than that (maybe) we do have some ethnic group that eats muskrat. (I've never had it, but have had other small game, like squirrel, which is OK (does *not* taste like chicken! 😆).)

    Pasties are a big deal in the UP and to some extent in the upper lower, but they're really Cornish in origin, I believe.
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
    Apple pie and cheddar cheese is definitely not country-wide, I always thought of that as a Vermont thing specifically though? Maybe just the first person to tell me about it was a Vermonter.

    My best friend's partner J is English - the two of them came to visit me and my husband last year right before The Great Unpleasantness began, and when they got in the first thing we did was go grocery shopping. It was J's first time in the US, and they were really excited when we got to the breakfast aisle and they saw the 30,000 flavors of Pop Tarts. I think they bought three or four boxes, LMAO. They also had a good laugh at the "British Foods" section of the international foods aisle.
  • Slacker16
    Slacker16 Posts: 1,184 Member
    Seeing as how it was semi-recent, mucenici.

    They're not even a thing in the rest of southeast Europe (aside from the Republic of Moldova, obviously).
  • claireychn074
    claireychn074 Posts: 1,656 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!

    Best way I can describe it is like fluffy caramel covered in chocolate.
    https://www.yourerie.com/digital-first/digital-exclusive/digital-exclusive-sponge-candy-explained/

    Oh that’s hilarious - I clicked on the link but the content is banned for Europeans 🤣🤣 so I can’t even find out what it is!

    Let's try this one lol
    https://www.stefanelliscandies.com/collections/sponge-candy
    Ohhhh I think that’s like a British Crunchie bar! Okay I get it now 🤣🤣
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    Apple pie and cheddar cheese is definitely not country-wide, I always thought of that as a Vermont thing specifically though? Maybe just the first person to tell me about it was a Vermonter.

    Like I said, it was common among my midwestern relatives -- definitely not New England specific.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    Part of my problem is I don't know what other places *don't* have.

    Yeah, mine too. I can't think of anything I associate with here (Chicago) that wouldn't be available/known elsewhere.
  • JustaNoob
    JustaNoob Posts: 147 Member
    edited March 2021
    Whoops-- just saw this was a UK thread! I had posted all about my cajun-y food... but then I saw I posted without reading the full thread. :# removed so not to derail
  • Hooliekom
    Hooliekom Posts: 94 Member
    Burgoo, shelly beans, and bread pudding. :-)

    @rosebarnalice we have bread pudding here, too - I wonder if it is the same sort of thing? Ours is bread soaked in milk then scrunched up, it is mixed with eggs, sugar, dried fruit and spices then baked - what's yours? We also have bread and butter pudding which is similar but made with an egg custard mixture poured over layers of bread and fruit.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012636-simple-bread-pudding

    This is what I think of as basic US bread pudding, although it can various additions.
  • NannMC
    NannMC Posts: 19 Member
    No one has said Cheese Curds - deep fried or fresh. A good cheese curd will squeak when your teeth bite into it.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    Being Kentucky, the main difference is we serve ours with bourbon sauce instead of custard. And there are great personal debates about adding fruit to the bread mixture or the bourbon sauce. I'm definitely on Team Bourbon :-)
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,762 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I've never heard of some of these things, lol.

    15 foods only New Englanders eat: Fluffernutters, chow mein sandwiches and more


    15. Clam chowder: Sometimes, stereotypes are true. While the city of Boston isn't full of people in Red Sox hats yelling "Chowdah" at each other, it's impossible to ignore the popularity of the soup in the region. You also can't mess with it. Seriously, it's illegal. There's a law in Massachusetts banning the addition of tomato sauce to clam chowder.

    I'm in Los Angeles and used to see on menus tomato-based clam chowder called "Manhattan clam chowder." I have no idea what people who live there would think. Anyway, I didn't like that type as well.
    And I have trouble finding a version here that has more clams than potatoes. Cheapskates.
  • lkpducky
    lkpducky Posts: 17,762 Member
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    festerw wrote: »
    Sponge candy, ox roast, and pepperoni balls.

    Okay what’s sponge candy then?!

    Best way I can describe it is like fluffy caramel covered in chocolate.
    https://www.yourerie.com/digital-first/digital-exclusive/digital-exclusive-sponge-candy-explained/

    Oh that’s hilarious - I clicked on the link but the content is banned for Europeans 🤣🤣 so I can’t even find out what it is!

    Let's try this one lol
    https://www.stefanelliscandies.com/collections/sponge-candy
    Ohhhh I think that’s like a British Crunchie bar! Okay I get it now 🤣🤣

    Oh yes, I've known it as honeycomb candy. I love it although it's impossible to get it off my teeth!
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    NannMC wrote: »
    No one has said Cheese Curds - deep fried or fresh. A good cheese curd will squeak when your teeth bite into it.

    Love those, although fresh, not deep fried. They are available here.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited March 2021
    Being Kentucky, the main difference is we serve ours with bourbon sauce instead of custard. And there are great personal debates about adding fruit to the bread mixture or the bourbon sauce. I'm definitely on Team Bourbon :-)

    I've had it with bourbon sauce at restaurants here. I'm pro.

    For regional specialities that may not be liked/understood elsewhere, there's always the big regional BBQ debate if one wants to go there! ;-)
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    lkpducky wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I've never heard of some of these things, lol.

    15 foods only New Englanders eat: Fluffernutters, chow mein sandwiches and more


    15. Clam chowder: Sometimes, stereotypes are true. While the city of Boston isn't full of people in Red Sox hats yelling "Chowdah" at each other, it's impossible to ignore the popularity of the soup in the region. You also can't mess with it. Seriously, it's illegal. There's a law in Massachusetts banning the addition of tomato sauce to clam chowder.

    I'm in Los Angeles and used to see on menus tomato-based clam chowder called "Manhattan clam chowder." I have no idea what people who live there would think. Anyway, I didn't like that type as well.
    And I have trouble finding a version here that has more clams than potatoes. Cheapskates.

    I just realized the New England list was missing the lobster roll, which seems wrong.