UK vs North American Cultural Differences

bcf7683

I live in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, located in the Northeastern United States. I spent a year in Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK when I was in college. Here's what I noticed:

Coffee creamer was available. They just called it cream and poured it over a spoon so it rested as a thin layer over the coffee (in the fancy places, at least). As a poor college student, though, I just opted for milk most of the time. By the way, I was putting milk in my tea way before I went to England. It just seemed....right. Hot Tea with milk is nice, of course, but I really missed being able to get *Iced* Tea in a carton. I found it in a can, but for some reason, it was carbonated.

Maybe it was just the area, but I could not find any Cool Ranch Dressing for my salad anywhere, either. The only thing I could find that was even close was "salad cream" that tasted more like watered down mayonnaise than anything else. I missed my Cool Ranch Dressing. But then I discovered cucumber sandwiches! Cucumber and tuna! Cucumber and cream cheese! Fantastic stuff! When I order it state-side, I get funny looks. We Yanks are missing out on that one.

Beans on toast for breakfast rocks. So do the stewed tomatoes, and the semi-soft boiled eggs.
For lunch, a chip butty really hit the spot. (As a side note, we Pittsburghers are not unfamiliar with the concept. We have a tradition of putting chips (aka fries) and coleslaw right our meat sandwiches. Who needs a side when it all fits in a bun?)

All-in-all, it was a win for me. I lived without my Cool Ranch Dressing and Iced Tea for a year, but I sure do miss those cucumber sandwiches.

*High five* for the Primanti's reference from a fellow Picksburgian! :drinker:

mazdauk

I wonder what the calories are for chips, cheese and gravy?:noway: In some parts of the UK chips with curry sauce are popular (but not round here:bigsmile: ) and apparently in Wales it is popular to have curry with half chips (fries) and half rice.

A friend was recently in the US and saw a sign "traditional fish and chips" on a cart - turned out the person had heard the term, but had no idea what "fish and chips" really was, so she got a portion of fish wiht some crisps:laugh: She didn't have the heart to disillusion him:ohwell:

Iron_Feline

I wonder what the calories are for chips, cheese and gravy?:noway: In some parts of the UK chips with curry sauce are popular (but not round here:bigsmile: ) and apparently in Wales it is popular to have curry with half chips (fries) and half rice.

A friend was recently in the US and saw a sign "traditional fish and chips" on a cart - turned out the person had heard the term, but had no idea what "fish and chips" really was, so she got a portion of fish wiht some crisps:laugh: She didn't have the heart to disillusion him:ohwell:

We half half rice and chips in Liverpool. It's a popular option for all Chinese meals as well as with curry or gravy. :bigsmile:

Mimoki

I wonder what the calories are for chips, cheese and gravy?:noway: In some parts of the UK chips with curry sauce are popular (but not round here:bigsmile: ) and apparently in Wales it is popular to have curry with half chips (fries) and half rice.

A friend was recently in the US and saw a sign "traditional fish and chips" on a cart - turned out the person had heard the term, but had no idea what "fish and chips" really was, so she got a portion of fish wiht some crisps:laugh: She didn't have the heart to disillusion him:ohwell:

I think it depends on what part of the U.S. In Boston if you go to the chippers and order fish and chips, you get fish and fries...

shvrngrl

I find this thread so hilarious! My hubby is English and when we first met I sometimes felt like he was speaking a different language. I was drastically confused when he said "I'm not bothered" or "I can't be asked" And don't get me started on the whole "spanner" incident.......

I think hubby was being polite, the actual phrase is "Can't be arsed"

well that just proved I still don't know what he was saying!!! Ha Ha!

servilia

Milk in tea is gross! Sorry lol

mazdauk

Only gross in china tea or Earl Grey! Wouldn't recommend it in cold tea (but miners used to take cold tea into the pit, not that that is relevant!)

Just thought of other things I've seen on recipe sites, which make no sense in the UK. I'm assuming they are ingredients but for us:

Eggbeaters - what you use to whisk an egg, a rotary version with a handle you turn to rotate two whisk blades
Hamburger helper - someone who helps you assemble your BBQ dishes
Vegetable steamers - a basket/pierced holder you use to suspend vegetables over boiling water in order to steam them