This is actually a post inspired by not just my nostalgic longings for cuisine d'American but by my coworker as well. Sidebar: it's amazing that for a small town like ours and a small company like the one I work for, somehow there are TWO of us (brash) Americans working there. And thank heavens. Having Danielle in the open plan living space means I'm not always the loudest. :)
Anyway, we often erupt into oohs and ahhhs of longing when we start talking about foods we miss from back home as we suck on jolly ranchers (her husband has brought back for her from a business trip to the states). She's from Minnesota and sometimes her tastes are very colloquial. But overall, we know what each other are talking about. Together, we put together a list of 10 foods that we miss (5 each). Can you guess which ones are mine and which ones are hers? Here they are in no particular order:
10 American Foods We Really Miss!
1. A bowl of
Stove-Top Stuffing is pretty close to having a bowl of love. Yes, you can get the Paxo brand here, but somehow this oldie but goody brings a sense of security and home.
2. While many American foods are slowly making their way over here, we have yet to come across any bagel shops. Being able to go into a place like Einstein's Bros and having a choice of innumerable choices of bagels and schmears is something to be missed. One favorite is the
everything bagel. Coated with salt, pepper, garlic and chili flakes, this bagel really does have everything. Note: have a toothpick handy, those seeds can in all the crevices!
3. It it buttery? Does it taste like peanut butter? Does it bunch up in your mouth into luscious gobs of sugary goodness? Yes to all of the above. This food isn't a huge hit with the Brits (that we've shared it with), probably because peanut buttery foods just don't have the same popularity here. But when anyone sends care packages from America,
Butterfingers are on the request list!
4. Speaking of peanut butter,
Trader Joe's peanut butter filled pretzels have the ability to be savory, a bit of sweet and filling. They partner perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee and act as a brilliant snack that has protein, pleasure but doesn't leave you in a food coma.
5. This entry is all about the nostalgia and very little about flavor. If you say macaroni and cheese to an American, they probably picture a bowl of
Kraft Dinner. And I am sure the Brits would be mortified being served up this uniquely American dish. Over processed, dirty cheap and cheese sauce which is made from a powdered mixture, a bowl of Kraft Dinner is something that will probably continue to be missed no matter how bad it might actually taste.
6. Also known as every housewife's "helping hand", as evidenced by the Helping Hand Mascot with only 4 fingers (and no thumb, perhaps a cooking accident?),
Hamburger Helper takes meat and elevates it to a new level level. These levels are family meals such as: Cheesy Nacho, Sloppy Joe and even Tuna Helper.
7. Starbucks Iced Coffee is something that just hasn't taken off here and probably never will. A crispy, fresh glass of specially brewed
iced coffee (brewed twice as strong to take into account the ice that will eventually melt) with half & half is something uniquely American. You can get cold coffee here, but they like to use a blender and make frappes and it is just not the same! Recent trip back to America showed Starbucks now has a Trenta size and "heavenly" is one way to describe it!
8. I think we can all agree sausage meat is pretty gross when you think about it. So imagine the delight at finding a vegetarian option that looks, smells & tastes like it! Because sausage in the UK has a very different taste (and is in traditional sausage shapes), being able to have these
vegetarian sausage patties to put on toast or bagels is something that is particularly missed here (plus they're microwaveable so no frying!). One of these with yellow mustard on toasted whole wheat bread and you've got a low fat, high protein breakfast!
9. Could be for popcorn, could be for candies applies, could be for yummy Rice Krispie treats or even just to snack on, but simple
caramel is not easy to find here. Caramel with chocolate or as a cooking ingredient yes (and yummy too) but these little lovelies individually wrapped are not something we've seen here.
10. When I first moved to England in 1992 and ordered a salad, my choice of salad dressing consisted of mayo or oil & vinegar (if I was lucky). Salads have come a long way in that time, let me tell you, but there is still a gap in the market and that is a gap for
Ranch dressing. Can't possibly explain the taste but it's great on any salad. Actually it's not just yummy on salads, it's great as a dipping sauce (potato wedges anyone?) and even the dried seasoning can be good on popcorn. The best ranch dressing is made from scratch (with the mix) but if need be, you can buy it already in the bottle thanks to Hidden Valley.
So there's our list and I am now starving. Unfortunately I will have to make do with what's in my cupboard as I can't savor any of these items for the moment but next trip back to America will have me returning with stashes of several of these items.
In the meantime, what do you think? If you're a Brit, have you had any of these and what do you think? If you're an American ex-pat, do you agree with our list and what would you add to it?
Mmm, I miss these American foods too, especially Morningstar Farms! Fortunately, I've found a couple import stores in London that have most of these things (for an incredible mark-up, of course!). For Christmas I bought my boyfriend a 24-bottle box of Ranch Dressing. Now he's never without! :)
ReplyDeleteMmm, peanut butter pretzels... We used to have them in the uk but they seemed to disappear off the face of the earth about 15 years ago. And frankly I'm still sulking about that!
ReplyDeleteCosta Coffee has finally started to do the good kind of iced coffee as well as the silly frappe kind. Their coffee is much stronger than Starbucks' watered down stuff anyway so it doesn't get too diluted by the ice. As for bagel shops, there's loads of them in London, but elsewhere there's not a big enough Jewish population to make it popular, sadly. Next time you're in London, get the tube to Golders Green and satisfy your bagel cravings!
We definitely used to have Lucky Charms here when I was a kid, at normal breakfast cereal prices. Now they're only available from import shops and cost about £7. Not fair! And you guys have those crunchy marshmallows that are great on ice cream, I really wish we had those in the uk too. I sympathise with you, and I want to visit America and EAT STUFF!!