British Groceries: Try before you move!
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Picky eaters? Moving with kids? Why not try some great British groceries before you move?
Maybe you’ve heard the rumours…that food is not so great in the UK. You’ll be glad to know that it’s NOT TRUE at all! There are so many wonderful traditional foods. If you want to hit the ground running and make sure you’re assimilated early, you can try out some British foods when living in the USA!
Sauces & Condiments
Bisto Gravy comes in a granulated form which is mixed with warm water to form a gravy. This is used in households across the UK to make staple meals like gravy for bangers and mash and the sauce in a shepherd’s pie.
HP Sauce (otherwise known as brown sauce) is what you’ll find on every table in a family restaurant or gastropub in the UK. It’s one of the most-used condimients in the UK and is used on burgers, steak, roast chicken or even with fries.
TOP TIP: Don’t make the typical American mistake of thinking this is like A1 Sauce. It’s not quite as tangy and has a more umami taste.
Coleman’s Mustard is a spicy mustard (a bit like deli mustard) that is the perfect accompaniment to a ham sandwich.
Branston Original Pickle is an essential ingredient for a very British sandwich: The Ploughman’s. At first glance, you might not recognise this as a pickle! It’s brown! It’s actually not pickled cucumber but it is made of pickled vegetable - pickled Carrot, Rutabaga, Onion, Cauliflower to be precise. For me, it was love at first bite with my first cheese Ploughman’s, but it’s definitely not for everyone.
Crisps (yes, that’s potato chips)
Walker’s Crisps are owned by Frito-Lay / Nabisco so they will have a familiar feel to them. However, British crisp flavours are a bit unique. We recommend trying this variety pack to try the country’s favourites:
Cheese & Onion: A more pungent version of sour cream and onion
Ready Salted: A standard salted crisp
Salt & Vinegar: Salt and malted vinegar (a pub classic) is a very traditional flavour
Prawn Cocktail: This one takes some explaining. Firstly, prawns are shrimp. Prawn cocktail is a bit like the shrimp with the red cocktail sauce that we have in the US, but their cocktail sauce is a bit more mild and creamy (both in flavour and colour).
OR! If you’re a meat-lover, try Walker’s more meaty variety pack! For what it’s worth, my daughter can’t get enough of the Roast Chicken flavour.
Hula Hoops remind me of Pringles but in a much more fun shape. You’ll find yourself putting these snacks on every finger!
Monster Munch is a real love it or hate it kind of crisp. Their most popular flavour is pickled onion. Kids love the shape and this is a favourite in lunch boxes in primary schools across the UK.
Biscuits & Sweets
McVittie’s Chocolate Digestives are everyone’s favourite standby biscuit. Digestives have a pretty high fibre content so they’re good to have after a meal to aid in digestion. Now, that’s practical but probably hasn’t convinced you to try them! There are no graham crackers in the UK and these are the closest thing. They’re slightly moorish from the fibre and a touch sweet from the chocolate.
McVittie’s biscuits come in many flavours but the ones that are coated in chocolate on one side are the country’s favourite. Honestly, anytime I leave the UK, I pack a sleeve of these biscuits with me for the hotel room!
Walker’s Shortbread is world famous for a good reason! It’s not too sweet and deliciously buttery. This is even available in most American grocery stores.
Tunnock’s Tea Cakes are famous in Scotland but less so outside of Scotland. My family recently spent some time in Scotland and we had to try these. We were really pleasantly surprised. These biscuits are topped with a marshmallow and then covered in chocolate. If this was an American cookie, it would be far too sweet. However, somehow they’ve managed to make this not overly sweet and perfect to have with tea.
Fox’s Chocolatey Biscuit Selection is a lovely selection of chocolate covered biscuits which is often found in a tin outside of the UK. This is a great choice if you’re entertaining and just to try a bunch of different biscuits. You’ll find these in every grocery store in the UK!
