British Treats To Stock Up On

[wbeem 567]

On 2/20/2020 at 6:48 AM, hannahjsf said:

Bit random but I was thinking about how much I'm going to miss PG Tips, Quality Street, Marmite and things like that.

I want to stock up on these things and bring them with me when I leave so I can avoid paying a high amount for them for a little while.

 

You can get Marmite here. It costs about $5 a bottle and since a little goes a long way, I don't mind buying it here. 

I'll take American food and snacks over British food anyday so I don't really miss much but there are two things the USA does NOT understand. 

Hot tea (that doesn't look and taste like pee) 
and ... Chocolate. 

I don't eat chocolate at all since coming to the US.  Hersheys tastes like vomit and most of the other stuff tastes like that cheap baking chocolate. All waxy and gross.  

 

My parents are coming over for daughter's graduation in a couple of months and she asked what I wanted and I told her PG Tips.  The biggest box she can find.  You can get Tetley here but you need two teabags to brew a cup.  For iced tea the American tea is great. But hot tea - bring your own. 

[Sweetdreaming 384]

21 hours ago, wbeem said:

Hersheys tastes like vomit

haha vomit is strong ! but it certainly reminds me of something youd buy at a happy shopper own brand type chocolate for about 8 pence for a bar.

[Zoeeeeeee 795]

I brought loads of tea bags, Branston pickle, HP sauce, Bisto, crumpets and Birds custard powder 🙃.

[Wuozopo 4,285]

Eleven years ago I brought Sainsbury’s tea bags and 10 pounds of cheddar to get me started. Now I have affordable alternates for both. I buy Branston pickle and Colman’s mustard in the grocery store and don’t even think about comparing prices. I like it and buy it. Marmite and HP sauce go out of date before I finish them, so not really bothered anymore. There’s not much else I want. When I’m in the nearby British store, I may treat myself to a Galaxy bar and not look at the price. I’m pretty much settled in American now. Hooked on Jalapeño Cheetos, White Cheddar Cheez-Its, and Lay’s salt and vinegar crisps for snacks. New life...new routine. Maybe some of you will get that way eventually. 

[laylalex 7,247]

I just saw this while I was trying to wrap my head around what's happening with Priti Patel and it seemed topical given all the discussion about tea: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/24/yorkshire-tea-calls-truce-rishi-sunak-tweet-abuse

[Meg101 316]

I moved here early December and I didn’t bring much food with me because I wanted the space and weight for other things but I totally regret it now. 😩

 

I brought with me bisto instant gravy, birds custard powder, cornflour (to make Yorkshire puddings at xmas, I don’t know why but making them with cornstarch the texture just isn’t the same, chef husband agrees! Lol) and also a few tins & a cardboard packet of ambrosia custard because he loves it.  

 

Drinks wise, I brought over lots of my favourite herbal teas that I know aren’t sold here and I didn’t want them to go to waste. Also, I’m not planning to visit the U.K. until possibly the end of the year or maybe even May 2021 for my brothers wedding, so I brought some fortnum and masons fancy tea to drink when having a poopie day.  🙂

 

Things I’m starting to miss already since being here: 

Decent tasting instant coffee

Cadbury’s chocolate

Sausages - that aren’t weird or super sweet tasting

Baked beans - again that aren’t weird or sweet tasting. I’m yet to find Heinz anywhere that we typically do the grocery shop 😔

Gravy 

Custard (Devoured it all already lol!!)

 

Thats all I can think of, off the top of my head food wise but I’m sure my list will grow as time goes on! 

 

I also wished I packed some zoflora to clean with lol. So if any has any U.S recommendations of a similiar product, i’d Love to hear!!😍

[david'sgirl 134]

You.can get PG tips just about any supermarket. 
A lot of items are available on Amazon but some are ridiculously overpriced.

We bring back Bisto which is allowed. We had OXO cubes confiscated as those are considered a potential source of mad cow disease and not allowed. Ridiculous, I know.

Branson pickle, HP and Daddies sauces are not widely available so we bring that back.

Weetabix large are available here but minis are not so we get those.

Heinz beans are available here for $4/can in the British section or go to vegetable aisle and get the Heinz vegetarian beans in tomato sauce for $1. They are identical. 
Worcester sauce and prawn cocktail crisps are wicked expensive here so we always grab some of those.

Cadbury dairy milk. You can get it here but my husband swears it’s not the same.

Rhubarb and ginger jam and marmalade is hard to find here so we usually bring some.

Custard cans and powder.

Irn Bru and Ribera.

Better cheddars, tunnocks and jammie dodgers are also items my husband packs.

The things he most misses are great bread and “real” bacon. we get puddings, sausage and bacon from an  Irish butcher in New York. They mail it on dry ice. 
He has learned how to make rolls, bread, potato scones and I make Yorkshire puddings and some other treats. 

[silversnake125 266]

19 minutes ago, david'sgirl said:

You.can get PG tips just about any supermarket. 
A lot of items are available on Amazon but some are ridiculously overpriced.

We bring back Bisto which is allowed. We had OXO cubes confiscated as those are considered a potential source of mad cow disease and not allowed. Ridiculous, I know.

Branson pickle, HP and Daddies sauces are not widely available so we bring that back.

Weetabix large are available here but minis are not so we get those.

Heinz beans are available here for $4/can in the British section or go to vegetable aisle and get the Heinz vegetarian beans in tomato sauce for $1. They are identical. 
Worcester sauce and prawn cocktail crisps are wicked expensive here so we always grab some of those.

Cadbury dairy milk. You can get it here but my husband swears it’s not the same.

Rhubarb and ginger jam and marmalade is hard to find here so we usually bring some.

Custard cans and powder.

Irn Bru and Ribera.

Better cheddars, tunnocks and jammie dodgers are also items my husband packs.

The things he most misses are great bread and “real” bacon. we get puddings, sausage and bacon from an  Irish butcher in New York. They mail it on dry ice. 
He has learned how to make rolls, bread, potato scones and I make Yorkshire puddings and some other treats. 

Wow, you've covered a whole range of things! Thank you!

I actually read that Hershey's bought the rights to manufacturing Cadbury's chocolate in the US. It's technically labelled as Cadbury's but their recipe has less milk and more sugar than the original recipe did, so I think your husband is right! They also banned British imports of Cadbury's, so I'm definitely buying a ton of that to bring with me.

https://www.businessinsider.com/cadbury-chocolate-different-in-us-vs-uk-evidence-2018-5?r=US&IR=T

[david'sgirl 134]

Well we’ve been dealing with this for 10 years so I have a pretty good idea what we can get and what is worth bringing back. Oh also for women, you can’t get Canestan duo here. You can get the pill part but it’s over $100 and you need a prescription so you may want to pack a couple just in case.

[TriloByte 1,818]

On 2/25/2020 at 12:26 PM, Meg101 said:

 

Decent tasting instant coffee

I also wished I packed some zoflora to clean with lol. So if any has any U.S recommendations of a similiar product, i’d Love to hear!!😍

I still can't believe how difficult it is to find decent instant coffee. So weird and annoying. 

 

This is the only decent one I've been able to find: - https://products.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/365-everyday-value-instant-coffee-da4903 - ever tried it/seen it?

 

And yes, Hershey bars smell/taste like baby vom. 

 

Zoflora is on eBay. 

Edited July 3, 2020 by TriloByte

[Robyn-n-Kris 72]

Thankfully, for us, our normal grocery store carriers a few of the items hubby really likes. Heinz Spaghetti, Bisto, Rice Pudding. The only thing I think hubby really will miss again when we move back is his variety of crisps. He loves his Walkers and Hulu Hoops. He does like his chocolate (flakes, twirl etc) but we know we can always buy it in if need be. I will be going back a week or two before him, so i'm sure we will both be bringing things back for him to use. 

[remotercharm 31]

On 2/20/2020 at 11:30 AM, Tristesse said:

My fiancé wants me to bring three extra suitcases entirely full of Irn Bru, oatcakes and haggis. He already misses Scotland more than I will and it's only been a few months since he had those. 

**Apparently real haggis is banned in the U.S. 

Glad my fiance will not be able to access Irn Bru 😂

[Meg101 316]

On 7/3/2020 at 2:20 PM, TriloByte said:

I still can't believe how difficult it is to find decent instant coffee. So weird and annoying. 

 

This is the only decent one I've been able to find: - https://products.wholefoodsmarket.com/product/365-everyday-value-instant-coffee-da4903 - ever tried it/seen it?

 

And yes, Hershey bars smell/taste like baby vom. 

 

Zoflora is on eBay. 

Hi! Thank you for the Zoflo eBay recommendation. I will definitely check that out. 

 

I haven't seen that type of instant coffee but I don’t think I have a whole foods close by. I will definitely keep an eye out for that too. Thank you!! ❤️

[TriloByte 1,818]

On 7/8/2020 at 2:23 AM, Robyn-n-Kris said:

Thankfully, for us, our normal grocery store carriers a few of the items hubby really likes. Heinz Spaghetti, Bisto, Rice Pudding. The only thing I think hubby really will miss again when we move back is his variety of crisps. He loves his Walkers and Hulu Hoops. He does like his chocolate (flakes, twirl etc) but we know we can always buy it in if need be. I will be going back a week or two before him, so i'm sure we will both be bringing things back for him to use. 

 

RE stuff like Flakes and Twirls, I made the most excellent discovery recently. What you want to do is look for Indian supermarkets. In my experience, they are not hard to find, I've seen them in numerous places in numerous states. For one thing there are so many immigrants in America, but they also seem to double-up as suppliers for Indian restaurants. 

 

So not only do they have rather fascinating stock ranges, and you can make mega savings on things like pulses, spices and rice, but the ones I've seen always have a British section! I guess Brit choc bars are eaten a lot in India? Or people are used to seeing/eating British stuff there. They have a big range of British teabags too. So I suppose these products are made in the UK, sent to India, and then sent to America. 

 

Well, it works out more expensive with the export/import costs. I think I paid about $15 for a handful of Flakes, Twirls, Galaxy Ripples, Chocolate Buttons, etc. But it's so fun and makes me inordinately happy to be able to just pop down a shop and come home with all my old favourite chocolate bars, rather than having to wait for them in the mail or bring them back.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by TriloByte

[Lil bear 3,831]

17 minutes ago, TriloByte said:

 

RE stuff like Flakes and Twirls, I made the most excellent discovery recently... 🤓

 

What you want to do is look for Indian supermarkets. In my experience, they are not hard to find, I've seen them in numerous places in numerous states. For one thing there are so many immigrants in America from there, but they also seem to double-up as suppliers for Indian restaurants. 

 

So not only do they have rather fascinating stock ranges, and you can make mega savings on things like pulses, spices and rice, but the ones I've seen always have a British section! I guess Brit choc bars eaten a lot in India? Or people are used to seeing/eating British stuff there. So I think they get made in the UK, sent to India, and then sent to America. 

 

It works out more expensive with all the export/import costs. I think I paid about $15 for a handful of Flakes, Twirls, Chocolate Buttons, etc. But it's so fun and makes me inordinately to be able to pop down a shop and come home with all my old favourite chocolate bars, rather than having to wait for them in the mail or bring them back.

 

 

 Patel brothers DFW area. Tetley Loose black tea.... 2 lb box less than $10. Good array of British treats with an occasional southern Indian twist