A foodie’s guide to unusual English eating habits
English food culture has evolved over centuries, shaped by tradition, class distinctions, and a stubborn adherence to regional and mealtime habits. When you’re exploring culinary experiences, consider one of the many tours from London to immerse yourself fully. What may seem perfectly normal to Brits often leaves Americans befuddled, or reaching for their phones to share the evidence on Instagram. (#aspiringinfluencer).
Here are 12 things you are likely to encounter on a trip to Old Blighty.
1. Beans For Breakfast Is A Cultural Norm
Beans in the UK are an important component of a full English breakfast, served alongside eggs, bacon, and sausages. But these are not the sweet, molasses-heavy beans you might find at an American barbecue.
British baked beans (usually from Heinz) are prepared in a thin tomato sauce, making them softer and lighter than their American counterparts. In Britain, they are considered an entirely normal part of a cooked breakfast.
2. Tea Comes With Rules (And Biscuits!)
In British food culture, there are rules which must be carefully observed when serving and drinking tea.
- It should be hot enough to require a VERY careful first sip through pursed lips.
- It is frequently served with biscuits (never cookies)
- Do it wrong, and you risk the collapse of the country and the monarchy.
Brits drink tea constantly. Visiting someone’s home as a guest? You’ll be offered a cup of tea within thirty seconds of arrival. Why? Because it’s the law!
And don’t forget we also have high tea in London too, just to confuse you
Milk first or last?
Opinions on the correct tea-milk order are divided across the country, but historically, wealthy and affluent people poured the milk into their fine bone china after the tea.
Poor people put milk in before the tea, so as not to risk cracking their cheaper drinking vessels with the hot liquid. Now you know!
3. Sunday Roast Is An Institution
A ‘proper’ Sunday dinner typically consists of beef, lamb, chicken, or pork, served with roast potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding (not a dessert) and lashings of gravy. People linger over their meal, have seconds, and generally treat it as an end-of-week ritual.
Pubs and eateries advertise their roast dinners with pride, and come Sunday, people flock to their favourite local carveries and restaurants known to serve up a good Sunday dinner.
4. Meal Deals Are A Staple
Walk into any UK supermarket, and you’ll witness the meal deal that includes a sandwich, a snack (crisps, fruit, or something sweet), and a drink of juice, water, or fizzy pop. (Soda). All for around £3-4 (about $4-6).
Sandwich options are distinctly British: prawn mayonnaise, egg and cress, cheese and pickle, and are eaten cold, straight from the shelf. It’s efficient, affordable, and exactly right when you’re dashing between meetings or sitting in a (sunny?) park.
5. Pudding Is Dessert (And Other Things)
‘Pudding’ means dessert, or it can refer to a steamed or baked dish. Or it might mean Yorkshire pudding, which isn’t pudding at all, but a savoury batter. In the UK, context is everything, and you might encounter:
- Black pudding: a breakfast item made from blood, oats, and fat.
- Steak and kidney pudding: a savoury suet pastry filled with meat.
- Sticky toffee pudding is an actual dessert and a firm British food favourite.
- Christmas pudding is a dense, fruity taste explosion that’s soaked in brandy.
The words “pudding” and “dessert” are used interchangeably in Britain. You’ll get used to it, though you might want to confirm exactly what’s being offered before accepting.
6. Unexpected Crisp Flavours
In Britain, prawn cocktail, roast chicken, Worcestershire sauce, beef and onion, and pickled onion crisps ( ‘chips’ to US visitors) are all standard options that reflect British taste preferences. There are more adventurous varieties too: Marmite crisps, fish and chips flavour, Beefy Bisto, and the favourites like cheese and onion and salt and vinegar.
Crisps are pub snacks, sandwich fillers or sides, and are generally accepted as a light meal in their own right.
7. Proper Bacon Is Back Bacon
Bacon in England is back bacon and comes in a distinctive, elongated medallion shape. It’s closer in taste and texture to Canadian bacon than American streaky bacon, though we have that too.
You’ll find it in bacon sandwiches (butties), full English breakfasts, and as a topping on various dishes. Many Americans find that the different flavour takes some adjustment, though bacon butties with brown sauce have converted more than a few sceptics.
8. Brits Eat Dinner Surprisingly Early
In many English households, dinner happens around six o’clock, and sometimes even earlier. It’s entirely normal to see families eating substantial meals at half-past five, but for Americans who are used to dining later in the day, this may seem unusual.
This is the main evening meal, and it’s often followed by (you guessed it!) a cup of tea and a biscuit. Some people, especially in the north of the country, call dinner “tea”, while others call it “dinner” or “supper”, and the term someone uses can reveal a fair bit about their background.
9. Squash Is Not A Vegetable
When someone offers you squash in England, they’re offering you a concentrated fruit drink that you dilute with water. It’s primarily a children’s drink, though plenty of adults drink it without shame. Flavours are intense; zesty orange, fruity blackcurrant, tangy lemon, to name but a few and the proper dilution ratio is a matter of personal preference.
When Americans say ‘squash’, they typically mean the vegetable, which Brits tend to call by their full names, such as butternut squash, courgettes (zucchini), marrow. The dual meaning catches people out regularly.
10. Biscuits Go With Tea, Not Gravy
In England, a biscuit is a sweet, crisp, baked item, what Americans would call a cookie. Varieties include digestives, rich tea, custard creams, and bourbons. They’re designed for dunking in tea, and the British have strong opinions about which biscuits hold up best.
British biscuits are a little different from the American version (those fluffy white baked bread items served with numerous meals). We call those ‘scones’, though ours are usually sweet due to added fruit like currants or raisins, and can be served with jam and cream. (Devonshire Tea)
11. Marmite Divides The Nation
Marmite’s slogan is “You either love it or hate it, which is accurate, with people falling firmly into one camp or the other. Americans trying it for the first time almost universally apply too much and have a memorable experience for all the wrong reasons.
It’s a strong and unique taste containing yeast extract. We recommend the thinnest possible scraping on heavily buttered toast, and even then, you still might hate it, but it’s a fundamental part of British food culture.
12. Cheese And Biscuits After The Meal
At formal dinners or in traditional households, cheese comes after the main course, sometimes even after pudding. A British cheeseboard usually includes crackers, possibly grapes or chutney, and maybe celery.
Stilton, cheddar, Wensleydale, and other regional varieties are popular, and the course allows for more wine, extended conversation, and a gentle wind-down toward the end of the evening. It’s all quite leisurely and civilised, and very, very British.
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