Finding UK Foods
When it comes to food in the UK, I have three clear favorites. In order, the one I MUST have while in the UK is a classic fish and chips. For my trip in June, I’ve already scouted two locations, new to me, to try to find a fish and chip meal that can come even close to the chippy in Dunoon, Scotland: Anselmo’s. I’ll post about those experiences later.
Third on my list is the traditional Sunday roast. There is really no meal like it anywhere. And that Yorkshire Pudding! Oh. My. Goodness! I don’t think I’ll have time for this one on my trip.
But smack dab in the middle, and also on my “must have” list for this trip is the traditional Full English Breakfast.
The Full English, as it’s called, is typically made up of one sunny side up egg (sometimes two), mushrooms, back bacon, fried bread, blood, or black, sausage, a fried tomato, hash browns (or the more traditional Bubble and Squeak), and baked beans.
Whenever I talk about the Full English, and how much I love every part of it, I typically get two responses. First, blood pudding??? How can you eat that?? Well, quite easily in fact.
The second is, “Baked beans? For breakfast? What is going on with these Brits???”
And, in fact, you can blame the Americans for this one.
Heinz started selling canned baked beans a long, long time ago in the UK. And during the Great Wars, it became a staple of English households by order of the government. It was filling. It had some nutritional value. And, it was canned. It would last forever.
The British had never heard of baked beans until the American stepped in.
Oh, and you can blame the Americans for the tomato as well. It was imported and not grown locally for a long time.
Sometimes, the baked beans are just dumped on the plate straight out of the can without even bothering to heat it up. I happen to like this method best because it most closely resembles what I do when eating them at home. Why bother with a pan and washing up when there are perfectly cooked beans you can just dip out with a spoon!
So, the next time you turn your nose up at baked beans for breakfast, remember.
It is our fault.
My goodness, that is a big breakfast! Reminds me of one of our hotel restaurant managers who was originally from England. She won over all the UK tourists in the little restaurant by preparing many things these guests were used to getting at home. “Toad in a hole” and all sorts of things. The toast and baked beans reminded me. Thank you for sharing! Always nice to have these prompts of fun memories.
All three are my faves! My first UK food was fish & chips at the Beehive in the Grass Market, Edinburgh. Most of the best ones were eaten in Scotland.