How To Buy British Food As An Expat part 2 – Part one is here.
Ways to Buy British Food as an Expat
An Englishman usually drinks tea, eats scones with jam and clotted cream, or even spotted dick for dessert. To be fair, that’s not too far from the truth. But some things are just what they seem on the tin. It’s easy to find traditional English food in almost any country in the world.
Besides, what about when you want to buy British food? Well, Britain? Here are a few ideas to ensure that you can have a taste of home whenever you feel the urge.
Use the Internet
The first thing that every expat will tell you is that buying British food online is one of the best ways to ensure that your cupboards stay full of the things that you miss. Several British food retailers deliver to expats worldwide, so once you have set up an account with them, you can buy your favorite brands of crisps, snacks, and tinned goods in large quantities to keep yourself in stock.
Visit the British Sections of Supermarkets
Some supermarkets now have large sections designated to British food imports so that you can buy your favorite British fruit and vegetables as well as meat and other staples such as flour.
These sections will also be useful for buying ingredients for British recipes, such as Marmite and Bovril, which may not be easy to get hold of in some parts of the world.
Embrace Local Food
Although it can be nice to be able to eat some familiar foods, you also need to embrace the culture that you are living in and try out their cuisine – this will give you a deeper understanding of where your host country is coming from, just like you are bringing your food culture with you.
Visit Local Markets and Butchers
This will be the most authentic way to get hold of British ingredients in some places. It can also lead to finding new foods and flavors that you may not have even known existed before – they can provide a great introduction to the native cuisine of your host country.
Adapt Your Favorite Recipes to Use Local Ingredients
Adapting your recipes to the product available in your host country will allow you to make all of your old favorites, even if there are some ingredients that you can’t find. Not only is that, but it also means that you will never get bored of the food that you are cooking.
Try Local Equivalents of Your Favourite British Foods
Most Western countries have developed their versions of popular British snacks, so you should be able to find crisps and chocolate bars that taste similar, if not exactly like the brands that you miss back home.
Seek Out Specialist Shops and Online Retailers
Finally, it is always possible to find British food that can’t be found in supermarkets or markets by seeking out specialist shops and online retailers – there’s a good chance that wherever you are, someone somewhere will stock the things you want.
Top 10 Countries Where You Can Buy British Food
Germany
British food isn’t exactly popular in Germany, but it is available. UK supermarkets like Tesco or Marks & Spencer make themselves known by offering some of their goods online (though shipping costs usually make them more expensive than items sold in local stores).
Poland
Although Polish people love British products – for instance, the Britvic brand is one of the biggest soft drink producers in Poland – they import most of their food from Germany. There are several Tesco stores in Warsaw, where British people living or working in Poland can pick up some groceries if they don’t want to go all the way back home for them.
Norway
Norwegians don’t have a lot of their food brands, so they usually rely on stores from the United States and the United Kingdom. British supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury’s try to provide goods that Norwegians want, but it isn’t always easy.
Russia
British products are extremely popular in Russia, and local supermarkets like Metro and Magnit carry lots of them. British products can cost more than those made in Russia, but many Russian consumers don’t mind the price as they offer quality goods.
South Korea
Tesco opened its first store in Seoul in 2011 and has been very successful since then. They now have 60 stores in the country and plan on opening 100 more. South Koreans love British food, and they also like that Tesco offers local products as well. In addition, South Koreans love British culture and could be considered the largest consumers of English goods outside of Europe.
Switzerland
‘British food’ usually means ‘fancy cake,’ but there is quite a lot more to the UK’s cuisine than cakes and pastries. A good example of that is British delicacies like pies, crumpets or scones, which you can find in many Swiss supermarkets. Of course, these items are not cheap (because Britain is not cheap), but they will definitely be a nice treat for your taste buds.
China
There’s more to Chinese food than dumplings and noodles, as some might know, for example, scones. A British bakery in Hong Kong recently became very popular by selling its version of the quintessential afternoon tea snack. They even managed to translate the original British scone recipe of enriched dough baked with cut-in shapes, so no worries if you cannot read traditional Chinese.
Singapore
A former British colony and now one of Asia’s most modern metropolises, it makes sense that Singapore has a great variety of grocery stores offering products from home. You will find British food items in supermarkets and smaller shops, where you can get all kinds of imported goods.
Australia
With a long history of British colonization, it is no wonder that Australians quite like British food as well! Many small stores specialize in importing UK snacks, and the occasional supermarket also offers some items. The UK food aisle is particularly popular among young adults, who like to go for a ‘British snack night’ sometimes.
United States
British food items are extremely popular in the US – especially American expats living in the country enjoy them and British tourists. You can buy British snacks (cheese crackers! Scotch eggs! Irn Bru!) at supermarkets, smaller specialty stores, or e-commerce websites like amazon.
Frequently Asked Questions about British Food
What are Fish and Chips?
One of the unique aspects of British cuisine is fried fish, particularly cod. The fish is battered in a custom flour mixture and then deep-fried in oil or lard. As a result, it provides a crispy exterior with moist meat inside.
In some areas, such as Yorkshire, traditional English fish and chips often come with a side of mushy peas. Outside of England, fish and chips may be served with French fries or even a fried batter tortilla.
What is a British Food Glossary?
A ‘British food glossary’ lists all the most important items in a traditional British menu and explains what they are. This article does exactly that! There are some things to bear in mind here: firstly, there is no such thing as an entirely traditional British cuisine – it has been influenced by everything from French cuisine to the spread of spices as a result of the British Empire.
What makes a Traditional British Breakfast?
Traditional English breakfast includes bacon, sausages, grilled tomatoes, and fried eggs. It is usually served with toast and/or fried bread. Sometimes beans or mushrooms will be included to accompany the other items on the plate. Finally, a traditional breakfast would not be complete without tea or coffee to drink.
What are the ingredients in English Muffins?
English muffin recipes usually contain flour, milk, yeast, and eggs. The batter rises for a few hours and then spooned into greased pans before baking. This creates a flat, circular object with nooks and crannies on top and bottom. To serve, the muffin is sliced in two and toasted.
What is Chocolate Hobnobs?
Chocolate hobnob recipes usually contain rolled oats, butter, plain or milk chocolate chips, sugar, egg, and golden syrup (corn syrup). The mixture is baked together before being cut into cookie shapes. After baking for 10 minutes, the cookies are left in the oven to cool for a few minutes before being moved to a wire rack.
What are Bangers and Mash?
Bangers and mash recipes usually call for sausages, mashed potatoes, onion gravy, salt, and pepper. First, the sausages are pan-fried until they brown over all sides. After this, the onions are added and cooked until they become translucent.
Salt, pepper, and flour are then used to make a roux that will thicken the gravy before finally being poured over the sausages. The mashed potatoes are usually made with milk, butter, salt, and pepper as seasonings.
What are Haggis and Black Pudding?
Haggis recipes usually call for sheep’s pluck (heart, liver, and lungs), mixed with onion, suet, oatmeal, salt, and stock. The ingredients are then boiled in the stomach of a slaughtered sheep until they become tender. After boiling, it can be sliced into individual servings and served hot.
Black pudding recipes usually call for pork blood and fat mixed with oats, spices, and herbs before being stuffed into a casing made of animal intestine. It is then boiled, sliced, and fried to give the crisp exterior that many people associate with this dish.
Conclusion
While British cuisine might not be the most famous one globally, it is certainly worth trying out. Whether you are visiting Britain or just looking for some fancy snacks to treat yourself with, it’s essential to have a taste to know how it feels. Nonetheless, you can refer to this article for relevant information.
