It’s become an international trend for other countries to mock British food, and while it’s an unfair stereotype, some British cuisine is understandably divisive. With unusual ingredients or unique modes of eating them, many British foods simply do not interest other countries, and here are 17 examples.
Beans on Toast
This easy meal is an absolute British classic, but the concept seems strange to foreigners. Canned white beans in a tomato sauce are heated and poured over buttered toast slices. Americans are particularly confused by the use of tomato sauce rather than BBQ-flavored beans.
Black Pudding
According to BBC Good Food, black pudding is one of Britain’s most divisive foods due to its main ingredient–pig blood. Blood is mixed with oatmeal and fat, put into a sausage casing, and boiled. People typically eat this bizarre food in slices, becoming a controversial staple of a ‘full English breakfast.’
Marmite
Tagged with the slogan, “You either love it or hate it,” Marmite is unpalatable to many, including Brits. This sandwich spread has a thick, sticky consistency with a very salty flavor, a product of its main ingredient–yeast extract. Only Australia is enthusiastic about such products, having its own brand, ‘Vegemite.’
Deep-fried Mars Bar
If there’s one thing you’ll never have imagined, it’s a deep-fried chocolate bar. However, this Scottish dish is all too real, having originated as a novelty item that later became mainstream. You won’t enjoy this dish if you can’t stomach the thought of a hot, crispy chocolate bar.
Banana Sandwiches
One thing to know about Brits is that they will put almost anything in a sandwich, including bananas, much to the disgust of other countries. Combining bread and bananas makes for an incredibly soft texture and subtle flavor, with many British people affectionately nicknaming this childhood treat a ‘narnie sarnie.’
Mushy Peas
‘Fish and chips’ is a British dish that most of the world has happily embraced, but the accompaniment of mushy peas has taken things too far. Though they’ve been eaten in the UK for over 60 years, mushy peas are a disgusting concept in other countries due to their unappetizing texture.
Licorice
Black licorice is famed for being disgusting, but it’s considered a traditional British candy. Bon Appétit likens the taste to ‘tree sap and molten tar,’ a sentiment shared by many across the world. Its rough, leathery texture makes it even more unpalatable to eat, so even younger Brits aren’t fond of licorice.
Haggis
This dish is divisive because its ingredients are unappealing, yet most people who try it love the taste. A sheep’s lungs, liver, and heart are minced with beef suet, onion, and spices, then cooked. This national Scottish dish actually offended the US so much that, in 1971, it became illegal to import!
Pork Pies
Pork pies are a stereotypical British food that the rest of the world doesn’t care for. The mixture of pork, fat, and jellied pork stock sounds like too much to stomach, especially when wrapped in a thick layer of savory pastry. However, they’re very popular with Brits as an indulgent snack.
Rice Pudding
Rice pudding is another dish that non-Brits are hesitant to try. Usually served cold, this dessert is made of rice and milk, resulting in a thick and creamy texture. The flavor is usually sweetened with sugar, but the look of it alone is too much for many to stomach.
Scotch Eggs
Scotch eggs are another commonly enjoyed British snack that leaves other nations scratching their heads. A boiled egg is wrapped in sausage meat and bread crumbs before being deep-fried until crispy. Noticing a trend here? Brits love their deep-fried foods!
Laverbread
Described by The Guardian as a ‘Welsh delicacy,’ laverbread is not actually bread at all. It’s a piece of laver seaweed boiled for hours until it gets soft, then dipped in oatmeal and fried. This dish might not be known worldwide, but those who’ve heard of it usually don’t want to try it.
Mince and Tatties
A running joke about British cuisine is that it’s plain, and that’s exactly the case with mince and tatties. In this basic dish, minced meat is mixed with chopped carrots and onions, served alongside mashed potatoes or ‘tatties.’ It’s a simple and nutritious meal, but the rest of the world doesn’t see the appeal.
Kippers
Kippers are a traditional British dish that has been kept at arm’s length by other countries for decades. The name comes from the ‘kippering’ process, through which herring is gutted, salted, smoked, and grilled. Even more bizarrely, it’s often served with a poached egg for breakfast.
Christmas Pudding
Christmas dinner wouldn’t be complete in the UK without Christmas pudding for dessert, a dense cake full of dried fruit and soaked in brandy. However, it hasn’t taken off in other countries; The Huffington Post argues that this is due to its claggy consistency, ugly appearance, and long maturation time.
Prawn Cocktail Crisps
The UK is home to many unusual flavors of chips or ‘crisps,’ but non-Brits are in no rush to try the prawn cocktail flavor. British cook Fanny Cradock popularized these in the 1960s, yet bizarrely, the crisps don’t taste like prawns at all. It’s certainly a divisive snack, even amongst Brits.
Stargazy Pie
Finally, whilst this pie has a dreamy-sounding name, its ingredients are quite the opposite. Stargazy Pie contains baked sardines with their heads sticking out of the pie crust, along with potatoes and eggs. Understandably, these unnerving fish heads have done nothing to improve Britain’s reputation for weird cuisine.
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