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Holiday in the UK - food!

DChes said:
Correction: a bag of British crisps are called potato chips in America and while they have some flavours you won't get in the US, they are just as carb-full as any white potato product. One ounce is one serving of 15 carbs if there is not additional sugar added in the flavoring.
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Not all crisps are potato-based. Skips are definitely 7.5g per packet and contain no potatoes. I think they are corn based.
There are also crisps based on lentils.
 
Corned beef should be just beef, salt and sometimes nitrites to help with preservation. It doesn't necessarily look the most appetising sight, but it can be very tasty.
Some of the carbtastic options are quite simply gopping (yes, look that one up, but NOT in the Urban Dictionary!)

For a low carber, clotted cream is a must try. It's on another level.
 
Lentil crisps are almost 62% carbs - lentil, maize and potato starch.
Skips are 57% carbs - tapioca, maize and sugar.
However, a serving (packet) is only 13 to 15 grams, so you wouldn't be getting much carb per packet.
 
AndBreathe said:
gopping (yes, look that one up, but NOT in the Urban Dictionary!)
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And thanks. :wideyed: :yuck:
AndBreathe said:
Corned beef should be just beef, salt and sometimes nitrites to help with preservation. It doesn't necessarily look the most appetising sight, but it can be very tasty.
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But do I look for a tin or something else? How do I tell quality corned beef from the cat food they sell in my country?
AndBreathe said:
For a low carber, clotted cream is a must try. It's on another level.
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Had it once when they sold it at Lidl, will definitely have again!
If all meal planning fails I can always just eat a tub of it and call it a meal!
 
You might think that corned beef looks like fairly coarse cat food, but it should taste good all the same.
You can get it in tins (Princes, Libbys, Fray Bentos are all fairly good makes). There are usually 2 sizes of tins - a small tin should be enough for a meal. Some deli counters also sell it as loose slices or some supermarkets will have slices in plastic packs. I think tins are best.
 
Rachox said:
What makes you say that? They always have Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max or similar.

I love a full English cooked brekkie, I’m sure there’ll be a suitable Greasy Spoon in Brum where you could get one. I’ve recently tried black pudding, never liked the idea of it but tried some recently and it’s lovely!

Edit, PS don’t expect our mayo to match up to yours!
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the majority of pumped or syphoned 'diet drinks ' with coke or pepsi labels or similar are called a soda syrup, in which forced carbonated water is used to make the drink. This syrup is not low in sugar or in additives necessary for production or syphoning. It may be low in calories but...........
always buy in bottles of cans
 
You can get fish in tins as well - mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna - some are in oil (usually sunflower but you can get them in olive oil), some in brine, some in tomato sauce and some in plain spring water. You need to check that the tin has a ring pull to open it. Some of the round tins need a tin opener.
 
Now I really want to try Dutch mayo! What’s different about it?

@Antje77 I’m trying to remember: there was something mentioned in the What Have You Eaten Today thread a couple of weeks back, which you said was too expensive for you to buy at home but is much cheaper in UK. I’ll keep racking my brains and if you remember what it was, then stock up on it while you’re here!
 
DJC3 said:
Now I really want to try Dutch mayo! What’s different about it?

@Antje77 I’m trying to remember: there was something mentioned in the What Have You Eaten Today thread a couple of weeks back, which you said was too expensive for you to buy at home but is much cheaper in UK. I’ll keep racking my brains and if you remember what it was, then stock up on it while you’re here!
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You're a genius for remembering, I had completely forgotten!

Must have been almond flour/ground almonds.
So where do I buy the cheapest?
 
Ground almonds, Anything equal to £10 a kilo is good.
Lidl is good for 165g packs on long dates, and for packs of nuts
In any mall or High Street check out Holland and Barratt health food shops, but only for deals, or a shop called Grape Tree for nuts

Snacks and things, cook hard boiled eggs ahead, they keep well without a fridge.

Talking of fridges, October camping will be cold. Have you considered house sitting? Stay somewhere free in return for looking after the pets. I recommend trustedhousesitters.com It's how we travel so much for so little costs. Sign up for about €100 for an entire year of stays.
Check out too Youth hostels, not just for the young.
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Cheeses, local. You will be near to Stilton, the strong blue cheese.

South of Harwcih you might like to check out Clacton on Sea and Southend on Sea, both typical seaside resorts that might be sleepy at that time of year but still oh so English.
North of Harwich past Ipswich is Woodbridge, lovely foody town but quite pricey
Cambridge worth a stroll. Check out student sites for cheap places to eat/stay.
 
I use TripAdvisor a lot. Ignore any review by an American (they expect everywhere to be the same as USA), trust any review by a Netherlander :), always realistic
 
Truck stops are the best for meals, they are far better than the greasy spoon cafe's at service stations are.

Better choices, and at a better price here in Australia, so should be the same in the UK.

If you succub to a fee of fish and chips make sure they are cooked in dripping, and the chips doubled dipped
 
There are several apps which are useful when traveling/camping.
Park4night is one such - I'll see if I can find or recall some others.
There is a book which gives details of places which allow a single overnight stay in pub car parks and similar places - they obviously hope you'll go in to eat or drink rather than stay in the car or van all evening, but it is (correction) around £30, so if you get two or three free stays rather than having to pay then it has covered its price. At the moment it has gone midnight and my brain has gone to bed even if I have not - but I will probably remember the name tomorrow.
Still awake now - the book is Britstops, but not every site has facilities for anything but self contained vans.
There is also Search for sites, which I think has a small fee to use it, but might be suitable with daytime parking information and also facilities. I am sure that having the names information can be found to see if anything might be of help in your travels.
 
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Antje77 said:
I'll be visiting the UK for ten days early october so I thought to ask you what foods I definitely want to try!
Having so many locals on hand on the forum I would be stupid to not make use of your collective wisdom. :joyful:

I'm looking for tips on supermarket foods as well as eating out in the cheaper segment.
And foods good to bring home with me as well.
Which supermarkets are the nicest? Or are they more or less the same?

I'll have a single camping cooker, a frying pan, a cooking pan and a small kettle. And a very small tent, no awning, so the ability to cook depends largely on the weather. Although I suppose I could still cook soup when it rains. :hilarious:
So ideas for easy (but tasty!) meals that don't need cooking are very welcome, but please add your tips for cooked meals as well, I expect it won't rain every day!

As for eating out, what are favourite places?
I'll be driving around roughly within the Harwich - London - Birmingham triangle, so specific small village places within that area are much welcomed.

I've never eaten a full English breakfast so I definitely need to try (minus toast and beans, and definitely not right after waking up), but where do you eat something like that? I'm not very experienced at eating out, not even in my own country so pretty much out of my depth here.

Should you happen to know a very nice small camping within that area, preferably with goats, chickens, guinea pigs, cows etc. or a nice view over a lake or such, tell me! So far I have only planned my first night so I can go wherever I want. The only thing I need in a camping is a spot to put up my tent and park my car, nothing fancy like electricity.

Any off topic tips on traveling in the UK, places to see, things to do are welcome too, derail away all you like!
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As you are starting from Harwich, the Stour Valley which divides Essex and Suffolk is really pretty. Just inside the Suffolk border you might investigate this rather long link!!

I just typed in Camping pubs near me and it came up with Edwardstone, a tiny village with the campsite adjoining the pub. It is a beautiful area and the pub has great reviews. I haven't been in there for a few years now, but it looks as though it's much the same! Enjoy!
 
Do they have pork scratchings where you are @Antje77 ? If not there are proper pork scratchings which are rock hard and crunchy and amazing! there is also pork puffs which are ok, taste good but sort of go to dust in your mouth and you need a drink to get them down, I personally don’t like them much because they go to dust and get stuck in the back of my throat and I hate the feeling. Some pork butchers make their own scratching which are just wow!

You can get hot cooked chicken in most larger supermarkets, some of them have ham hocks and sausages too. If you like something with a vinegary kick pickled eggs in a jar are an experience - bit like marmite I love them but they kill me lol
 
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