Culture Shock: British Food

England has a reputation for having terrible food. I wonder, though, how much of that reputation is deserved, and how much is due to the bizarre names that they give to some of their traditional dishes?

“Bubble and Squeak,” for example sounds weird, right? In reality, it’s just mashed potatoes with a very small quantity of cheese and cabbage (or whatever other vegetable you like) mixed in. Not scary at all, and actually quite delicious.

Here’s a list of British foods taken from a blog called “The Accidental Hedonist.” They’ve done a great job of cataloging some of the weirdest food names you'll run across in England.

• Aberdeen Nips

• Beef Cecils

• Black Pudding

• Bubble and Squeak

• Clapshot

• Cullen Skink

• Dean's Cream

• Fitless Cock

• Flummery

• Girdle Sponges

• Hob Nobs

• Huffkins

• Hunter's Buns

• Love in Disguise

• Inky Pinky

• Knickerbocker Glory

• Marmite

• Priddy Oggies

• Scouse

• Singing Hinnies

• Slot

• Spotted Dick

• Toad-in-the-hole

• Wet Nelly

• Wow-Wow Sauce

What does that all mean? Here’s the translation:

• Aberdeen Nips - Smoked haddock on toast

• Beef Cecils - Meatballs

• Black Pudding - A sausage made with blood.

• Bubble and Squeak - A potato and cabbage mixture traditionally served with cold meat from the Sunday roast, and pickles. The name comes from the sounds it makes whilst in the oven.

• Clapshot - Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with chives and lard

• Cullen Skink - Fish-and-potato soup from the northeast of Scotland

• Dean's Cream - Spongecake, jam, whipped cream and fruit

• Fitless Cock - Oatmeal pudding made in the shape of a chicken

• Flummery - A pudding made with lemon, yolks and Brandy

• Girdle Sponges - Fried sponge cakes

• Hob Nobs - Mass produced oat biscuits, some of which are coated with chocolate

• Huffkins - Bread rolls made with milk

• Hunter's Buns - Oatmeal biscuits

• Love in Disguise - Stuffed, baked calf heart

• Inky Pinky - A gravy made with leftover beef bits and stock

• Knickerbocker Glory - A dessert made with ice cream, meringue, fruits, whipped cream and alcohol

• Marmite - A spread made from yeast extract. Matt loves this, and eats it on toast every morning. (Personally, I can't even stand the smell of it.)

• Priddy Oggies - Pork and cheese pastry

• Scouse - Mutton stew mixed with hardtack

• Singing Hinnies - Currant cake

• Slot - Cod Roe Dumplings

• Spotted Dick - suet pudding containing dried fruit, either raisins or currants

• Toad-in-the-hole - Sausages in Yorkshire pudding mix, served with vegetables and gravy

• Wet Nelly - A pudding made of suet, bread and spices.

• Wow-Wow Sauce - Pickled walnut gravy

Here’s one of my own discovery. Can you imagine browsing through the supermarket and stumbling across this?