British food has always been a bit of a mystery to folks across the pond. While the UK has gifted the world countless culinary treasures, some dishes leave Americans scratching their heads in total bewilderment. From ingredients that sound alarming to names that provoke giggles, these ten British classics prove that what’s comfort food in one country can be pure confusion in another. Let’s dive into the dishes that spark the most transatlantic debate.
1. Jellied Eels
Jellied eels consist of chopped eels boiled in spiced stock that’s allowed to cool and set, forming a jelly, usually served cold. This East London delicacy dates back centuries when eels were abundant in the Thames. Eel numbers have declined dramatically since the 1980s, making this once common street food increasingly rare. At the end of the Second World War, there were around 100 eel, pie and mash houses in London, in 1995 there were 87, and in the present day, there are relatively few eel, pie and mash shops. The grey, viscous texture bewilders Americans who encounter it, though Londoners cherish it as a taste of home. The dish represents everything strange about British cuisine to outsiders, honestly, the appearance alone is enough to make anyone pause.
2. Black Pudding
Black pudding is a distinct national type of blood sausage originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland, made from pork or occasionally beef blood, with pork fat or beef suet, and a cereal, usually oatmeal, oat groats, or barley groats. Black pudding is illegal to import into the U.S., which partly explains why Americans find it so foreign.
Slices of fried or grilled black pudding are more usually served as part of a traditional full breakfast, a tradition that followed British and Irish emigrants around the world. The very idea of eating congealed blood for breakfast sends most Americans running, even though it’s packed with iron and protein. Many Britons, especially younger ones, exclude it from their diets, showing even locals have mixed feelings.
3. Spotted Dick
The name alone causes Americans to erupt in laughter before they even learn what it is. Spotted dick is a traditional British steamed pudding, historically made with suet and dried fruit, where spotted is a reference to the dried fruit in the pudding and dick refers to pudding. The dish is first attested in Alexis Soyer’s The Modern Housewife or, Ménagère, published in 1849.
The words ‘dick’ and ‘dog’ were once synonymous with the word ‘dough,’ and at that time, you might hear someone say ‘puddick’ or ‘puddog’ to refer to a British pudding dessert, though over time the name simply became shortened. Some restaurants have even renamed it “Spotted Richard” to avoid embarrassment. The dense, fruity steamed cake served with custard remains delicious, yet the unfortunate name ensures it’ll always get giggles from visitors.
4. Beans on Toast
To Americans, it almost seems like a prank, a can of Heinz baked beans dumped onto buttered toast, but in Britain, it’s a celebrated staple, and a 2024 YouGov ranking of the most popular British dishes had the nation putting beans on toast in fifth place, above bangers and mash and roast beef. The disconnect comes from the beans themselves. British-style Heinz baked beans don’t have the sugary, molasses-heavy sweetness that many American baked beans do, and they’re much more tomato-forward.
Heinz baked beans were a popular item in Britain in the first half of the 20th century, and during World War II-era food rationing, its canned beans were declared an essential food item by the U.K.’s Ministry of Food. Americans eat beans as a barbecue side dish, not breakfast, which makes the whole concept baffling. Yet this simple, cheap meal remains a British icon that sparks passionate online debates. Today, 43% of British folks say they eat baked beans every week, frequently served on toast.
5. Toad in the Hole
Toad in the hole contains zero toads and few holes, which immediately confuses Americans expecting literal amphibians. The dish actually consists of sausages baked into Yorkshire pudding batter, creating a golden, puffy creation that’s pure comfort food. It’s hearty, filling, and utterly British in its straightforward approach to dinner.
Americans already struggle with Yorkshire pudding as a concept, so combining it with sausages in a baking dish seems particularly odd. The name doesn’t help matters, sounding more like a children’s game than a legitimate meal. Still, this classic remains a family favorite across Britain, served with gravy and vegetables for a proper Sunday dinner vibe.
6. Scotch Egg
A Scotch egg is an egg wrapped in a sausage, and no one knows why or how. This peculiar creation involves a hard boiled egg encased in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs, then deep fried or baked until golden. It sounds like something invented during a midnight snack raid gone wonderfully wrong.
To Americans, the concept seems unnecessarily complicated. Why not just eat the egg and sausage separately? The British answer, naturally, is because this way is better. Scotch eggs appear at picnics, in pub lunches, and as portable snacks throughout the UK. They’re filling, tasty, and utterly mystifying to anyone who didn’t grow up with them as a normal option.
7. Bubble and Squeak
The name sounds like something from a nursery rhyme rather than your dinner plate. Bubble and squeak is essentially fried leftover vegetables, typically cabbage and potatoes from Sunday roast, mixed together and pan fried until crispy. It earned its whimsical name from the sounds the vegetables make while cooking.
Americans find the concept of deliberately frying leftover vegetables as a main dish rather strange. Sure, leftovers get reheated, but making them the star attraction? That’s distinctly British thriftiness at work. The dish represents post war sensibilities about wasting nothing, turning yesterday’s accompaniments into today’s comfort food. Honestly, it’s delicious when done right, though the name ensures Americans will always be confused.
8. Stargazy Pie
This Cornish dish takes the prize for most visually disturbing British food. Stargazy pie features whole pilchards or sardines baked into a pie with their heads poking through the crust, appearing to gaze skyward. The presentation is deliberately theatrical, meant to show diners the pie contains real fish while allowing the oils to run back into the filling.
Americans accustomed to fish being neatly filleted and hidden find the protruding fish heads genuinely horrifying. The dish commemorates a legend from the village of Mousehole about a fisherman who braved stormy seas to feed his village. It’s rarely eaten outside Cornwall these days, even Brits from other regions find it startling. The combination of folklore, function, and fish heads creates something that photographs terribly yet holds deep cultural significance.
9. Marmite
Americans are just as shocked by British love of Marmite as any other controversial UK food. This thick, dark brown yeast extract spread inspires fierce devotion or complete revulsion, with the brand’s own slogan acknowledging “You either love it or hate it.” Made from leftover brewer’s yeast, Marmite has an intensely salty, savory flavor that’s utterly unique.
Americans trying Marmite for the first time typically make the mistake of spreading it like peanut butter, which leads to overwhelming saltiness and immediate disgust. The proper technique involves the tiniest scraping spread on heavily buttered toast, but that nuance gets lost in translation. Brits grow up with Marmite, developing tolerance and affection, while Americans remain baffled by why anyone would voluntarily eat what tastes like concentrated salt paste.
10. Pie and Mash with Liquor
The main dish sold is pie and mash, a minced beef and cold water pastry pie served with mashed potato, and the meat pie and mashed potato are served atop or covered with a parsley sauce commonly called “liquor sauce” or simply “liquor,” traditionally made using the water kept from the preparation of stewed eels, flour, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. Americans hear “liquor” and expect alcohol, not bright green parsley sauce.
Through the 2020s, industry experts continue to note that affluent new locals are now more interested in “lattes and paninis” than a dish typically associated with working class Londoners. In May 2023, the iconic Grade II listed art deco building at 9 Broadway Market in Hackney, which had been home to F. Cooke’s pie and mash shop for the previous 120 years, was taken over by Cubitts. This traditional East End working class meal represents a disappearing London, confusing to Americans who can’t quite grasp why anyone would pour eel water sauce over perfectly good pie.
British cuisine remains wonderfully, bewilderingly unique. These dishes tell stories of rationing, resourcefulness, and regional pride that Americans simply don’t share. What seems bizarre from the outside represents comfort, nostalgia, and tradition to those who grew up with these foods. The cultural divide runs deeper than just ingredients or preparation methods, it’s about entirely different food philosophies developed on opposite sides of the Atlantic. So next time you encounter a British dish that makes absolutely no sense, remember there’s probably a war story, a historical accident, or just pure British stubbornness behind it. Would you be brave enough to try them all?
