Food Across the Kingdom

Hey guys! Sorry for the mixup with the blog link but it was great hearing from you guys! It sounds like a lot of you are interested in sports, music, and animals so I'll definitely have to get those topics into some future posts.

This week I wanted to talk about something near and dear to everyone's hearts: food. Although most kinds of foods are popular throughout the UK there are some more unique foods that each place is known for, and that I have come to enjoy... and others not so much.

Because Brighton is on the southern coast of the UK, seafood is a bit more common than other places in the country. While it is a common dish throughout the country, fish and chips is often associated with the seaside town.

Usually made with cod, it's generally a full fried fish (sometimes two) served with wedge cut fries (they call French fries chips in the UK) and a side of either whole or mashed peas. While I'm pretty impartial to the peas, I absolutely love the fish and chips. Most people put ketchup, tartar sauce, brown sauce (a vinegary sauce) and/or ranch on the fish and either ketchup or mayonnaise on the fries. Together, the two make the perfect combination of savory goodness.

Once you jump up north to Scotland you'll find two dishes that people find the most questionable, the first of which is haggis.

To be honest, if I'd known what haggis was before trying it, I may not like it as much as I do, as it is ground up sheep intestines. The photo on the right shows a more traditional haggis, but I have only tried them in the form of nachos (perhaps another reason I enjoyed them so much).

The second dish is found in a Scottish breakfast. A traditional English and Scottish breakfast are fairly similar, including sausages, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and beans on toast. However, the latter will often include black pudding. 

Black pudding is a grilled patty of coagulated pig blood that, in my opinion, tastes about as good as it sounds. The texture reminded me of a dry baked potato and the flavor is vaguely like overcooked meat. Above is a picture of my friend Reid discovering what it was after his first bite.

Although it's not a meal, I think this dish deserves a place in this post as they are unique to the UK, and that is the pasty (with a short "a").

A pasty is essentially a croissant filled with stew. Traditionally it is filled with beef but can also have chicken, sausage, or most other kinds of meat. Here's a picture of me trying my first past in Windsor. Although I was a bit skeptical at first, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have had many more since.

The final dish is a personal favorite of mine, partially because for its flavor and partially for its price. Every Sunday, throughout the UK, most restaurants will serve a Sunday Roast for around £10.

This dish features baked potato slices, some kind of veggies (usually asparagus), Yorkshire pudding with gravy, and a steak. Altogether, the medley of flavors is good enough that you almost have to eat the whole thing, despite the large portion. 

These are some of my favorite dishes I've discovered since I've been here. What are some of your favorite meals? And what is the craziest/strangest thing you've tried?

Cheers!