To the Brits - do you think everything here in the US is too sweet?

[Dan&Tiffany 0]

I am definitely going to be grabbing the nearest person I know with a Makro card and make them take me bulk buy shopping nothing is better than a 2KG tub of Marmite and of course a box of Crunchie's to earn me 3 million brownie points with the soon to be Mrs Dan

Haha - LOTS of brownie point indeed! Thank goodness there is a shop just up the road that sells both of these! The British Emporium in Grapevine is fantastic. We went by there a few days ago - lots of yummy stuff.

But do they have Mr Kipling's lemon slices? If they do...I may have to go on up to Grapevine. I like those things.

Not really sure about that HA, but I'm sure I'll be going back before TOO long! Give them a call - they do have a website.

[homesick_american 1]

I am definitely going to be grabbing the nearest person I know with a Makro card and make them take me bulk buy shopping nothing is better than a 2KG tub of Marmite and of course a box of Crunchie's to earn me 3 million brownie points with the soon to be Mrs Dan

Haha - LOTS of brownie point indeed! Thank goodness there is a shop just up the road that sells both of these! The British Emporium in Grapevine is fantastic. We went by there a few days ago - lots of yummy stuff.

But do they have Mr Kipling's lemon slices? If they do...I may have to go on up to Grapevine. I like those things.

Not really sure about that HA, but I'm sure I'll be going back before TOO long! Give them a call - they do have a website.

I've seen their site; they don't have a list of what they have. I suppose I COULD call them.

[ajames79 0]

Invest in a good knife as well...we love our bread maker, I got it as a gift several years ago, but cutting it for sandwiches or good toast was the problem! We have a chef friend who I was talking to about this and he gave us this amazing knife as a gift for our wedding..it has made all the difference.

The best thing to do is actually go to a shop together and test them out. One knife may work for one half but not the other. For example, Wusthofs are slightly lighter and have smaller handles, whereas Henckels have larger handles but with virtually the same blade as Wusthofs. It depends on hand size etc. I love Globals, but they're a ####### to sharpen as the blade is cut differently. We've been slowly growing our knife collection, and if you look after them they will last for life. Ebay have great bargains on the top ranges.

That was a geeks knife post.

agree with you. I've grown into a bit of a knife geek myself. I cook a lot and love all my specialty knifes...just never got a good bread knief. Yay for the chef friend again..it is a wusthof...

[no name 1]

The best thing to do is actually go to a shop together and test them out. One knife may work for one half but not the other. For example, Wusthofs are slightly lighter and have smaller handles, whereas Henckels have larger handles but with virtually the same blade as Wusthofs. It depends on hand size etc. I love Globals, but they're a ####### to sharpen as the blade is cut differently. We've been slowly growing our knife collection, and if you look after them they will last for life. Ebay have great bargains on the top ranges.

That was a geeks knife post.

I LOVE our Henckels!

My mom always said good knives are worth the investment (& will last forever). PLus they are amazing to work with!

[chloe 1]

just a quickie question, not sure if this is down to the addition of corn syrup!!!

but I bought a tin of Kroger veggie beans yesterday, and as a lifelong calorie counter, of course first thing I do is check the cals.

Apparently 2 servings per tin, 270 cals per serving!!!

A whole tin of beans in the Uk would set you back about 300 a tin.

Ive noticed with a lot of tinned goods, that the calories are usually a good 150-200 cals more than the british

equivalent.

Is this due to the corn syrup also, or am I being a complete moron and reading the labels wrong?

Any comments appreciated (except ones confirming my moronic tendencies)

cheers

x

[Dr_LHA 3]

Beans tend to be loaded with brown sugar in the USA, so the higher calorific content doesn't surprise me. I expect when you eat them you'll notice that they're far sweeter than UK beans.

[kittykatwoman 0]

I'm not Brit but yes everything is too sweet. Add to that too fat and the quality is very average even for supposedly "gourmet" products.

[homesick_american 1]

I'm not Brit but yes everything is too sweet. Add to that too fat and the quality is very average even for supposedly "gourmet" products.

The American palate is obviously different from the various European palates and food here is developed with the American palate in mind. It takes some getting used to. I found some 'gourmet' products in the UK strange; I wouldn't be so bold as to say the quality was poor but some of it definitely didn't appeal to me. British food took some getting used to, but I did eventually get used to it.

You could use this as an excuse to switch to non-processed foods like fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, freshly-baked bread (you can get it without HFCS if you look), and lean meats....then you would be healthier, too.

[kittykatwoman 0]

I'm not Brit but yes everything is too sweet. Add to that too fat and the quality is very average even for supposedly "gourmet" products.

The American palate is obviously different from the various European palates and food here is developed with the American palate in mind. It takes some getting used to. I found some 'gourmet' products in the UK strange; I wouldn't be so bold as to say the quality was poor but some of it definitely didn't appeal to me. British food took some getting used to, but I did eventually get used to it.

You could use this as an excuse to switch to non-processed foods like fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, freshly-baked bread (you can get it without HFCS if you look), and lean meats....then you would be healthier, too.

Well about the quality there is obviously a difference of focus from French shelves and American shelves : French companies focus on tasting qualities, American companies focus on the time it can stay on the shelf and the difference is so obvious to me it makes eating a huge dilemma (when I don't have time to cook). I will be the snooty and obnoxious French personn on the quality of the food in America because it is a reality. There are excellent products here, the meat, the fish and produces are good. Other than that it doesn't meet my expectations. My husband can't stand waht he used to eat and find pretty much everythign crappy after he spent 3 years eating my groceries and cuisine.

I do go to farmer's market, grow my own veggies, have chickens and shop at stores like Top food, Trader Joes etc etc to find at least thing that deserve to be cooked. Because a good dish starts with good ingredients. I have my routines and now enjoy my table again.

[Mags 112]

Beans tend to be loaded with brown sugar in the USA, so the higher calorific content doesn't surprise me. I expect when you eat them you'll notice that they're far sweeter than UK beans.

Plus you could always get "reduced sugar and salt" beans in the UK. I've yet to find an equivalent over here; does anyone know if you can?

[britty 1]

i find the bread here revolting - its so sweet that it really qualifies as cake. There is a store called Bloom that sells a "baked on the premises" plain white unsliced loaf and that is the only bread I can eat. It actually tastes like bread from a UK baker but it means I have to drive 10 miles to get it! I think the chocolate is really too sweet and hurts my teeth so I buy UK chocolate. Everything else tastes more or less the same though.

[homesick_american 1]

I'm not Brit but yes everything is too sweet. Add to that too fat and the quality is very average even for supposedly "gourmet" products.

The American palate is obviously different from the various European palates and food here is developed with the American palate in mind. It takes some getting used to. I found some 'gourmet' products in the UK strange; I wouldn't be so bold as to say the quality was poor but some of it definitely didn't appeal to me. British food took some getting used to, but I did eventually get used to it.

You could use this as an excuse to switch to non-processed foods like fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, freshly-baked bread (you can get it without HFCS if you look), and lean meats....then you would be healthier, too.

Well about the quality there is obviously a difference of focus from French shelves and American shelves : French companies focus on tasting qualities, American companies focus on the time it can stay on the shelf and the difference is so obvious to me it makes eating a huge dilemma (when I don't have time to cook). I will be the snooty and obnoxious French personn on the quality of the food in America because it is a reality. There are excellent products here, the meat, the fish and produces are good. Other than that it doesn't meet my expectations. My husband can't stand waht he used to eat and find pretty much everythign crappy after he spent 3 years eating my groceries and cuisine.

I do go to farmer's market, grow my own veggies, have chickens and shop at stores like Top food, Trader Joes etc etc to find at least thing that deserve to be cooked. Because a good dish starts with good ingredients. I have my routines and now enjoy my table again.

I've spent a lot of time in France and believe me, the French pride in the food on the supermarket shelves is...shall we say...misplaced. You can eat well in France, but I think it's ridiculous to say that the food there is fantastic and the food here is terrible. It simply isn't true.

[kittykatwoman 0]

I'm not Brit but yes everything is too sweet. Add to that too fat and the quality is very average even for supposedly "gourmet" products.

The American palate is obviously different from the various European palates and food here is developed with the American palate in mind. It takes some getting used to. I found some 'gourmet' products in the UK strange; I wouldn't be so bold as to say the quality was poor but some of it definitely didn't appeal to me. British food took some getting used to, but I did eventually get used to it.

You could use this as an excuse to switch to non-processed foods like fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, freshly-baked bread (you can get it without HFCS if you look), and lean meats....then you would be healthier, too.

Well about the quality there is obviously a difference of focus from French shelves and American shelves : French companies focus on tasting qualities, American companies focus on the time it can stay on the shelf and the difference is so obvious to me it makes eating a huge dilemma (when I don't have time to cook). I will be the snooty and obnoxious French personn on the quality of the food in America because it is a reality. There are excellent products here, the meat, the fish and produces are good. Other than that it doesn't meet my expectations. My husband can't stand waht he used to eat and find pretty much everythign crappy after he spent 3 years eating my groceries and cuisine.

I do go to farmer's market, grow my own veggies, have chickens and shop at stores like Top food, Trader Joes etc etc to find at least thing that deserve to be cooked. Because a good dish starts with good ingredients. I have my routines and now enjoy my table again.

I've spent a lot of time in France and believe me, the French pride in the food on the supermarket shelves is...shall we say...misplaced. You can eat well in France, but I think it's ridiculous to say that the food there is fantastic and the food here is terrible. It simply isn't true.

You just didn't know what to buy haha

I had a lot of Americans at my table and I still hear a lot about the difference. From th bread to the chocolate, the cheese, the sorbets, the desserts and pastries and all the things I bought and cooked for them, I never heard what you say. But eh "tous les gouts sont dans la nature"!

[homesick_american 1]

You just didn't know what to buy haha

The French host family I stayed with made most of those decisions.

I had a lot of Americans at my table and I still hear a lot about the difference. From th bread to the chocolate, the cheese, the sorbets, the desserts and pastries and all the things I bought and cooked for them, I never heard what you say. But eh "tous les gouts sont dans la nature"!

*shrug* Tell an American that he/she is eating French food and they sort of accept whatever it is as being 'better' or 'gourmet' because French food has that reputation here. It's often undeserved. I didn't think French food was any better than anything else I've had.

[Mags 112]

Well about the quality there is obviously a difference of focus from French shelves and American shelves : French companies focus on tasting qualities, American companies focus on the time it can stay on the shelf and the difference is so obvious to me it makes eating a huge dilemma (when I don't have time to cook). I will be the snooty and obnoxious French personn on the quality of the food in America because it is a reality. There are excellent products here, the meat, the fish and produces are good. Other than that it doesn't meet my expectations. My husband can't stand waht he used to eat and find pretty much everythign crappy after he spent 3 years eating my groceries and cuisine.

I do go to farmer's market, grow my own veggies, have chickens and shop at stores like Top food, Trader Joes etc etc to find at least thing that deserve to be cooked. Because a good dish starts with good ingredients. I have my routines and now enjoy my table again.

I think that there is nothing better than French bread and cheese. I remember once I went over to Le Touquet in a four seater Cessna plane and the whole of the tail fin was filled with french bread on the return trip.

What's even more embarrassing was that I managed to stuff two french sticks into my gob within a hour. I was only 13 and it WAS delicious!

The only bread that has ever come close to French bread for me is the traditional Maltese loaf, sold in Malta - of course! Made from basic ingredients, there are no preservatives, no additives, just basic flour, water and yeast. They are something like 20 pence each and last just a day. But that's the design of them, you buy a fresh loaf every day and discard what you don't use. Crusty, light and bloody wonderful. There is no equivalent in the world.

Wonderful. I really miss bread like that (even with my breadmaker). Whatever anyone says I have yet to find an equivalent to a decent loaf of bread. But tastes differ, I guess. What one person might find acceptable another might not.

That's why there is so much variety in foodstuff. None of us like the same things so I just accept that.