Hey CC: clotted cream (also known as Devonshire Cream)is a thick cream made by removing the cream from the top of heated milk.

We ALWAYS find a market close to out hotel when traveling and purchase wine, cheese and fruit for our room.

I find it facinating to see what US folk think is great with everyday British food! and its part of the fun to go into a supermarket in, say, Spain, and try and guess where the shampoos, conditioners, etc. are! You can learn a new language to boot (or get the wrong thing)

This thread makes me long to go somewhere. I too always go to the grocery stores wherever I go, of all things I do this most makes me feel I am somewhere else and takes me outside the tourist experience, as whatever is int he grocery store hasn't been "styled" for me, the visitor, at all.<BR><BR> Favorite things of mine to buy are in Holland, Douwe Egeberts coffss (the Dutch are coffee freaks, they have tastings, contests, etc. about it), and in the Carribean, local hot sauces (which also are often wonderufl to look at in their bottles).<BR><BR> In Poland, dried mushrooms (I don't know if you're supposed to bring them back to the US, but I think Polish people do this) and a liquor product called Advocat, which is pale yellow and opaque and has a picture of a baby chicken on the label. It's egg-noggy and beautiful.

I'll never forget years ago I was having a bad hair episode which we thought was a result of the local "soft" water and decided I needed some conditioner. I went to a Woolworths in Dortmund and tried to guess what was conditioner, not knowing the word for condtioner. Actually I later found out the word was "rinse" but luckily I did find a "2-in-1" shampoo which had rinse in it. I am addicted to "shopping" of this typpe, not the traditional "souvenir" shopping.

Once while shopping for snacks in a corner store in London my daughter and I discovered “prawn” crisps (or were they biscuits/crackers?) What are they, we wondered? In the States we have “goldfish” crackers and they’re not made from goldfish. We have “oyster” crackers that aren't’ made of oysters.<BR><BR>Being adventurous souls we bought a box.<BR><BR>But be forewarned, brave hearts, prawn crackers are truly made from prawns! We got back to our room and opened the box and then, quick, open the window! <BR><BR>It smelled like we’d been cleaning fish in our room!<BR><BR>To add insult to injury my wife LOVED them; she ate half the box and smelled as though she’d been eating cat food! Then a scrap ensued about which of us she was going to have to share sleeping accommodations with her that night. My daughter lost!<BR><BR>The next morning the half finished box reeked like a fishmongers cart and, before my wife awoke, I took the nasty things out to the hotel garden. I was nearly trampled in a rousing stampedes of cats from all over Bloomsbury!<BR><BR>Unless you’re a big fan of seafood, or, more particularly, stale seafood, avoid prawn crackers!<BR>

I love this thread! Never even thought of looking in local markets.

from a Brit= I think the 'prawn crackers' you refer to above are chinese? but we always get them over here (free, needless to say) with our take-away chinese food. I quite like them, but there are always loads left over and they go stale and yukky.

Thornton's original toffee! Yes! Also high end places like Jermyn Street - cheeses and lovely scents from Floris. The food halls at all the big stores. The Caviar House by the Ritz. Discovered the Chatsworth Farm Shop last trip. You're definitely not alone out there.

Shrimp/prawn crackers - there are the Chinese variety type but also lovely soft ones that melt in your mouth that you can find in England. Marks & Spencer has those, and some other brand produces really good ones as well. They're great!