Make your own, crellston. It really is just catsup plus horseradish sauce, mixed to your hotness level. You can add wasabi powder or paste, and lemon juice for extra piquancy.

>>> Seafood cocktail sauce. The version we got in Boston -dark red with horseradish, rather than the UK version - aka Marie Rose - mayo +ketchup.
Just can't seem to find it here in the UK <<<

You probably won't find it in the UK, I'd never heard of a dark red seafood sauce until last year in the US.


>>> I never realized how bad our chocolate was until I bought chocolate in the UK. Even their cheap choc. candy bars are far superior to US's. <<<

Yes, as a total chocoholic that's one of the first thing's I noticed when I visited the US as a teenager. Your cheap chocolate bars taste like what we call cooking chocolate in the UK, they taste waxy compared to Cadbury's etc which is much more creamy. Also, not to be confused by what they label as Cadbury's in the US, which is just made by Hershey's.


>>> Like Hooameye, my British friends universally loathe American chocolate bars. It is too dark, too waxy, and not sweet enough. They must expire when they get near 72%-80% continental chocolate bars! >>>

Noooooooooooo we love dark chocolate too, in fact any chocolate, just not Hershey's wax bars. ;-P


>>> of course swiss chocolate is "superior" - i just don't like it so much for every day. [ok, 2-3 times a week]. but if we're talking chocolate truffles or similar, then the better chocolate is definitely preferable. <<<

annhig - Me too!! :-) The fancy stuff is no good for a chocolate binge.

Many thanks tarquin.iwill try that

Agree with Nona - Hershey's chocolate tastes horrible to the average British palate. I remember one of my early trips to California, stopping at a gas station and feeling a bit peckish I bought my first ever Hershey bar out of curiousity. Not a pleasant experience to those raised on the delights of dairy milk or galaxy bars in the UK.

a pretty reasonable commercial style "marie rose" sauce can be made with mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, lemon juice and and tabasco sauce to taste. for a less sweet sauce use tomato puree rather than ketchup.

that will produce a classic [in the UK] pink prawn cocktail sauce.

NEVER had one that tasted as if it had been anywhere near the horseradish, but in any event, that wouldn't make it dark red would it? where does it get the dark red colouring from?

<i>NEVER had one that tasted as if it had been anywhere near the horseradish, but in any event, that wouldn't make it dark red would it? where does it get the dark red colouring from?</i>

The red color is from the ketchup. American cocktail sauce typically does not have mayo, so it retains the color of ketchup.

<i>Cadbury's etc which is much more creamy.</i>

This is likely down to using vegetable fat, instead of milk fats. Without knowing the specific vegetable fat they use, I would wager that they use one with a low melt point, which will lead to that melt in your mouth feel.

After the many references to US products, other than Maple Syrup (of which the best is Canadian) I am still looking for one that I would feed to my Springer Spaniel.

Many areas are now adopting a "slow food" approach it is pretty dated now but was hugely on show this weekend in Piemonte. We had the best Italian food we have ever tasted at both "Eatly" in Turin which is pretty incredible and the truffle festival in Alba.

Anyone passing Turin should try to get to "Eatly" which is aiming to open in New York shortly. It is hard to describe and pin down but it is basically a huge food hall with themed areas such as seafood which offer both grocery purchases and eating areas. Best Pizza I have ever tasted.

http://www.eataly.it/index.php

If you want true slow food in Britain you need venture to points well north of Watford.

<i>Anyone passing Turin should try to get to "Eatly" which is aiming to open in New York shortly.</i>

It is already open. Has been for over a year now.

I don't want to suggest that much of the complaining about American food seems to come from Brits with precious little exposure to the reality of American food culture, but...

How has it been transposed to NY? has it worked?

Haven't been to the city for 6 years, we loved Dean and DeLuca then.

"reality of American food culture" comes in the shape of a clown with big feet.

Come on TG give me 5 culinary reasons to make the trip back over the Atlantic.

<i>How has it been transposed to NY? has it worked? </i>

Reviews have been very positive.

<i>Come on TG give me 5 culinary reasons to make the trip back over the Atlantic.</i>

5 Restaurants

Momofuku Ko
French Laundry
Black's BBQ
City Grocery
Restaurant August

5 Foods/Ingredients

Maine Lobster
Anson Mills Grits
Dry-Aged Prime Porterhouse
Benton's Country Ham
Humboldt Fog

5 Wineries

Williams Selyem
Lange
ROAR
James Cole
Penner-Ash

5 Whiskeys

Tuthilltown Hudson Baby Bourbon
Pappy Van Winkle 23-year
Rittenhouse Rye (bond)
Black Maple Hill
Jefferson's

5 Burgers

Green Street Grille - Cambridge
Peter Luger's - Brooklyn
Apple Pan - LA
Spotted Pig - NYC
In 'n Out (yeah, I'm a fan) - CA/AZ/UT/NV

Getting back to the original question -- and hopefully I'll be able to answer this in ONE post, rather than the string of four or five posts needed by some of our more pontificating posters -- my suggestions are solely based on what my UK friends INSIST I bring with me every time I come back to visit them if I want to get another invite (and, yes, an American chocolate is included). Keeping in mind, these are solely items my friends miss from the States:

See's Candies, preferably milk chocolate and must include bordeaux

Maple syrup & bisquick

White Tortilla chips and salsa

Betty Crocker Cake Mixes & Frosting (for those who already were previously given measuring instruments -- cups, spoons, and pans) British baking uses a different measuring system (by the weight vs. 1/2 cup; tbsn, etc)so in order to use American mixes, you need American measuring instruments. Being able to translate Gas Mark 4 into US 350 degrees is these days an easy find using google.

How could I forget See's Candies!! Dark with nuts, a 2-lb box please. After that, I feel sick.

My parents used to bring me fresh green corn tamales, they are almost worth a trip to New Mexico.

"I tried the Kiss and the only way I can describe it? Is that is was the after taste of vomit."

There's a reason for this. From Harold McGee, "On Food and Cooking" (2004 ed., p. 703):

<i>And in the United States, large manufacturers have long encouraged their milk fat to undergo some breakdown by fat-digesting enzymes. This breakdown develops a slight note of rancidity, whose cheesy, animal overtones blend well in their own way with chocolate flavor and make a positive contribution to the complexity of flavor.</i>

I guess "positive" is a matter of opinion.

>>> I don't want to suggest that much of the complaining about American food seems to come from Brits with precious little exposure to the reality of American food culture, but... <<<

What a huge generalisation! I think you'll find a lot of this thread is a result of some Americans banging on about how oh-so-terrible the food is here and how everything in the US is sooooo much better. I've been to the US many many times, especially the West Coast, and had some very nice food but I've also had some awful food as well, including much hyped items. And I'm sorry but In 'n Out is very over-rated. The burger was nothing special and the fries were really weird - what do they do to them???

Surfergirl - Americans might miss See's, but I wouldn't recommended them to most Brits, we were sent some from an American client and they tasted like Hershey's to me. :-/ The only chocs we brought home which were comparable to our regular stuff was Ghirardelli from San Francisco.

Ooops, forgot to add that if I was bringing gifts from the US back home I would bring booze, something locally made preferably. Booze is always appreciated in the UK. :-)

<i>What a huge generalisation!</i>

It isn't a generalization, just an observation. I never said all those complaining had no exposure, just that much of the complaining comes from those with limited exposure.

<i>I think you'll find a lot of this thread is a result of some Americans banging on about how oh-so-terrible the food is here and how everything in the US is sooooo much better.</i>

I think you haven't read this thread, but please, where are the Americans banging on about how bad the food in the UK is? Unless you are talking about zeppole, but zeppole ain't a fan of American food either.

<i>And I'm sorry but In 'n Out is very over-rated. The burger was nothing special and the fries were really weird - what do they do to them???</i>

In 'n Out fries suck, though asking for them well done helps a little. But I was talking about burgers. And one should bear in mind that their burgers aren't the best burgers in the world, but that they are a great exemplar of the fast food burger and they deserve credit for that. Personally, I'm partial to the 2x4, animal style.

>>> I think you haven't read this thread, but please, where are the Americans banging on about how bad the food in the UK is? Unless you are talking about zeppole, but zeppole ain't a fan of American food either. >>>

Yes, I have read this whole thread. I was talking about the Fodors Europe forum in general, wasn't referring to you personally.

Yeah, see, I've heard that, that In 'n Out were so much better than McDonalds etc but was really under-whelmed. :-(

zeppole

>>> I've been in tourist quarters in Italy and Spain where curries, beers, teas and the Full English are on the menu and in the supermarket aisles. <<<

I think you’ll find that’s mostly because certain parts of Spain especially are dominated by British holiday-makers and lots of ex-pats and not because the Spanish want an English breakfast.

>>> Apparently people in the UK eat tons of Krispy Kreme donuts, but there is not a single Dunkin' Donut to be found. <<<

There used to be Dunkin’ Donuts shops in the UK 10-20 years ago. I assume they all closed because they weren’t very popular. Krispy Kreme obviously noticed a gap in the market at the right time but it’s not like they are on every street corner, just mainly in London rail stations and small Tesco stores (usually bought by office workers in boxes of 12 for meetings).

>>> I've lived in England and it is only recently that food there has become even edible. It really isn't that long ago when hideous tinned beans, white breads, sugary everything and fatty everything were the standard fare, with scarcely a real piece of fruit in sight. <<<

What??? Are you really serious? Are you talking about 1946 or something? Certainly even in the 70’s/80’s when I was a kid there was tonnes of fresh fruit and veg available.

amazing - I missed the dunkin donuts, and was blissfully unaware of Krispy Kreme too!

the nearest one seems to be in Bristol - http://www.krispykreme.co.uk/store-locator/

a round trip of about 340 miles.

Don't think I'll bother.