England, Part 1: Exotic Food

Except for a brief two week trip a decade ago, everything I know about England comes from books. And during my time in England (which comprised the first half of my trip) I had the opportunity to sample a lot of foods that until that point I had only heard about. So, for the edification of all my readers, here is a short list of quite good (and all vegetarian) English foods, along with description and the official Renee Michelle rating:

Christmas Pudding. This is a dense, fruitcake like cake which is usually boiled (but in our case was microwaved). It's usually purchased premade and served with vanilla custard sauce. It's dark brown and filled with fruits and nuts. The color unfortunately made me think it was chocolate, but once I got over that disappointment I found it quite good; it's much moister than American fruitcake. Two forks.

Pickled Onions. The name pretty much speaks for itself. Usually served in or with sandwiches. Ugh. Briny vinegar and strong onion. I guess it's a way to add flavor to boring sandwiches, but I hope I never have to eat another one. Zero forks.

Humbugs. Who knew? They're actually large candies with a mild licorice flavor. I don't appreciate licorice as much as other people, but these were refreshing, and definitely seemed nice if you had a sore throat. One fork.

Treacle Tart. It's basically a pie filled with bread crumbs that have been sweetened with treacle (known to Americans as molasses). It must have had some butter or eggs in there too, because it was sufficiently rich. Good solid English food, but not especially exciting. One fork.

Ploughman Sandwich. A sandwich whose filling is cheddar, spring onions, sweet pickle, tomato, and seasoned mayonnaise. A very common sandwich, whose main ingredients often make a ploughman salad as well. I thought the combination was great. There was a good balance of flavors and it was pretty exciting, so far as vegetarian sandwiches go. Two forks.

Bread Sauce. Basically bread crumbs mixed with broth. There must have been some onion, celery and spices in there too, because it tasted like pureed stuffing. I can't imagine who thought this one up. As if turkey dinners didn't have enough brown, starchy accompaniments, they had to make another one. Zero forks.

Trifle. A layered dessert consisting of sponges (kind of like ladyfingers) dipped in brandy, topped with canned fruit, topped with jello, topped with custard, topped with whipped cream, and crowned with flaked chocolate. Yum. It had a lot going on, so you never got bored, and it elevated a lot of rather mundane ingredients to a higher state. Three forks.

Cheese and Onion Pasty. Just cheddar cheese and onion, wrapped in puff pastry. Purchased in a pie shop, microwaved warm, and eaten on the street. An excellent example of delicious food made with everyday ingredients. This was further evidence that almost every country makes better street food than America. Three forks.

There you have it, boys and girls. More on England to follow soon.