17 Foods I Crave The Most After Moving From The US To The UK
Moving across the pond from America to Britain brought exciting new adventures, but left a massive hole in my stomach that Yorkshire puddings just can’t fill. After some time living in London, I’ve developed an almost embarrassing obsession with certain foods I took for granted back home.
My British friends laugh when I wax poetic about gas station snacks and fast food chains they’ve only seen in movies, but the heart (and stomach) wants what it wants.
1. Ranch Dressing
Good luck finding proper ranch dressing in British supermarkets. The UK’s sad approximations taste like someone described ranch to a person who’d never tried it, then they made it blindfolded using expired ingredients.
Back home, ranch flowed like water. Pizza crusts dunked in creamy goodness, vegetables made actually edible, and wings transformed into transcendent experiences. British friends react with horror when I describe putting it on literally everything.
2. Buffalo Wings
British people think ‘spicy’ means a light dusting of black pepper. Their idea of buffalo wings would make any self-respecting Buffalonian weep tears of disappointment. No proper Frank’s RedHot sauce, no perfect crispy-yet-juicy texture, just sad, under-seasoned chicken bits.
Saturday afternoons watching football (the American kind) feel incomplete without that signature tang and burn on my fingers and lips. I’ve tried making them at home, but something’s always missing.
3. Bagels
Holy carbohydrate catastrophe! What Brits call ‘bagels’ would trigger a riot in New York City. These doughy rings lack that crucial chewy exterior and dense interior that makes a real bagel worth the calorie splurge.
I miss standing in line at my local bagel shop, watching them pull fresh batches from the oven, then slathering them with an obscene amount of cream cheese. The everything bagel – that perfect symphony of sesame, poppy, garlic, and onion – simply doesn’t exist here in its true form.
4. Peanut Butter Cups
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups exist in the UK, but they’re either ridiculously overpriced import items or reformulated versions that taste subtly wrong. British chocolate has a different texture – smoother, yes, but all wrong for the peanut butter cup experience.
Halloween without these orange-wrapped treasures feels like a cosmic injustice. The perfect ratio of chocolate to peanut butter, that distinctive ridged edge, the way they melt just right – it’s pure American candy engineering.
5. Breakfast Sausage Patties
British sausages are long, herby things that belong at dinner, not breakfast. The flat, seasoned pork patty – essential for proper breakfast sandwiches or alongside pancakes – is virtually nonexistent here. The McDonald’s sausage and egg McMuffin isn’t even the same!
That perfect blend of sage, black pepper, and maple that makes breakfast sausage distinctly American just can’t be found. I’ve attempted making them from scratch, but something’s always off.
6. Root Beer
Mentioning root beer to British people triggers the most hilarious disgusted faces. “It tastes like medicine!” they cry, referring to some childhood cough syrup apparently flavored with wintergreen. Their loss entirely.
Finding A&W or Barq’s requires specialist American candy shops and costs approximately the same as a small car. Root beer floats? Forget it. I’ve tried explaining that ice cream melting into that spicy, vanilla-tinged soda creates something greater than the sum of its parts.
7. Biscuits And Gravy
Explaining biscuits and gravy to British people creates instant confusion. “You put cookies in meat juice?” No, no, a thousand times no. American biscuits – those flaky, buttery clouds of heaven – simply don’t exist here.
The rich, peppery sausage gravy that completes this dish would horrify most Brits, who think gravy should be brown and served with roast dinners. I’ve attempted making them from scratch, but British flour is different, producing results that are mere shadows of the real thing.
8. Cinnamon Rolls
British cinnamon rolls are anemic imposters. They’re often dry, under-spiced, and criminally under-frosted. Where’s the gooey center? The cream cheese frosting melting down the sides? The cinnamon punch that should hit your nostrils before the first bite?
Mall food court Cinnabon may not be gourmet, but that intoxicating smell wafting through American shopping centers represents everything missing from British baking. The UK version seems afraid of excess – precisely what makes cinnamon rolls worth the caloric investment.
9. Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich
The Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich haunts my dreams. That perfectly brined chicken, the simple toasted buttered bun, those two crucial pickles – it’s fast food elevated to art form. Nothing in Britain comes remotely close.
British fried chicken chains seem to think spice level is the only variable that matters. They’re missing the point entirely. The Chick-fil-A sandwich isn’t about heat; it’s about that pressure-cooked, peanut oil-fried perfection.
10. Cheez-Its
Sharp, tangy, salty little squares of addictive perfection. Cheez-Its have no British equivalent whatsoever. Those pathetic cheese crackers they sell here taste like cardboard sprinkled with cheese-adjacent dust.
A box of Cheez-Its never lasted more than 48 hours in my house back home. That distinctive chemical-yet-delicious flavor that coats your fingers orange is impossible to replicate. I’ve had friends bring boxes in their suitcases when visiting.
11. Pop-Tarts
British supermarkets occasionally stock Pop-Tarts, but only boring strawberry and chocolate flavors. Where’s Brown Sugar Cinnamon? S’mores? The seasonal pumpkin ones? The limited-edition weird flavors that sound disgusting but somehow work?
Pop-Tarts aren’t gourmet food – they’re convenient, nostalgic rectangles of joy. The frosting-to-filling ratio, that slightly artificial fruit taste, the way they emerge from the toaster hot enough to cause second-degree burns – it’s an American breakfast institution.
12. Pumpkin Pie
Autumn without pumpkin pie is just depressing rain and falling leaves. British people think pumpkins are solely for Halloween carving, not for creating velvety, spiced custard perfection in a buttery crust.
Finding canned pumpkin puree here requires a special expedition to overpriced American food stores. Making it from scratch using actual pumpkins is a goopy, stringy nightmare. Even when I do manage to bake one, British friends approach it with deep suspicion.
13. Cornbread
Sweet, crumbly cornbread with a pat of melting butter is nowhere to be found in the UK. British people seem confused by the concept – “Is it bread? Is it cake? Why is it yellow?” All valid questions from a nation that thinks corn belongs in tuna salad.
The perfect accompaniment to chili, barbecue, or just eaten warm from the cast iron skillet, cornbread represents everything comforting about Southern American cooking. I’ve tried making it here, but British cornmeal is different – coarser and less sweet.
14. White Castle Sliders
Those tiny, steamed, onion-infused burger squares with their distinctive holes might look unimpressive, but they’re the perfect 2 AM food. British late-night kebab shops can’t compare to the unique experience of ordering a “crave case” of 30 sliders after a night out.
The soft bun, the thin patty that’s almost melted into the onions, the slice of pickle – it’s miniature fast food perfection. I’ve tried explaining the appeal to British friends, but without the experience of eating them in their natural habitat, they just don’t get it.
15. In-N-Out Burger Double-Double
Forget fancy gourmet burgers – the In-N-Out Double-Double, preferably Animal Style, represents burger perfection. That secret sauce, the fresh-never-frozen patties, the hand-cut fries, the whole experience is impossible to find in Britain.
My British friends who’ve visited California come back understanding my obsession. It’s not just nostalgia – it’s genuinely better than anything available here. I’ve considered writing to In-N-Out begging them to expand internationally.
16. Sloppy Joe’s
Try explaining Sloppy Joe’s to British people: “It’s like bolognese sauce, but sweeter, and you put it on a hamburger bun.” The looks of horror are priceless. This gloriously messy, tomato-and-ground-beef sandwich simply doesn’t translate across the Atlantic.
The inevitable drips, the need for multiple napkins, the way it falls apart after the first bite – it’s a beautifully chaotic eating experience. I’ve attempted making them for British dinner guests, who approach with trepidation but usually end up asking for seconds.
17. Sweet Tea
British people pride themselves on tea expertise, yet they’ve completely missed the glory of sweet tea. That amber-colored nectar, brewed strong then sweetened while hot, served ice-cold on a sweltering day – it’s Southern American perfection.
Asking for sweet tea in the UK gets you hot tea with sugar packets on the side. Not the same thing at all. The sugar needs to be dissolved while the tea is hot, then chilled, creating that distinctive flavor that’s more than just sweetened tea.
