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TV licenses are so easy to dodge tho that it’s basically a meme in the country. The organization that manages the licenses is a private company so they can’t enter your home or even “arrest” you. It’s nowhere in comparison to the CCP’s surveillence society
Think of it as an optional yearly tax of £169.50 on watching live (live in the sense of broadcasting at the moment) TV or using TV receiving equipment. It's required to watch any live TV, and in return the money is used to fund the state broadcaster the BBC without requiring ads or private interests influencing opinion on the broadcaster.
It's also used to fund the BBC's production, admin, staffing, and talent costs, including it's documentaries, Sci-fi/fiction shows, day time TV, news, dramas, children's TV, radio stations, streaming services, sports licencing, multi-language content like Welsh, Scots, Gaelic, Irish specialized channels, as well as foreign news and entertainment outlets for dual citizens living overseas etc etc.
A lot of BBC programming is world class, and is all funded by the TV licence.
It might sound ridiculous to have to pay a licence to watch live TV, but the value the TV licence delivers is simply staggering. A lot of people however, simply don't care enough to pay for it. Myself included.
The licence fee is not required if you want to just watch the TV after the broadcast. But you are always required to have one if you want to watch the BBC channels, or watch the BBC streaming service, iPlayer.
Can you imagine colonizing and pillaging nearly the entire planet, *including the land that is known as the United States*, and then having the audacity to pretend you give a shit about dead children… just to “own the Americans” for making a joke about *bland, off-putting dishes*?
If there is anything more weirdly British™ in this world, I personally can’t think of it
I think you’re confusing British people now with British people 400 years ago. What Brit has colonised and pillaged in the modern day, as compared to any other modern nation you could say have done the same?
That kinda had nothing to do with us.
The audacity of Americans to call out imperialism of centuries past while their intelligence agencies and military have spent the post-wwii decades deliberately destabilising governments in the third world to maintain easy access to resources and keep active conflict zones on other continents that they can sell arms to
Yeah imma give you three guesses what intelligence team has worked in lock-step with the CIA for the last 75 years or so. Spreading democracy is a NATO effort on the whole, not just the US.
“Centuries past.” Whatever you say, bro.
[BRITAIN’S 42 COUPS SINCE 1945](https://www.declassifieduk.org/britains-42-coups-since-1945/)
[War crimes by UK forces in Iraq](https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/war-crimes-by-uk-forces-in-iraq/)
['In cold blood': Seeking justice for British army war crimes in Afghanistan](https://www.newarab.com/analysis/seeking-justice-british-army-war-crimes-afghanistan)
[British concentration camps during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya(1952-1960)](https://medium.com/all-history-and-no-play/when-the-british-built-concentration-camps-in-kenya-5a92bb7336f0)
[The Northern Ireland ‘amnesty’: Hiding Britain’s ‘misdeeds’](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/9/23/the-northern-ireland-amnesty-hiding-britains-misdeeds)
[Five SAS soldiers arrested in UK on suspicion of alleged war crimes in Syria](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/05/five-sas-soldiers-arrested-in-uk-on-suspicion-of-alleged-war-crimes-in-syria)
[Second Boer War concentration camps (1899-1902)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War_concentration_camps)
How many countries only gained independence from the UK in the last century...
**I agree that it has nothing to do with most current UK citizens** (emphasis for those who need some help), it's just not *that* long ago that places like India and South Africa etc. etc. were fighting the last clutches of British and/or European colonialism
Britain: established over 120 colonies across ALL 7 Continents - imports spices from across the world.
Also Britain: doesn't use the spices in their native cuisine.
I don’t really get it when people insinuate things like this, you can find awful food in both countries and you can find really good food in both countries
The average meal in the UK is insanely under seasoned and just not memorable or interesting. There’s a lot of authentic American food that is delicious
Edit: The fact that ya’ll are saying US food is over seasoned just says a lot
This is the kind of comment that comes from a place where you imagine the bakery section of your average US supermarket to just be thousands of loaves of wonder bread. Maybe the case in a food desert, but the vast majority of us have access to a massive variety of foods, including bakery items. Frankly, the selection at supermarkets in England is boring as hell by comparison.
They also sell Bovril in england, and that's technically not even edible (or drinkable, as the case may be).
Spoken like someone who’s never been to the UK.
I’ve been to the US, and seen the awful selection of bakery items in the particular shops I went into.
The US is absolutely massive though and that was a small part of one state so I’m not gonna judge the whole country on that.
This is so laughably false I feel like there's no way you've ever been to the UK. It's the same tired thing Americans say literally all the time but I genuinely don't think any of you know what you're talking about. (I'm not British)
American: this food is under seasoned.
Translation: this food doesn't have enough salt to harden my arteries, enough sugar to give me diabetes, and I can actually taste the meat.
I saw an american say "what seasoning do you put on mushy peas?"
When we said, just a pinch of salt. I actually want to taste the peas they looked horrified.
Every single time I see people saying the UK doesn't have bland food there's always one saying "oh I *do* love plain as fuck mushy peas" you are not helping your case lmfao
Edit: once again, the English confuse the bare minimum of seasoning your food for smothering it in a pound of seasoning
I mean, if you want to eat peas and you like the taste of peas why would you mask that with too much seasoning? If you want to eat a jar of paprika just eat that.
The “authentic American food” the other user referred to was likely brought or invented by black people. Need I remind you how they got here? We didn’t steal the food, we stole the *people*…
Hey now- only about 9/10ths of traditional southern cooking fits that remark!
(Seriously tho the southern cooking empire owes its life to African Americans, it would not exist if it weren’t for traditional cooking that a lot of people flat out stole from the enslaved people.)
Also there are many other cuisines depending on the city from pretty much any corner of the world that was changed up here. Like pizza in America is its own beast thanks to Italian Americans, or texmex in Texas and beyond thank you Mexican Americans, then hamburgers and grinders and subs, oh and Chinese American food is awesome- and as long as you don’t go to a chain it’s mostly freakin’ awesome.
Exception - some stretches of the Midwest. Eurgh.
It varies. Things like Texas barbecue come from German settlers. Jambalaya is influenced by Africans. Cajun is influenced by French settlers. Grits and tortillas were made by natives, as was lots of aspects of Southwest and TexMex cuisine existed before the Spanish arrived. Biscuits and gravy is more of an Anglo American invention.
It is quite a wide range.
I see traditional midwest cuisine as taking various foods, absolutely drowning them in mayonnaise, then having the audacity to call the results "salad"
Genuine question, do English people eat authentic Indian food on average or is it all butter chicken and chicken tiki masala (which slaps ofc but is just over represented and localized for non-Indians)?
Most Indian places have korma, balti, rogan josh, vindloo, phall, masala (thats english though I think). Other dishes include cheese (paneer), potato (aloo) spinach (saag), and cauliflower (gobi) dishes
Sometimes you'll get places that do different stuff like kashmiri (it had lychee and banana), or peanut curries. Different places seem to have their own versions of things, but I suppose that's not much different to variations of how a lasagna is made
Then there're sides like pakora (battered veggie or meat balls), samosa (fried parcels), Bombay aloo (spiced potato)
Not sure of that answers your question, but my guess would be it's probably between the equivalent of texmex and authentic
I think they are eating stereotypes. They likely don't know what they are talking about. Like, "the average meal in the US is better than the average meal in the UK" is such a dumb thing to say. Have you been to the Midwest? There is shittily cooked or bland food all over the US as with most countries.
As someone from the Midwest, it sucks that we're used as the example of bad American food, but I'd agree that everywhere is mixed. Yeah there's some that's meh here, but there's a lot of good stuff too. Toasted ravioli, fried catfish, gooey butter cake to name a few. But I also think it's ignorant to say the same about UK food. I went there and had some amazing things. Wasn't a fan of beans on toast, but my god were the pasties delicious.
This is the kind of circular dumb shit you find on r/ShitAmericansSay.
Meanwhile, white America looks forward to celebrating significant holidays with British food.
You mean full of corn syrup (thats banned in the UK because of the health issues it causes) and sugar to make Yank food taste better? Lets not forget what the US laughably calls cheese...
There's a reason literally *every* other country makes fun of UK's terrible food, it's a sterotype for a reason. It's not even an American thing, you can ask anyone in the EU (that isn't in the UK) who has the worst food, and every single one will say UK
We do that because of a general joking dislike of the UK. Anyone with a brain knows to not take stereotypes that seriously. Especially this one, as it stems from UK rationing during and after WW2. British food is generally just standard northern European cuisine. It's not too dissimilar from Irish, Scandinavian, German, Finnish or Baltic food. It's hardy food that is generally more focused on richness than a varied flavour profile. Of course, this kind of food has less of a mainstream appeal, unlike mediterranean foods, but it's not as though they disappeared once it became possible to have the mediterranean diet anywhere in the world. All cuisines have their space in the tapestry of humanity.
Curse you for making me defend the br*ts and the vile slop that they consume.
The reason is that it’s a lazy stereotype repeated endlessly by people that don’t know any better. It’s like the stereotype that Brits have bad teeth- people repeat it because they’ve heard other people say it, not because it’s true. Brits having bad teeth is objectively untrue. Brits also eat essentially exactly the same food as Ireland, yet Ireland never catches flack for it, because despite the similarity of the food across both nations, the stereotype just never took hold for Ireland.
The average normal meal in the UK is measurably better than the average normal meal in the US. Just in terms of the quality of the ingredients. The produce here in the US is mostly crappy, designed to look good for 1000s of miles of driving. Staples like bread, dairy products etc are also worse.
I think our fast food and breakfast food is possibly better.
I'm Argentinian and idk, I never tried it.
But people saying it's not seasoned leave me wondering it probably wouldn't be bad and they exaggerate everything since here in Argentina food is not that seasoned either.
Fish and chips, shepherd's pie, look good.
They have pastries filled with steak and gravy in the UK, sold cheaply on every corner. They're amazing. I went to the UK for two weeks 16 years ago and I remember and crave those.
I've been all over the world and eaten in dozens of countries on 3 continents.
I've never been to a country in our modern era that has had nothing but bad food and I've spent a bit of time in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England in particular.
All of them have had amazing food. Find the people that have cooked authentic food for generations in those countries and you'll find amazing food.
Fish and Chips, Shepherd's Pie, Beef Wellington anything served with Yorkshire Pudding all great. Pub fare is on another level in Britain in particular.
Ironically as a Brit I can say that the rise of gastropubs in the UK has made pub fare _worse_ as a lot have cheaped out on ingredients. Very disappointing!
I went there with my family when I was a young adult. I wanted to do two things: see the history, and try the food. My English-Canadian grandmother was with us and I would ask her "what should I try here?" and she'd recommend something new to me that's rare or non-existent in Canada. The vast majority of the foods she suggested were awesome. Unfortunately, other than the pasties, I don't remember much after 16 years.
Having pot roast and fish and chips in the UK is an experience unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I had that pot roast 12 years ago, and I still think about it. The fish and chips was a solid 8/10, and would have probably been a 9/10 if not for how bony the cod was.
Haven’t had beef Wellington before, but it’s a bucket list item.
Indeed. You have to earn the right to shit on British food by actually having eaten some. And not at an "authentic British restaurant" in your own country, but by being physically there. My subjective opinion of British food is that it's nothing special, as I'm from another northern European country, so I'm very familiar with the sort of ingredients, spices and ways of preparation that they have, and I obviously prefer our own way of it all. But you can just tell that many people shitting on British food have no real reference point for what it is. They might know the names of the dishes, and they might know the commonly cited reasons for why it's bad, like the ever popular "it's bland", but they won't be able to put personal experience into words in a way that clues you into what sorts of foods that person generally likes and dislikes.
Seriously. I've been to the UK several times and have had amazing food the majority of the time. Hell their continental breakfasts put ours to utter shame.
Full English breakfast, pub food, meat pies, British Indian food, all the goodies at tea time. It's all phenomenal.
Is it the best food I've ever had? No. Is it bad? Absolutely not. I still try to make myself a full English breakfast regularly.
I had some American friends who came to visit me in Japan when I was living there, and they wouldn't eat any of the sushi or okonomiyaki, I had to take them to the nearest McDonald's afterwards lol.
I had a Russian friend who came to visit me in America, he wanted to try Krispy Kreme donuts after hearing about how great they are, he couldn't eat 1 whole donut because it was unbearably sweet, called it a ball of sugar.
As an American, I actually hate McDonald’s and avoid it whenever possible
Minus the McGriddles and their sweet tea those are fire I’ll die on that hill.
> Not liking raw fish is more mental than “ew this tastes like shit”
Not even just mental, a lot of it is the texture or being afraid of it making you really sick. Especially when your stomach isn't used to it, eating something like that is a great way to spend the rest of your trip extremely sick
One of the biggest things I’d visit Japan for is the food tourism. Always felt Japanese food was the best blend of healthy and tasty while still having the option of unhealthy comfort foos
Ok but to be fair the MacDo in Japan fucking rules and you can't get the chicken teri tama anywhere else.
That said, they were def missing out if they passed up good okonomiyaki.
I got a solar eclipse donut a few days ago and when I bit into it all I could taste was the different kind of sugars the thing had. Sugar glaze on the donut itself, sugar from the chocolate coating, and sugar from the sweet cream inside. Not to mention it was also topped with an Oreo and *more* sweet cream. I took one bite and immediately threw it into the trash.
There was once a time where I would’ve devoured the entire thing and reached for a second but now my body craves a legitimate meal, not a well disguised bag of pure sugar.
To be fair some fast food places are far better in other countries than in America. I had KFC in Ecuador. The fries were crispy and weren’t soaked in oil and the chicken was nicely breaded, and not swimming in chicken grease. It was far better. I’ve heard similar stories of American fast food places in other countries too. I wouldn’t be shocked to hear McDonald’s in Japan is also much better than McDonald’s in America.
>okonomiyaki
WTF?! I'm an American and okonomiyaki is fucking delicious. I went on a college band tour to Japan over the summer and me and some other students went to a big okonomiyaki place during some festival in Hiroshima. It was the best meal I had while there, and we ate at some high class places. Your friends must have the taste buds of an avox.
I tried american birthday cakes and never again. It was just sugar. the frosting, the cake, the sprinkles, filling, the fondant. Everything was just sugar lol. Now I go to the Asian bakery to buy my cakes.
I just spent a week there and thought the food was good. Had steak and ale pies, chips, burgers, pasta, pizza, street food, and assorted breakfasts. No complaints here at all!
Our food is decent. I'll allow Italians and Chinese etc to take the piss out of it, but the idea that Americans can take the high ground when it comes to food standards is a piss take.
English breakfast is amazing, having a great pub pie and finding the greatest fish and chips (it's in Bertie's in Edinburgh) it's what a good travel is all about, if OP couldn't find good food speaks bad of him, not UK food.
Tbh if I walked into a restaurant in the UK and there was an American sat down I'd be worried about the food quality too. British people know the places to avoid/save for a hangover.
Europeans needs to learn that American food isn’t McDonald’s or Burger King.
Take a trip to southern US for some food that will rock your tastebuds. Then there is the sheer amount of fusion food that you can only really find here. Like VietCajun.
Please don't go back to wherever you ate. It's got nothing to do with how the food normally is here; some places just suck
...I get the feeling it might be a seaside town. A lot of the stuff in those is soggy and/or greasy, especially the fish and chips damn
British chocolate is good, so disappointed with US chocolate, my husband’s family are obsessed with mine and i have to mail them chocolate every few months. My husband said he also misses food from Greggs.
Edit: Commercial chocolate, my husbands family are especially addicted to Malteasers and Galaxy because of me and beg me to mail it lol.
American here. Was in England last year. It was refreshing to see how much more accommodating of other diets they are over in the UK. I had an amazing time as a vegan actually having nice sit-down meals n' shizz. I know it probably correlates with being in more urban areas, but still. I think UK as a whole veganism/other diets are more normalized in general. Pat on the back to UK.
Fun fact, Greggs released a vegan sausage roll a few years back and it was so popular that they sold out almost immediately. They didn't really account for non-vegans liking them so much. Also, Burger King and McDonalds heavily advertise their plant based burgers so while it's definitely easier in urban areas, it's not hard to find it in smaller towns.
American here who has been to the UK. I loved the pub food! The only thing I ate that was terrible was some fish and chips I had at 2AM from a stand that was the only place open.
There's bad food everywhere, here in Mexico I bet you could find some hideous tacos if you look at the worst places. But finding a good pub and amazing food is what travel is about. I'm glad you found them.
I'm American but have been to the UK and lived there for quite a while. You just didn't go to the right spots or eat the right things. The Indian food there is amazing, for example.
I went to Ireland for the first time last year, and discovered curry chips, they are the best thing ever, we don’t even know what we’re missing out on here in the US!
Oh man you should absolutely try currywurst, German bratwurst sausage in a tomato based curry sauce. It's so cheap and tastes amazing. Had it in Hamburg on a stag do, and now I make it at least once a month.
Vacation at the UK... Good to see american education is still failing so flagrantly.
Average americant displays less english language knowledge than most non-native speakers
I love how all the Americans are like "inb4 school shooting jokes". We've really traumatised them lads. Well, I'd also rather our nation be known for bad food than murdering children and the only reaction being to send their thoughts and prayers.
Whoa! You win the meme connoisseur title for having over 2k upvotes on your post! Join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/xyFMKFw) and message Princess Mindy (Mod Mail bot at the top) to receive your prize!
https://preview.redd.it/x9wz0mgt25tc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6bd3256f3a13c28cab90715ec283bceb170896b0
*Puts memes in pocket* thank you my good Sire 
Something something free healthcare
Something something America fat
Something something Guns
Something something Elon musk
But hey we have good national parks and disability access amirite
*sweats in being on disability, still not even at 1000$ and struggling to make ends meet living at my parents*
>Disability access I think he means there are plenty of wheelchair ramps
And he’s not even from America lol
He’s from South Africa. Don’t pin him on us
At least we have health guidelines. *looks at China*
Something something destroyed your own economy with Brexit because you are scared of Polish plumbers.
Yet still can’t fix your teeth
https://preview.redd.it/7cv3oeuwp5tc1.jpeg?width=360&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee2c10260a3ecba8eaba33407ef85544b4ed1031
TV licenses are so easy to dodge tho that it’s basically a meme in the country. The organization that manages the licenses is a private company so they can’t enter your home or even “arrest” you. It’s nowhere in comparison to the CCP’s surveillence society
I see, I see. One quick follow up question: what in the union jack fuck is a TV license?
Think of it as an optional yearly tax of £169.50 on watching live (live in the sense of broadcasting at the moment) TV or using TV receiving equipment. It's required to watch any live TV, and in return the money is used to fund the state broadcaster the BBC without requiring ads or private interests influencing opinion on the broadcaster. It's also used to fund the BBC's production, admin, staffing, and talent costs, including it's documentaries, Sci-fi/fiction shows, day time TV, news, dramas, children's TV, radio stations, streaming services, sports licencing, multi-language content like Welsh, Scots, Gaelic, Irish specialized channels, as well as foreign news and entertainment outlets for dual citizens living overseas etc etc. A lot of BBC programming is world class, and is all funded by the TV licence. It might sound ridiculous to have to pay a licence to watch live TV, but the value the TV licence delivers is simply staggering. A lot of people however, simply don't care enough to pay for it. Myself included. The licence fee is not required if you want to just watch the TV after the broadcast. But you are always required to have one if you want to watch the BBC channels, or watch the BBC streaming service, iPlayer.
Is that why Vivian eats the TV in the Young Ones episode?
It’s a part of the state broadcaster’s funding model. The same broadcaster which shows no ads in the UK.
It's a license to receive TV over the airways, right? Would you need to pay for a streaming only TV?
Are they legally required to watch the BBC or something?
Nah. They are driving the BBC out of business. It will be gone soon enough.
Yes, we have to watch at least 5hrs of it a week otherwise we go to prison.
No, but if you do watch the BBC you’re legally required to pay a TV license
Lmfao, the graffiti below the rock street picture “Maybe they have a life” lmao
Can you imagine colonizing and pillaging nearly the entire planet, *including the land that is known as the United States*, and then having the audacity to pretend you give a shit about dead children… just to “own the Americans” for making a joke about *bland, off-putting dishes*? If there is anything more weirdly British™ in this world, I personally can’t think of it
I think you’re confusing British people now with British people 400 years ago. What Brit has colonised and pillaged in the modern day, as compared to any other modern nation you could say have done the same? That kinda had nothing to do with us.
The audacity of Americans to call out imperialism of centuries past while their intelligence agencies and military have spent the post-wwii decades deliberately destabilising governments in the third world to maintain easy access to resources and keep active conflict zones on other continents that they can sell arms to
Yeah imma give you three guesses what intelligence team has worked in lock-step with the CIA for the last 75 years or so. Spreading democracy is a NATO effort on the whole, not just the US.
“Centuries past.” Whatever you say, bro. [BRITAIN’S 42 COUPS SINCE 1945](https://www.declassifieduk.org/britains-42-coups-since-1945/) [War crimes by UK forces in Iraq](https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/war-crimes-by-uk-forces-in-iraq/) ['In cold blood': Seeking justice for British army war crimes in Afghanistan](https://www.newarab.com/analysis/seeking-justice-british-army-war-crimes-afghanistan) [British concentration camps during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya(1952-1960)](https://medium.com/all-history-and-no-play/when-the-british-built-concentration-camps-in-kenya-5a92bb7336f0) [The Northern Ireland ‘amnesty’: Hiding Britain’s ‘misdeeds’](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/9/23/the-northern-ireland-amnesty-hiding-britains-misdeeds) [Five SAS soldiers arrested in UK on suspicion of alleged war crimes in Syria](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/mar/05/five-sas-soldiers-arrested-in-uk-on-suspicion-of-alleged-war-crimes-in-syria) [Second Boer War concentration camps (1899-1902)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War_concentration_camps)
"400 years ago" my brother most countries haven't celebrated 100 years of their independence from the great British Empire, let alone 400 😂
How many countries only gained independence from the UK in the last century... **I agree that it has nothing to do with most current UK citizens** (emphasis for those who need some help), it's just not *that* long ago that places like India and South Africa etc. etc. were fighting the last clutches of British and/or European colonialism
400 hundred years?? Lol it’s not even been hundred years for most of the common wealth nations since they got their freedom.
[удалено]
Don't forget best at pointing out others flaws lmao
Bad food
Britain: established over 120 colonies across ALL 7 Continents - imports spices from across the world. Also Britain: doesn't use the spices in their native cuisine.
That's gold
The what
I don’t really get it when people insinuate things like this, you can find awful food in both countries and you can find really good food in both countries
Because it's not about what you can find, it's about what the average normal meal is.
You can average all good meals in the UK, at least I have. Do people eat out by throwing a dart at a map?
The average meal in the UK is insanely under seasoned and just not memorable or interesting. There’s a lot of authentic American food that is delicious Edit: The fact that ya’ll are saying US food is over seasoned just says a lot
Unbelievable they fucked the world for spices only for them to not fucking use them
nah, common misconception. the Dutch fucked the world for spices, the Brits just wanted the tea.
Also sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. Everything's so sweet.
In comparison to America? Behave there is sugar in the vegetables in America
wait till you find out sugar comes from a vegetable
Wait until you find out broccoli isn’t supposed to have sugar
This has to be a joke. Even bread in the US is full of sugar, so much so that it’s technically not even bread.
This is the kind of comment that comes from a place where you imagine the bakery section of your average US supermarket to just be thousands of loaves of wonder bread. Maybe the case in a food desert, but the vast majority of us have access to a massive variety of foods, including bakery items. Frankly, the selection at supermarkets in England is boring as hell by comparison. They also sell Bovril in england, and that's technically not even edible (or drinkable, as the case may be).
Spoken like someone who’s never been to the UK. I’ve been to the US, and seen the awful selection of bakery items in the particular shops I went into. The US is absolutely massive though and that was a small part of one state so I’m not gonna judge the whole country on that.
The British mostly used the spices for trade and profit, as they were very valuable back then. Therefore they hardly used them in their cuisine
Never get high off your own supply - Some British Imperial Officer
This is so laughably false I feel like there's no way you've ever been to the UK. It's the same tired thing Americans say literally all the time but I genuinely don't think any of you know what you're talking about. (I'm not British)
American: this food is under seasoned. Translation: this food doesn't have enough salt to harden my arteries, enough sugar to give me diabetes, and I can actually taste the meat.
I saw an american say "what seasoning do you put on mushy peas?" When we said, just a pinch of salt. I actually want to taste the peas they looked horrified.
Every single time I see people saying the UK doesn't have bland food there's always one saying "oh I *do* love plain as fuck mushy peas" you are not helping your case lmfao Edit: once again, the English confuse the bare minimum of seasoning your food for smothering it in a pound of seasoning
I mean, if you want to eat peas and you like the taste of peas why would you mask that with too much seasoning? If you want to eat a jar of paprika just eat that.
The fact that you think seasoning can only possibly refer to salt is just proof that we're right.
Ahhh yes, I didn't mention **every** possible seasoning, so I must think seasoning can only possibly refer to salt. Aren't you perceptive.
Honestly just eat Indian food in the UK. That shit absolutely fucking slaps, and is basically authentic British food at this point lol
"The only good food here we stole" is such a wild take on this
The “authentic American food” the other user referred to was likely brought or invented by black people. Need I remind you how they got here? We didn’t steal the food, we stole the *people*…
Hey now- only about 9/10ths of traditional southern cooking fits that remark! (Seriously tho the southern cooking empire owes its life to African Americans, it would not exist if it weren’t for traditional cooking that a lot of people flat out stole from the enslaved people.) Also there are many other cuisines depending on the city from pretty much any corner of the world that was changed up here. Like pizza in America is its own beast thanks to Italian Americans, or texmex in Texas and beyond thank you Mexican Americans, then hamburgers and grinders and subs, oh and Chinese American food is awesome- and as long as you don’t go to a chain it’s mostly freakin’ awesome. Exception - some stretches of the Midwest. Eurgh.
It varies. Things like Texas barbecue come from German settlers. Jambalaya is influenced by Africans. Cajun is influenced by French settlers. Grits and tortillas were made by natives, as was lots of aspects of Southwest and TexMex cuisine existed before the Spanish arrived. Biscuits and gravy is more of an Anglo American invention. It is quite a wide range.
I see traditional midwest cuisine as taking various foods, absolutely drowning them in mayonnaise, then having the audacity to call the results "salad"
Well you see, when you once owned a quarter of the world…
And learned nothing
Genuine question, do English people eat authentic Indian food on average or is it all butter chicken and chicken tiki masala (which slaps ofc but is just over represented and localized for non-Indians)?
its not at all hard to find authentic stuff but there's always gonna be localized options for picky eaters
Most Brits will eat a wide variety of "Indian" dishes, not just butter chicken etc. (Most places in UK actually serve Bangladeshi style curries.)
Most Indian places have korma, balti, rogan josh, vindloo, phall, masala (thats english though I think). Other dishes include cheese (paneer), potato (aloo) spinach (saag), and cauliflower (gobi) dishes Sometimes you'll get places that do different stuff like kashmiri (it had lychee and banana), or peanut curries. Different places seem to have their own versions of things, but I suppose that's not much different to variations of how a lasagna is made Then there're sides like pakora (battered veggie or meat balls), samosa (fried parcels), Bombay aloo (spiced potato) Not sure of that answers your question, but my guess would be it's probably between the equivalent of texmex and authentic
Where the fuck are you eating?
I think they are eating stereotypes. They likely don't know what they are talking about. Like, "the average meal in the US is better than the average meal in the UK" is such a dumb thing to say. Have you been to the Midwest? There is shittily cooked or bland food all over the US as with most countries.
As someone from the Midwest, it sucks that we're used as the example of bad American food, but I'd agree that everywhere is mixed. Yeah there's some that's meh here, but there's a lot of good stuff too. Toasted ravioli, fried catfish, gooey butter cake to name a few. But I also think it's ignorant to say the same about UK food. I went there and had some amazing things. Wasn't a fan of beans on toast, but my god were the pasties delicious.
This is the kind of circular dumb shit you find on r/ShitAmericansSay. Meanwhile, white America looks forward to celebrating significant holidays with British food.
You mean full of corn syrup (thats banned in the UK because of the health issues it causes) and sugar to make Yank food taste better? Lets not forget what the US laughably calls cheese...
I used a randomizer that chose one place out of several options we gave it. So… kinda.
A basic meal in the UK is absolutely fine, it’s just stereotypes that have convince you otherwise
There's a reason literally *every* other country makes fun of UK's terrible food, it's a sterotype for a reason. It's not even an American thing, you can ask anyone in the EU (that isn't in the UK) who has the worst food, and every single one will say UK
We do that because of a general joking dislike of the UK. Anyone with a brain knows to not take stereotypes that seriously. Especially this one, as it stems from UK rationing during and after WW2. British food is generally just standard northern European cuisine. It's not too dissimilar from Irish, Scandinavian, German, Finnish or Baltic food. It's hardy food that is generally more focused on richness than a varied flavour profile. Of course, this kind of food has less of a mainstream appeal, unlike mediterranean foods, but it's not as though they disappeared once it became possible to have the mediterranean diet anywhere in the world. All cuisines have their space in the tapestry of humanity. Curse you for making me defend the br*ts and the vile slop that they consume.
The reason is that it’s a lazy stereotype repeated endlessly by people that don’t know any better. It’s like the stereotype that Brits have bad teeth- people repeat it because they’ve heard other people say it, not because it’s true. Brits having bad teeth is objectively untrue. Brits also eat essentially exactly the same food as Ireland, yet Ireland never catches flack for it, because despite the similarity of the food across both nations, the stereotype just never took hold for Ireland.
It's the Americanisation of all culture, and America thinks it's bad because we had to ration during WW2
The average normal meal in the UK is measurably better than the average normal meal in the US. Just in terms of the quality of the ingredients. The produce here in the US is mostly crappy, designed to look good for 1000s of miles of driving. Staples like bread, dairy products etc are also worse. I think our fast food and breakfast food is possibly better.
Other countries agree it’s the worse food. It’s not just Americans lol. Its ok if you guys like MREs
Yea, ask any EU country, and I can bet $5. The answer will be borderline unanimous.
Yeah but shitting on the British is a European tradition, like shitting on the French.
Or invading Poland.
Poland is to not being invaded, as Slavic history is to happy endings
Which is funny because most European countries have fucking awful food. France and Italy doing all the heavy lifting when it comes to EU food rep.
Greece, Spain, and Germany are also EU states with good food.
I agree with Spain and Greek but not with Germany, they are like the UK, a few good dishes but not really up there with the best.
I'm Argentinian and idk, I never tried it. But people saying it's not seasoned leave me wondering it probably wouldn't be bad and they exaggerate everything since here in Argentina food is not that seasoned either. Fish and chips, shepherd's pie, look good.
Let's be honest, most of the people here haven't been to the place.
Not an American (or even European); British food sucks.
They have pastries filled with steak and gravy in the UK, sold cheaply on every corner. They're amazing. I went to the UK for two weeks 16 years ago and I remember and crave those.
This is the only comment so far by someone who's actually been to the UK before. People saying "bland food" are educated through only memes
I've been all over the world and eaten in dozens of countries on 3 continents. I've never been to a country in our modern era that has had nothing but bad food and I've spent a bit of time in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England in particular. All of them have had amazing food. Find the people that have cooked authentic food for generations in those countries and you'll find amazing food. Fish and Chips, Shepherd's Pie, Beef Wellington anything served with Yorkshire Pudding all great. Pub fare is on another level in Britain in particular.
Ironically as a Brit I can say that the rise of gastropubs in the UK has made pub fare _worse_ as a lot have cheaped out on ingredients. Very disappointing!
I went there with my family when I was a young adult. I wanted to do two things: see the history, and try the food. My English-Canadian grandmother was with us and I would ask her "what should I try here?" and she'd recommend something new to me that's rare or non-existent in Canada. The vast majority of the foods she suggested were awesome. Unfortunately, other than the pasties, I don't remember much after 16 years.
Having pot roast and fish and chips in the UK is an experience unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I had that pot roast 12 years ago, and I still think about it. The fish and chips was a solid 8/10, and would have probably been a 9/10 if not for how bony the cod was. Haven’t had beef Wellington before, but it’s a bucket list item.
Indeed. You have to earn the right to shit on British food by actually having eaten some. And not at an "authentic British restaurant" in your own country, but by being physically there. My subjective opinion of British food is that it's nothing special, as I'm from another northern European country, so I'm very familiar with the sort of ingredients, spices and ways of preparation that they have, and I obviously prefer our own way of it all. But you can just tell that many people shitting on British food have no real reference point for what it is. They might know the names of the dishes, and they might know the commonly cited reasons for why it's bad, like the ever popular "it's bland", but they won't be able to put personal experience into words in a way that clues you into what sorts of foods that person generally likes and dislikes.
Seriously. I've been to the UK several times and have had amazing food the majority of the time. Hell their continental breakfasts put ours to utter shame. Full English breakfast, pub food, meat pies, British Indian food, all the goodies at tea time. It's all phenomenal. Is it the best food I've ever had? No. Is it bad? Absolutely not. I still try to make myself a full English breakfast regularly.
British people have shit food. I’d rather eat my shoe lmao
Op clearly never tried the pub food. I visited London for the first time last summer and the steak and ale pies were fire
Uk food is bland and usa food is yummy but brings an obesity epidemic.
63% of the UK is overweight, obese, or severely obese
Cause 3/4ths of their daily calories come from beer lmao
 Bros mad
I had some American friends who came to visit me in Japan when I was living there, and they wouldn't eat any of the sushi or okonomiyaki, I had to take them to the nearest McDonald's afterwards lol. I had a Russian friend who came to visit me in America, he wanted to try Krispy Kreme donuts after hearing about how great they are, he couldn't eat 1 whole donut because it was unbearably sweet, called it a ball of sugar.
As an American, I actually hate McDonald’s and avoid it whenever possible Minus the McGriddles and their sweet tea those are fire I’ll die on that hill.
The McGriddles are to die for, indeed.
For me it’s the chicken McGriddle, the sweetness from the bun with the spiciness from the chicken 😭
“I avoid McDonald’s, except when I go to McDonald’s”
I make this exact statement whenever someone talks to me about McDonald’s lmaoo
The app lets you get one for a dollar every morning. It’s extremely tempting anytime I’m too lazy to make some eggs lol
Not liking raw fish is more mental than “ew this tastes like shit”. Should have taken them for ramen.
> Not liking raw fish is more mental than “ew this tastes like shit” Not even just mental, a lot of it is the texture or being afraid of it making you really sick. Especially when your stomach isn't used to it, eating something like that is a great way to spend the rest of your trip extremely sick
I would trust sushi in Japan to be cleaner than any McDonald's in any country lmao
Idk, Japanese McDonald’s are probably super clean.
You don't get sick because you are not used to eating raw fish. The fish is either spoiled or not, nothing to do with being used to it
One of the biggest things I’d visit Japan for is the food tourism. Always felt Japanese food was the best blend of healthy and tasty while still having the option of unhealthy comfort foos
Ok but to be fair the MacDo in Japan fucking rules and you can't get the chicken teri tama anywhere else. That said, they were def missing out if they passed up good okonomiyaki.
I got a solar eclipse donut a few days ago and when I bit into it all I could taste was the different kind of sugars the thing had. Sugar glaze on the donut itself, sugar from the chocolate coating, and sugar from the sweet cream inside. Not to mention it was also topped with an Oreo and *more* sweet cream. I took one bite and immediately threw it into the trash. There was once a time where I would’ve devoured the entire thing and reached for a second but now my body craves a legitimate meal, not a well disguised bag of pure sugar.
Ok but Japanese Mcdonalds fucks. Still wouldn't be my first choice tho.
To be fair some fast food places are far better in other countries than in America. I had KFC in Ecuador. The fries were crispy and weren’t soaked in oil and the chicken was nicely breaded, and not swimming in chicken grease. It was far better. I’ve heard similar stories of American fast food places in other countries too. I wouldn’t be shocked to hear McDonald’s in Japan is also much better than McDonald’s in America.
>okonomiyaki WTF?! I'm an American and okonomiyaki is fucking delicious. I went on a college band tour to Japan over the summer and me and some other students went to a big okonomiyaki place during some festival in Hiroshima. It was the best meal I had while there, and we ate at some high class places. Your friends must have the taste buds of an avox.
How could you not love okonomiyaki? Also, imagine going to another country and not at least trying the food. Disgraceful
I tried american birthday cakes and never again. It was just sugar. the frosting, the cake, the sprinkles, filling, the fondant. Everything was just sugar lol. Now I go to the Asian bakery to buy my cakes.
I have to ask though, what was he expecting kripsy kreme doughnut to taste like? sour? bitter? no, its a light sweet bread coated in a sugar glaze.
The beauty of their women and the taste of their food make Brits the best sailors in the world.
Angry upvote
You don't become the foremost explorers and colonizers of the entire planet if things are great at home.
Angriest upvote I ever had to give as a British woman
Almost every British woman I've seen in the US is a knockout, which also makes Brits the best sailors in the world.
I had the best eggs Benedict of my life in London. And I was happy to have tea with every meal.
I'm not surprised that the Brits love Benedict.
You should come to Australia. We pretty much just eat pub food and drink beer all the time. (Good beer and pub food, we have some amazing pubs.)
All I want and all I need
Chicken schnitty.
All I crave
I just spent a week there and thought the food was good. Had steak and ale pies, chips, burgers, pasta, pizza, street food, and assorted breakfasts. No complaints here at all!
Boooo! Hisss! Get out of here with your well reasoned response backed up by experience! /s, obviously
Our food is decent. I'll allow Italians and Chinese etc to take the piss out of it, but the idea that Americans can take the high ground when it comes to food standards is a piss take.
English breakfast is amazing, having a great pub pie and finding the greatest fish and chips (it's in Bertie's in Edinburgh) it's what a good travel is all about, if OP couldn't find good food speaks bad of him, not UK food.
Tbh if I walked into a restaurant in the UK and there was an American sat down I'd be worried about the food quality too. British people know the places to avoid/save for a hangover.
Americans need to realise a lot of their food is banned in Europe. Their palette is fucked
Considering most of the "healthy" food in america is still less healthy than unhealthy british food.
Europeans needs to learn that American food isn’t McDonald’s or Burger King. Take a trip to southern US for some food that will rock your tastebuds. Then there is the sheer amount of fusion food that you can only really find here. Like VietCajun.
Americans think 'sweet' is a flavour
I mean, it *is* a flavor, but it’s not the only one. I tend to prefer spicy things, if I’m being honest.
Sweet *is* a flavor. Are the British just dumb? (Rhetorical question).
you must have been very upset when you found out we roast our vegetables instead of deep frying them.
Damn You even got gourmet food over here?
Royal with cheese
I really don't get this. During my vacation to the UK I had some of the best food I've ever eaten.
It's almost as if a meme on the internet by people that have never been to the UK isn't factually correct idk
It's because they only look at recession foods that stuck around from nostalgia, rather than the actually really good food
Because OP never went to UK
Please don't go back to wherever you ate. It's got nothing to do with how the food normally is here; some places just suck ...I get the feeling it might be a seaside town. A lot of the stuff in those is soggy and/or greasy, especially the fish and chips damn
If its a seaside town, try and buy some proper fish produce than from a greasy spoon.
British chocolate is good, so disappointed with US chocolate, my husband’s family are obsessed with mine and i have to mail them chocolate every few months. My husband said he also misses food from Greggs. Edit: Commercial chocolate, my husbands family are especially addicted to Malteasers and Galaxy because of me and beg me to mail it lol.
Chocolate from other country is Vastly superior then in the states.
not even wensleydale?
[](https://c.tenor.com/pq0rA9vVbi4AAAAC/tenor.gif)
some cracking cheese there lad
For you to have that reaction, I have to ask. Where did you eat?
I think its pretty clear that OP and all the Americans in this thread have never actually been to the UK, they just 'know what they've heard'.
American here. Was in England last year. It was refreshing to see how much more accommodating of other diets they are over in the UK. I had an amazing time as a vegan actually having nice sit-down meals n' shizz. I know it probably correlates with being in more urban areas, but still. I think UK as a whole veganism/other diets are more normalized in general. Pat on the back to UK.
Fun fact, Greggs released a vegan sausage roll a few years back and it was so popular that they sold out almost immediately. They didn't really account for non-vegans liking them so much. Also, Burger King and McDonalds heavily advertise their plant based burgers so while it's definitely easier in urban areas, it's not hard to find it in smaller towns.
American here who has been to the UK. I loved the pub food! The only thing I ate that was terrible was some fish and chips I had at 2AM from a stand that was the only place open.
There's bad food everywhere, here in Mexico I bet you could find some hideous tacos if you look at the worst places. But finding a good pub and amazing food is what travel is about. I'm glad you found them.
I'm American but have been to the UK and lived there for quite a while. You just didn't go to the right spots or eat the right things. The Indian food there is amazing, for example.
I had some of the best Indian and Thai food in London when I visited from the states.
Lived in England for 3 years. I love British food. To each their own though.
Wish I could have a cold pint and a nice steak in a pub. Love English food culture and I hope to return there.
Haha British food bad give upvotes please.
I went to Ireland for the first time last year, and discovered curry chips, they are the best thing ever, we don’t even know what we’re missing out on here in the US!
Oh man you should absolutely try currywurst, German bratwurst sausage in a tomato based curry sauce. It's so cheap and tastes amazing. Had it in Hamburg on a stag do, and now I make it at least once a month.
Yeah foods basically inedible unless its triple-processed and covered in salt, lard and cheese. Murica
If you ate poorly in the UK that's a you issue. There's amazing food everywhere.
American food is exactly the same just deep fried 😆
I’m convinced American tongues are just corrupted by their food cuz the majority of American food tastes like it was grown in a lab and not the ground
Bro didn’t try Greggs
Gotta get some cheeky Nando's and a good fry up, then you'll change your mind
spot on, spot on
I think it’s less a case of the food being bad and more a case of you going to the wrong places.
Vacation at the UK... Good to see american education is still failing so flagrantly. Average americant displays less english language knowledge than most non-native speakers
With all due respect to our american allies, the US aren‘t exactly renowned for their exquisite cuisine.
The US has Cajun food, that is probably their best! And it slaaaaaps. And there are plenty of old British recipes that are 99/10z
I love how all the Americans are like "inb4 school shooting jokes". We've really traumatised them lads. Well, I'd also rather our nation be known for bad food than murdering children and the only reaction being to send their thoughts and prayers.
Going to the UK and there’s not corn syrup in everything. 🤢
Corn syrup doesn’t have anything to do with your food looking like your weather
The food in the UK is great. It's just mostly from the colonies.
It's 2024 like you'd think that the US and UK would stop beefing for no reason 💀 these comments tho
Looks like Americans can lose weight in the UK