The meat pie is pronounced: "tor-tee-AIR," I think (it's also a thing in Vermont, from what I understand) ... and the Bannock is, I think, pronounced: "BAN-nuck." When I looked for typical foods of Ontario, Canada I see Beaver Tails (I think they are elephant ears where I live and you generally only get them at a carnival or state/county fair), Shawarma, corn on the cob, cheese, sausages and butter tarts. Are those any of the foods you grew up on? As an American, I think America and Canada really adopted the foods of the countries we came from (which, of course, would be England mostly) and the foods of the "areas" (like in Oregon we eat a lot of Marionberry pie - in Maine they eat a lot of lobster and in the midwest of the USA they eat stuff like Scrapple which is sort of a Pennsyvania Dutch or German thing) .... our countries are SO huge, it's really hard to define national foods.
Have you considered a collab with Girl Gone London? It would be interesting to see a comparison of the opinions of a US and Canadian expat to the UK. She is from Florida, which is quite different from Ontario culturally.
Recently been on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We're from the UK but most of the guests were from North America. The most popular breakfast food? Full English. By a country mile.
One of the most British foods, we eat more of it than anyone else, is Baked Beans ... which originally came from what is now Canada .. it was a native American dish sweetened with Maple Syrup!
Interesting, I would've thought the South Americans had been stewing beans for far longer than indigenous folks in North America. I wonder what the dates are
In 1886, Heinz Baked Beans were first sold at the Fortnum & Mason department store in London. After opening its first overseas office in London in 1896, the company opened its first UK factory in Peckham, south London, in 1905. This was followed by a second factory at Harlesden, north-west London in 1919. Heinz is an American company
@@jamiesimms7084 Makes sense to me. If I only had access to hunter/gatherer food I would incorporate all of it into my diet. In the UK we had honey before we found sugar cane and sugar beets and highly processed them. The original Canadians would tap Maple trees for the delicious syrup.
Hi Alanna This is my first most on here, but here goes... Been watching your videos for a number of years and they are probably the most consistently entertaining watches on the platform....Your transformation into the contented, self confident person you are today has been a joy to witness! Back to the subject of British food though....Why was our No1 national dish missing from your list???? Chicken Tikka Masala! And have you ever tried it?? xx
@@cultfiction3865 Curry in general is from India. Chicken Tikka Masala, in particular, is from England, though of course its creation was heavily influenced by imported curry cooking traditions that had been brought over from India, in much the same way that Chop Suey (which is from California) was influenced by imported Chinese cooking traditions.
Hey Alana, recently moved to the UK (like 2 weeks ago). There’s all kinds of places around the GTA that have had donairs for years now, you were totally missing out! I was born and raised in Halifax though and definitely home of the best donairs. They are much like the lamb doners you get here but the donair meat is made with ground beef put in the food processor with spices then cooked on a spit like you see the lamb they shave off for doners or chicken they shave off for like a shwarma wrap. The sauce is condensed milk with garlic powder and vinegar to thicken, served on a warm, split pita with chopped tomato and onion. Next time you’re back in the Southern Ontario search a few of the pizzerias around your parents home and you’ll likely find one of them has donairs. Have loved watching you as we prepared to move here and also now that we’re living in the UK as well. Take care!
My wife and I live in Virginia, USA, and visited the UK for two weeks last May. Now back in the States, we miss British cuisine so much. We spent most of our time in York, Northumberland, and the Lake District. We often ate in a pub, and I have to say the food was fantastic! I had steak and ale pie on three occasions, and it was so yummy! Speaking of ale, WOW! I love beer, and the cask ales in England were incredible. But perhaps that is a story that I should add to your beer-tasting videos. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
@@plymouthtoleedsonaxchst9537 American food is not just bad it's downright vile. Check out the list of countries that ban American foods. Americans now resemble over stuffed sofas.
@plymouthtoleedsonaxchst9537 maybe where they are it was bad, and 20 years ago, I might've said the same thing. But recently we had great food and I stand by my statements. We can have different opinions, and that's okay!
Another (much older) Southern Ontarian here (Stoney Creek) and I have to agree with you. There is no definitive Canadian food. There are plenty of regional specialties like the ones you mention but no national dish. I’d never even heard of poutine until twenty years ago and it only became popular outside of Quebec about the same time that the rest of the world started to become familiar with it. Peameal bacon (which I love but only as an occasional thing, try in on eggs benny) is more of an Ontario thing. Canada is a relatively young country populated by people from elsewhere (except of course for the indigenous population) so most of the dishes originated elsewhere as well. The positive side of that is that if you want a wide food variety it isn’t hard to find here, especially in major urban areas.
There's also veggie bacon, and both are prime examples of the saying "Just because you _can_ doesn't mean you should". Veggie bacon is basically a coloured shoe insole with Frazzles flavouring (frazzles being a famous bacon-flavoured corn snack), and veggie haggis is similarly just not really haggis at all.
Veggie haggis is the best! I have fed this to my carnivorous friends and they didn’t complain. Simon Howie’s veggie haggis is the best though.most other veggie haggis is not worth the effort.
We were visiting Ottawa and had a couple of days in Toronto. Our daughter's Canadian husband said "For a quintessential sample of Ontario food culture, grab a peameal sandwich with mustard from the carousel bakery and a butter tart from any bakery stall". We did both - and both were delicious to the VIA Rail ride back to Ottawa
The best way to enjoy foods is to go for the local speciality as you travel... a Cornish Pasty in Cornwall, a Lancashire Hot Pot in Lancashire, Haggis in Scotland, a Devon Cream Tea... There will be something in the local family run Bakery, served in the local Pub or Tea Room, Offered at the Fair or Fate or from a Van, in the Market or the local B&B will serve it for breakfast. I love your journey of discovery.
Alanna, Bannock kinda rhyms with Canuck. It was called, before enlightened times, "Indian Bread". Vancouver has such a diversity of cuisines due to influences from Califorian, but mostly we're on the gateway to Asia, so there's lots of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, but mostly Japanese and Indian. "Infusion Cuisine". Japanese tourists come to try "Japadogs" and Indian tourists want Butterchicken Pizza. None of this stuff existed when I was a kid. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
And square (Lorne) sausage in a roll, but only as breakfast.
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Whilst visiting Midland Ontario as a 18 year old Scottish girl I was introduced to ‘toasted bacon & tomato sandwich’ 50 years later it is still my favourite breakfast.
One of my favourites. As a young lad growing up outside of Glasgow a bacon buttie was one of my favourites but since moving to Canada my tastes have evolved to loving a bacon and tomato sandwich. Although when I am under the weather I resort to my roots a bacon buttie is the best.
I never realised that this was a Canadian sandwich. I had them MANY times growing up in Ontario. I have just TRIED to check the origins for this sandwich on Google & they don't even seem to know about it - (hence, it probably is Canadian.) 😐
I regularly visit the Triumph dealership I bought my Speed Twin from in Staffordshire - I'd like to think that it's because it's a nice ride out from here in God's Back Yard (Shropshire), the staff are a good craic & they've always got something interesting out on the shop floor - but it's mostly for the full breakfast oaties available from the van on the site.
Great video as always! Smoked haddock, mash, peas or green beans with a poached egg on the mash is a wonderful meal that's much much lighter on the tum than a roast for example. Oh! Don't forget to put a little salted butter on the fish once it's on the plate. Definitely worth a go🤩x
Jugged hare! In fact almost any game, pheasant, partridge, venison.. all amazing. Leek and potato soup, Kedgeree (though that is anlgo-indian to be fair), summer pudding. Now I am hungry and nostalgic (I live in Costa Rica)
Great video Alanna! As a vegetarian, I agree that traditional British foods are generally meat-based BUT - it's important to say that the UK is one of the easiest places to eat out as a vegetarian. Every pub and restaurant will have at least one, but usually several, vegetarian option. That isn't true for a lot of countries in Europe. (I don't know about Canada, because I haven't been there, yet.)
You should try Stargazy Pie! It’s a Cornish classic and only served once a year. Going back to the 16th Century, one December there were some horrendous storms off the shore of Cornwall and the fishermen from a tiny village called Mousehole couldn’t go out to get fish, so in the run up to Christmas the whole village went hungry. One sailor, Tom Balcock, decided to brave the waves and set out to get fish for the village. He gazed at the stars (where the name Stargazy Pie comes from) for good luck and prayed that he would return with some fish for the village. He brought back enough fish to make one big pie to feed the whole village. On the 23rd of December each year in Mousehole they bake Stargazy Pie to honour the bravery and heroism of Tom Balcock! Great story, delicious pie, what’s not to like?!
Its appearance is kind of intimidating. All those fish heads sitting on the pastry, staring at you; gazing, if you will. I'd eat it, but I've seen a lot of youtubers dismiss it on appearance alone.
My long dead Grandma's homemade *Steak & Kidney Pudding.* I still make it, just like she taught me how to do. Plus. I always make a *Jam Roly Poly* with the suet pastry, I have let over. YUM YUM..
According to Google, Hawaiian Pizza was invented by a Greek in Chatham Ontario. And I know that a Japanese chef in Vancouver British Columbia invented the California Roll. As a Canadian these are foods I enjoy and eat regularly.
The Vancouver California roll origin story is highly disputed. Most food historians don’t agree with it. The restaurant still works today and is not far from me. I haven’t been though. Hawaiian pizza is indeed Canadian. The greatest Canadian sin :)
The Vancouver Chef who invented the California role did so when he was living and working in California. So is it really a Canadian invention? I would say not and I live in the Vancouver area and have been in the particular restaurant in question .
@@davidf3696 haven't heard that. I think he claims that he invented it here in Vancouver in his restaurant. I don’t think he even been to California. He moved from Japan to Vancouver. But then again this origin story is only one of many. And it’s not the most widely accepted one. He has no proof. Just his claims.
I am Welsh you need to try Cawl a traditional broth if you get a good one its hard to top it on a winters day. Welsh rare bit as well and to finish with Welsh cakes. I hope you get a chance to visit Wales one day, I mean south west Wales.
Alanna, considering we're from completely different generations, from watching your videos for several years now, I'm amazed at how similar our growing up in Southern Ontario was. My view and experience of "Canadian food" is very similar to yours.
Ruth Goodman a practical historian who I much admire, has a theory that British particularly English food diverted from European cooking when we moved from wood to coal as our main source of heat. Coal could burn longer without attention and the food had to be kept away from the smoke. Nobody sells artisan food smoked over coal.
The Bannock is a traditional Scottish bread and there's a whole place named Bannockburn in Scotland (and a National Heritage site) which was the scene of one of the most famous historical battles betwixt England and Scotland, and which involved the legendary Scottish hero, Robert The Bruce. It is almost certain that the very name of the Bannock food was from where it originated. Just as the Yorkshire Pudding originated in Yorkshire, the Lancashire Hotpot came from Lancashire, the Eccles Cake from Eccles, or even how the sandwich originated from the Earl of Sandwich. Traditionally it was made from oats and cooked on a skillet, a common enough cooking method in Scotland historically, as per 'Scotch Pancakes'. Obviously, Canada was heavily settled by the Scots (who found many areas of Canada to have a familiar climate, and who of course appreciated the mountains and hillsides and lakes that reminded them of home), along with the French, and those two different influences have a profound effect on Canada even today.
Bannock was introduced to the indigenous peoples of North America by Scottish fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries and variations of it are still eaten today most commonly by indigenous people.
As a vegetarian of around 35 years, it’s really not difficult to be vegetarian in the UK (though it wasn’t that easy back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, when all cheese had animal rennet and McVitie’s Digestives and Rich Tea both had animal fat in them too…along with the only meat replacement being dried soya etc etc) but almost everywhere has a vegetarian/vegan option and supermarkets carry many options (back in the day you had to go to health food shops…which were really quite expensive). But even back then it was easier than in the US. When I visited in the US in ‘93 it was nigh on impossible to find even a salad option that didn’t have some sort of meat in it, let alone an actual vegetarian option…at least we had the old trusty option of mushroom stroganoff.
Mainland Europe wasn't much better. School trip to Germany in about 1998, on the first night the hotel served these gigantic meatballs to start, spaghetti bolognese to follow and, as the vegetarian option, pepperoni pizza. When the teacher finally convinced them that pepperoni is not a vegetable, the only thing they could find in the entire hotel to offer the veggie students was french fries. Luckily I'm not vegetarian so we got to feast on the excess of meaty meals, but it was so weird to see people not even understand the distinction between meat and vegetables.
Being vegetarian in the 1980s led to my forty year addiction to Fox's biscuits because, at the time, they were the only popular brand of biscuits that didn't use animal fats. McVities have been dead to me since 1985!
@@bobblebardsley yeah, I went on a school trip to Spain, at the actual accommodation us vegetarians were given white rice topped with a tomato sauce for every evening meal but when out and about there was next to nothing available. Though around a decade ago in the Westcountry I experienced someone serving in the work’s canteen who couldn’t get their head around the concept of a vegetarian option. I asked if there was one, the answer was that there was beef or chicken curry, when I reiterated that it was something vegetarian I was looking for, she offered to make me a ham sandwich. My niece and nephew (who have always been vegetarian) had a dinner lady at Primary School who was convinced that Halal meant that it was vegetarian and kept trying to get them to take the meat because it was Halal.
@@tonycasey3183 your comment has just made me realise how very rare it is that I have bought McVitie’s over the last 35 ish years. I’m presuming that it’s a subconscious thing that’s just become ingrained because they changed over to vegetarian back in the 90’s I think.
I am originally from Britain but live in Canada. If I ever buy baked beans with maple syrup it is a grave mistake and one that I regret instantly. I sometimes also mistakenly buy bacon that has been made Canadian with the addition of maple syrup. Yuk. Another grave mistake. Don't get me wrong, maple syrup is great and if I want to add it to something then I will. But tricking me into buying it by making it difficult to spot unless you are paying attention is not cool, and adding it to random things does not make for Canadian cuisine. The things I miss the most about everyday foods are the quality cheeses and delicious regional sausages from the UK. Maybe you could focus on sausages for an episode and do some comparisons between Lincolnshire, Cumberland, etc. Yum.
I love sliced Haslet on a sandwich, probably with small chunk Branston Pickle, but I do have it with Mayo or Salad Cream and is great with Tomato. It'll be available most Supermarkets, Butchers or Deli, but might be considered an East Midlands specialty. I normally encounter it at Asda pre packaged (not the best way), the most delicious Haslet I've come across was from a Butchers in Lincoln who sliced it up as needed from a 'Loaf'. You will have to try Bakewell Pudding, and you can only buy it in Bakewell, Derbyshire and there is a shop called "The Bakewell Pudding Shop" (original and best. is what they call themselves). Beats Bakewell Tart hands down. (I believe you can get the shop to ship it to you).
Visiting Wales 40 years ago or so: 'Do you do a vegetarian option for Sunday dinner? 'Would that be the lamb vegetarian or the beef vegetarian you'd be wanting?' 😄😆
Hi Alanna, I think UK is pretty good for Vegetarians, 'though not so much the traditional meals, and Vegans have a bit more of an issue, but the fact that Greggs have Vegan options is impressive given last century.
I was vegan for a while, way back in the 00s, and found eating in the UK much better. It was harder to eat out admittedly (as salads for mains wasn't much of a thing in the UK until recently), but shopping in the supermarkets was a breeze! Nothing in Canada can hold a flame to Linda McCartney sausages; there was only Yves fake meats and TVP from bulk barn, it was brutal. Vegans have it much easier in Canada now, with a few more product brands to choose from
You should definitely try a Teesside parmo if you haven't already. It's a regional dish from Middlesbrough that's really popular on Teesside. Especially after a few pints in the pub 😂
Have you had smoked haddock with parsley sauce? A lot of the smoked haddock now is yellow on the outside but white in the middle. The proper stuff is yellow all the way through.
Caul, Welsh cakes, laver bread (seaweed!) and Bara Brith are all from Wales (for the benefit of anyone who is not Welsh!) Welsh Cakes are similar to Scottish griddle scones, I believe. Great video, Alana
Wiltshire Lardy Cake! Marshall's bakery in Pewsey does a good and relatively traditional one. Like many cakes they tend to be a lot sweeter now than they were 50 years ago.
Greetings from Canada! We were in Hamilton Ontario last summer and we thought of you! Also THANK YOU for mentioning how Tim Horton's sucks, we agree! Okay you didn't say "sucks" but we'll say it on your behalf.
As a fellow southern Ontarian, I agree with Alanna that we do not have recognizable regional dishes. Our food was originally from the indigenous with the maple syrup and the bannock which I tried once up in Moosenee on a trip. The other influences came from the French and British settlers. The poutine, tourtire etc. is Quebec origins. Our buttertarts and Nanaimo bars are as Canadian as you can get, but not a dish per se. I love British food as my mothers parents were from Durham and further back from the borders of Scotland.
My late mum was from BC, so my go-to Canadian foods are: Chinook salmon, pancakes with Maple syrup, salmonberry or cloudberry pie, Nanaimo bars, and White Spot hamburgers. Whilst at school in England, I grew to love: roast lamb, steak & kidney pie, pease pudding, junket, Bakewell tarts, and jugged hare. Which do I prefer? All of the above, plus Rennies!! 😅
I had a really excellent shepherds pie when I visited Vancouver, also fish and chips were common. I felt right at home, the people were really friendly as well.
I feel having travelled the world a few times with the sole purpose of broadening my knowledge, palate and being an ex Michelin level Chef de Cuisine with 2 decades exp I'm somewhat of an authority on this. Comparing the two cuisines you'll notice we both love our comfort foods full of calories and ideal for the cold nights, not to mention all the good stuff is brown food. Only because of age and imported diversity I would say the UK just has it in this argument. We also have a lot of influence from traditional French cuisine. However as an industry professional I don't rate either very highly. South East Asia is unrivaled for food. Top rated imo are Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Thai, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, mainland China and Philippines.
When I've visited Canada, the food was basically American food, but cooked in a much cleaner kitchen. To enjoy poutine I think it needs to be something you eat regularly, sort of a poutine, routine.
The only Canadian dish I know is poutine. My favourite videos of yours are taste testing videos. I changed my tea to Yorkshire tea after watching one of your videos. It’s a commitment I did not take lightly might I add. So I want to thank you for opening up my world to taking risks I would never have considered before😅😂
@@AdventuresAndNaps I absolutely love all your taste tests. One idea might be to try different cultural dishes well known throughout Britain. e.g Chinese, Indian, Thai, Malay etc. although that might get a little costly. I just appreciate the time you take out to make your videos as much fun as possible. Your videos are absolutely a delight to watch.
As someone who spent a lot of time in the Ontario area while working at BlackBerry, most people I worked with would say that hot wings were the local food. Saying that we did spend a lot of time in the bars after work. 😊
You should visit the North West and enjoy Lancashire hotpot, meat and potato pies, Ecclescakes, Lakeland tea bread and so on. And we have a few Tim Hortons around too.
Fish pie - it’s not a pastry-based pie but is mashed potato-based, bit of stock, and whatever fish bits you fancy or have to hand. Optional breadcrumbs & cheese topping. Serve with a selection of seasonal vegetables. Delicious.
I made Bannock at Brownie camp once, I remember it being pretty bland. My Aunt makes tortiere at Christmastime and it is served with some chutney. I agree, there isn't really a Canadian specific food. Tim Horton's, like most chains, is just fine and convenient and can be a cheaper option. I don't even think it's Canadian anymore 🤷♀
Growing up in England in the 60s-70s the diet was awful so I was glad in the mid 70s to get various foreign cuisines especially Indian and Italian. I now do Spanish every weekend. I make my own Christmas puddings every year and have done for about 30 years. We only discovered vegetables in the 70s (along with mayo). I have watched American cookery shows - there is the ultimate brown food!.
When I holiday in Scotland there are a few things I really like: Scottish plain bread, empire biscuits, butteries and thick oat cakes (which are more like biscuits).
You could try grey peas and bacon, plenty white pepper and crusty bread. There's quite a few on-line recipes where they add all sorts of stuff but you don't need them. It's a Black Country dish.
A lot of traditional British food is best enjoyed on a cold winter's evening, ideally with a crackling fire in the background. Food that was intended to keep you going through 14 hours of icy night.
Since leaving Canada we do miss Tim's. They always get my tea right :) My son misses the Halifax Kabob (donair) although we had no idea it was called that (and my son grew up in NS) It has a sauce/dressing that you can't get in UK. It's made from condensed milk, sugar and cheese I believe. Sounds odd but my son loves it lol
There is no cheese in the sauce (or strictly speaking in a classic Halifax donair). The sauce is just sweetened condensed milk, a bit of vinegar, and some garlic powder. The toppings on a donair are the sliced donair meat (100% ground beef , heavily seasoned, formed into a log and cooked on on a spite), diced tomato, raw white onion, and the sauce. Some HEATHENS (joking, but I do think its not nearly as good way to have them) put cheese and/or shredded iceberg lettuce on as well.
Agree with your Tim Horton's "rant". I lived in the United States in the late 80s and early 90s (I was a nanny in Chicago, IL and Avon, CT). An awful lot of what made that experience exciting for me were the differences. Now, almost everything I experienced back then is available here now. Doritos, Haagen Dasz, Ben & Jerry's, M&Ms, etc. And our high streets look so similar now too with a lot of the same chains. Back then, I think we did have McDs and KFC here, but now we have 'em all; Starbucks, Burger King, Taco Bell, Five Guys, Hard Rock, etc. It's cultural homogenisation. USA have a monopoly now. It's sad. But for friends and better weather, I almost don't feel a need to ever go back there. 😆 (I would like to see some of Canada though).
We've lived in Canada for 15 years now and I totally agree with you about the lack of national identity through food, but culturally, a lot of Canada is a little bit generically "North American." You get more elk or bison burger options popping up than you'd likely encounter in a country pub in the UK, but other than that, there's not much I would consider archetypically Canadian.
Canadian here. (New Brunswick) Poutine and donairs are , in my neck of the woods at least, typically 2AM bar close food truck dishes. You can find them during the day, but I find they really are best when you've got a belly full of beer.
There is not a food stuff - at least those that contain huge amounts of salt & fat - in the universe that is not improved upon by getting eight pints of something nice down your neck before hand.
I'm really enjoying this video, and had no idea we (Britain) had so many traditional foods! Lancashire Hotpot, bangers & mash, haggis etc all of which I enjoy and think of as "ordinary" - ditto the more obvious/well known (?) food like fish & chips or a Sunday roast. I thought the world only knew "us" for fish & chips ... and over boiled cabbage
Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in the UK - making a dish with Indian flavours that would appeal to British tastes. Ditto Chow Mein. Plus many, many local pies, pastries and cakes. Each town seems to have it's specialty.
If you like savoury you have to try North Staffordshire oatcakes. A traditional breakfast item best enjoyed with bacon, melted cheese and tinned tomatoes. We even have shops that sell only oatcakes (and pikelets).
Been following your channel for 6 months think you do well and come across as genuine i beleave you are :-) anyway Canada i agree i know people from there i lived there when i was 16 for 2 months problem is like Russia and other land masses that are massive its difficult to say this is this - you get me so i stayed in the farm lands of Saskatchewan and travelled 3k miles in a car to a wedding - north Dakota - -Montana - south Dakota Wyoming etc if i recall ..i was 16 oh the black hills of Dakota also so many wow amazing people amazing country but don't beat her up its huge FFS. hope this helps and is supportive your ace!
As someone who is a big lover of traditional British meals I have to try and balance them out to only two or three a week maximum as they can be very heavy even without vegetables added in although I also find gravy tends to go with the vast majority of them too which probably doesn't help. I would also argue they we may do the best savory pastries in the world as there is a huge variety in not only fresh bakeries but in near enough every supermarket or corner shop you go to and this notion that the food lacks flavour is usually from people who haven't tried much of it. Although I do think we are now in an age where certain food brands are becoming just as associated with a country even if the food is available in other places as that brand is what you grew up with and may even taste different to similar products anywhere else in the world. So in many ways Canada being a relatively young country compared to any in Europe, Asia and Africa it took on the cuisines of the people from Europe that would emigrate there.
For some interesting cooking look into how people dealt with the WWII rationing, my grandmother could make an amazing steamed sponge cake from almost nothing.
Try Marmite again - but just as very, very thin trace on buttered toast. My wife also likes 'savoury' and thinks it's wonderful! Fun fact: it's a yeast byproduct of brewing beer (the brown gunge scraped off the top of the brew) invented in Germany (around the time of WW1) as a vegan equivalent to 'nourishing beef tea' made from Bovril or Oxo - they had to set the business up in England because they knew we'd never buy anything from Germany!😀
Vegan is actually really easy in the UK these days. We're probably a world leader in vegan options. You should taste test some vegan ice creams for a video. Maybe try some mock meats in another. There's a brand called squeaky bean that does some really good mock meats.
"Butteries" also known as "rowies" in North East Scotlnd are kind of like a flat scone and taste kinda like a croissant, but oily / buttery and quite salty. Best eaten fresh from the local bakery, but obviously not a slimming food. Legend has it that the buttery was made for the fishermen sailing from Aberdeen harbour. The theory is that they needed a bread that would not become stale during the two weeks or more that they were at sea. The high fat content meant the bread also provided an immediate energy source.
Nice one Alanna, interesting. I'm English, and I will eat anything that stays still long enough. I tried a Tim Hortons in Toronto, don't need to go back. Could not find decent pies in Canada nor U.S.. Now attempt a video on cakes, sponges and desserts please? Thank you.
I prefer Canadian food over British food. In the US food is spicier as you go south and less spicy as you go north. The food in Canadian is good, being an American from the south, it does tastes a bit bland though. Just like the northern US, or even more so, Canadian food is not very spicy. I've had a lot of not so great food in the UK. It wasn't always terrible, but seemed even plainer than Canadian food. I think every British family I stayed with, served me fish and chips. One Spanish friend in London took me to an Irish restaurant for roast dinner. I visit Canada a lot and the food is decent, it just doesn't have a lot of flavor. I stayed in Ashford, Kent for a while.
Please review traditional British bakery cakes, such as jam doughnuts, apple turnovers, apple slices, iced finger buns, Bakewell tarts, (British) Belgian buns, chocolate brownies, Chelsea buns, Lardy Cake, chocolate eclairs, and all the other British health foods
Beaver Tails! Canada is a melting pot of all nationalities and a relatively new country with very short history. Also being close to the U.S. we tend to eat American things. I have tried all the items from Canada except tortieres. Love your pronunciation lol Lost any French you learned? I was born in Ottawa, Ontario but gave been in Alberta since I was 30. I actually made Bannock in grade school on a trip to Upper Canada Village. Yumm! I love learning British culture. Sorry to whomever I might offend...I have been a Corrie fan since I was a kids...eons ago it seems!😂 Glad I found your channel!😊
Hiya Alanna, when I was on the bus a couple of weeks ago, this young lad said my favourite meal is "Chips (aka fries) cheese and gravy, I said "that's called poutine" the young lad was quite mesmerized thinking it didn't have a name, this is Choppy
Not just food that is old here. We went to a theatre last month to see a comedy show that Brits have been laughing at for over 400 years, and it was hilarious. It was Twelfth Night. Never seen it before, and I wish I had.
Be careful using the meatball-like F-word online, some over-zealous auto-filters will ban you for it even when talking about the food. I think Alanna discovered that herself in the past.
@@wessexdruid7598 I think in Alanna's case it was Twitch. Funnily enough I was born in Scunthorpe which contains a very offensive four-letter word and gave its name to the Scunthorpe Problem caused by early internet profanity filters blocking the name of the town 😅
I have never been to 🇨🇦 but I immediately think of Maple syrup and then different meat like say Elk or moose and poutine. That’s it for me as a Brit. British food has a bad reputation, but a lot of it is warming, comforting and tasty. We made a Sunday lunch for Spanish friends and they wanted seconds of the Yorkshire pudding with gravy and the trifle I did for dessert; so not all bad then 😝
I am from Hull and we have the Hull patties. I remember leaving Hull and went to a fish and chip shop in sheffield and being utterly bewildered they had never heard of them as it is still yorkshire and only about 60 miles away. The big one though is chip spice. Chip spice in particular is something that the whole world is missing out on. An alternative to salt for chips but oh so much better !
Okay. Bannock. Also known as fry-bread. Very common out here on the We(s)t Coast. Great with salmon. Montreal smoked meat. In Victoria (which is near me), I go to a restaurant/deli that imports it from Montreal. And I'm probably further from Montreal than you are. Poutine is available just down the road from me. Really good--and yes, filling enough for a meal, but even better when you've been into the beer for a few hours. Donairs? Ate hundreds of them as a teenager in Edmonton. And other than pemmican, the prairies aren't really renowned for their cuisine. But you have them in the UK as well: big rounds of vertically roasted pressed meat cylinders sliced off into strips and put into a pita. Great drunk food as well. I know food culture has been pretty crap in southern ON for a long time, but c'mon. Tor-tee-air. French-Canadian meat pie. Again, I can get them out here on the coast. Canadian cuisine is best exemplified by the Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal: walleye and smoked haddock chowder. House-smoked trout. Then there's Red River cereal from the grocer. There are lots of dishes that are Canadian. But Canadian food culture seems to be ahead of most places in creating a cuisine out of imported memories. Like "Chinese food" from the take-away--invented in Canada by immigrants, and spread by older immigrants teaching newer ones. Ginger beef, sweet and sour pork, chicken chop suey--these are all Canadian. My not-Mennonite mother used to cook almost exclusively out of the Mennonite cookbook created in Steinbach, Manitoba. Not really authentic Mennonite food, but food adapted from the originals to use local ingredients. And it made her Mennonite mother-in-law treat her a bit better. Oh, and Pizza? Italian-American creation that travelled back to Europe. So please, Tim's isn't Canadian--was once, but not for a long time. And southern On? Isn't it really the boiled -to-death-everything capital of Canada?
Have you tried Pie, mash and liquor - traditional East End London dockers food. Just discovered that far from being some mysterious concoction, the liquor is just parsley sauce. I wouldn't have said Lancashire hot pot was a uniquely British thing, as every country has a similar peasants stew in which you throw anything and everything.
I'd say curry, I know it's not originally British. However, due to the ethnic variety in the UK, many global food recipes have been brought over and adapted to our tastes.
British foods to try (that you haven't mentioned in this video): Shepherds Pie Liver & Onions with mash Tripe & Onions with mash Pea & Ham soup Pea soup with pigs trotters Cauliflower Cheese Honeyed Parsnips Welsh Rarebit Bara brith Welsh Cakes Staffordshire Oatcakes Scouse Stew Irish Stew Smoked Salmon with cream cheese and capers on sourdough bread bread and butter pudding Jam Rolly-Polly Gooseberry Crumble Baked Rice pudding Potatoes in Jackets with cheese and baked beans filling - you can also add chopped up bangers Scampi and chips Mushy peas with steak & kidney pie & chips (fresh cut not frozen) Cornish Pasties Almond slices
I don’t know whether you’ve ever tried a butter pie? This might be a northern thing. It’s basically potatoes, onion, butter and seasoning in a pie. Sounds simple, tastes great!
there are loads of vegetarian and vegan options in the UK. Maybe not the traditional foods, but still loads of other options, certainly moreso than I found in the US (and maybe Canada, but i've only been there once and it was about 20 years ago so that's not a good comparison)
I remember when I first made sticky toffee pudding for my Canadian partner. She was blown away. Last time we visited England, she refused to go into Tim Hortons. I wanted to go in just to compare it to the ones in Canada
Weird how just one province over makes such a difference: donair (kebab), bannock, tourtiere are very common in Manitoba- and not just in Winnipeg. There’s a kebab place just up the street, our local grocery bakery does a great tourtiere, and bannock is ubiquitous (bannock tacos, even!)
You ever tried jellied eels? (Or at least pie, mash, and liquor from a pie and mash shop?). Oh and on the subject of Canadian food, what about moose burgers?
I love all the British dishes you talked about. May I ask a personal question though - in your older videos you wear glasses so do you have contact lenses now? I love your videos.
@@TheWalnut47 You my friend are correct, I wrote potato's on the page it did not look right but spell check said nothing so like the lazy person I am I did not correct myself, If my memory is working correctly there was a USA politician who made the same mistake as I did Dan Quayle embarrassed himself in front of a class room full of children and a TV crew by insisting he knew the correct spelling he was a big hit on You tuba. Thank you.
@PatrickKelly-lz3pv Hi Patrick, In the UK, an apostrophe like the one you used is known as a "greengrocer's apostrophe." Growing up in south London, I used to see apostrophes everywhere at street markets on handwritten signs showing the price of vegetables and fruit. "Carrot's 2d a pound." 😃
I live in the same neck of the Canadian woods where you're from, Alana, and I agree with you about 'Canadian' food 😂 I wasn't brought up with any of them either!
🎉 want to join our annual party? 🎉 starts this FRIDAY 5pm BST! www.twitch.tv/adventuresandnaps (and potentially goes all weekend!)
The meat pie is pronounced: "tor-tee-AIR," I think (it's also a thing in Vermont, from what I understand) ... and the Bannock is, I think, pronounced: "BAN-nuck."
When I looked for typical foods of Ontario, Canada I see Beaver Tails (I think they are elephant ears where I live and you generally only get them at a carnival or state/county fair), Shawarma, corn on the cob, cheese, sausages and butter tarts. Are those any of the foods you grew up on?
As an American, I think America and Canada really adopted the foods of the countries we came from (which, of course, would be England mostly) and the foods of the "areas" (like in Oregon we eat a lot of Marionberry pie - in Maine they eat a lot of lobster and in the midwest of the USA they eat stuff like Scrapple which is sort of a Pennsyvania Dutch or German thing) .... our countries are SO huge, it's really hard to define national foods.
Have you considered a collab with Girl Gone London? It would be interesting to see a comparison of the opinions of a US and Canadian expat to the UK. She is from Florida, which is quite different from Ontario culturally.
Recently been on a Royal Caribbean cruise. We're from the UK but most of the guests were from North America. The most popular breakfast food? Full English. By a country mile.
What's a "DonAir CarBob"? 😅 Great video as always!
The Canadian version of the doner kebab is a Halifax donair
Something to do with your uncles air freight, auto business? Maybe 🤔 😁
😂😂😂😂😂
"Doner kebap" is the Turkish name for what Americans call "gyros".
Gyros is just Greek
One of the most British foods, we eat more of it than anyone else, is Baked Beans ... which originally came from what is now Canada .. it was a native American dish sweetened with Maple Syrup!
Interesting, I would've thought the South Americans had been stewing beans for far longer than indigenous folks in North America. I wonder what the dates are
The natives ate maple syrup with beans, are you sure
In 1886, Heinz Baked Beans were first sold at the Fortnum & Mason department store in London. After opening its first overseas office in London in 1896, the company opened its first UK factory in Peckham, south London, in 1905. This was followed by a second factory at Harlesden, north-west London in 1919.
Heinz is an American company
@@jamiesimms7084 Makes sense to me. If I only had access to hunter/gatherer food I would incorporate all of it into my diet. In the UK we had honey before we found sugar cane and sugar beets and highly processed them. The original Canadians would tap Maple trees for the delicious syrup.
@@Drew-Dastardly thank you for your contribution, I suppose it does make sense.
At college I asked a Canadian classmate "what's a Canadian staple?" He responded "Beer".
Labatts? Is that still a thing? Haven't had it since the '90s.
@@Drew-Dastardly Yes, unfortunately. Pure gnat's piss!
Accurate
@@Drew-Dastardly Labatt's is an Imbev brand now. Comes out of the same vats as Budweiser.
Hi Alanna
This is my first most on here, but here goes...
Been watching your videos for a number of years and they are probably the most consistently entertaining watches on the platform....Your transformation into the contented, self confident person you are today has been a joy to witness!
Back to the subject of British food though....Why was our No1 national dish missing from your list???? Chicken Tikka Masala! And have you ever tried it??
xx
Thank you so much!! Of COURSE I've had Tikka Masala - a great choice! Obviously that website needs to revise their list 😂
That's Indian
@@cultfiction3865 Curry in general is from India. Chicken Tikka Masala, in particular, is from England, though of course its creation was heavily influenced by imported curry cooking traditions that had been brought over from India, in much the same way that Chop Suey (which is from California) was influenced by imported Chinese cooking traditions.
My go to British meal. Liver bacon and onions mashed spuds and peas
With gravy. Delish. Lambs liver is the best, Ox liver is a bit too strong.
Old school, been ages since I've had a dish.
@@Drew-DastardlyPigs Liver is good too. If you soak the Ox Liver in milk for a while (overnight in the fridge is best) it's not as powerful. 😅
Now you're talking.
What the hell is liver bacon?
Hey Alana, recently moved to the UK (like 2 weeks ago). There’s all kinds of places around the GTA that have had donairs for years now, you were totally missing out! I was born and raised in Halifax though and definitely home of the best donairs.
They are much like the lamb doners you get here but the donair meat is made with ground beef put in the food processor with spices then cooked on a spit like you see the lamb they shave off for doners or chicken they shave off for like a shwarma wrap. The sauce is condensed milk with garlic powder and vinegar to thicken, served on a warm, split pita with chopped tomato and onion. Next time you’re back in the Southern Ontario search a few of the pizzerias around your parents home and you’ll likely find one of them has donairs.
Have loved watching you as we prepared to move here and also now that we’re living in the UK as well.
Take care!
My wife and I live in Virginia, USA, and visited the UK for two weeks last May. Now back in the States, we miss British cuisine so much. We spent most of our time in York, Northumberland, and the Lake District. We often ate in a pub, and I have to say the food was fantastic! I had steak and ale pie on three occasions, and it was so yummy! Speaking of ale, WOW! I love beer, and the cask ales in England were incredible. But perhaps that is a story that I should add to your beer-tasting videos. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Glad you enjoyed the charms of Northern England 🏴 🇺🇲
I,ve been to the USA and every American and Canadian told me British food is trash.
@@plymouthtoleedsonaxchst9537 American food is not just bad it's downright vile. Check out the list of countries that ban American foods. Americans now resemble over stuffed sofas.
@plymouthtoleedsonaxchst9537 maybe where they are it was bad, and 20 years ago, I might've said the same thing. But recently we had great food and I stand by my statements. We can have different opinions, and that's okay!
@@plymouthtoleedsonaxchst9537 US food is not fresh and it's loaded with chemicals. I rest my case.
Another (much older) Southern Ontarian here (Stoney Creek) and I have to agree with you. There is no definitive Canadian food. There are plenty of regional specialties like the ones you mention but no national dish. I’d never even heard of poutine until twenty years ago and it only became popular outside of Quebec about the same time that the rest of the world started to become familiar with it. Peameal bacon (which I love but only as an occasional thing, try in on eggs benny) is more of an Ontario thing. Canada is a relatively young country populated by people from elsewhere (except of course for the indigenous population) so most of the dishes originated elsewhere as well. The positive side of that is that if you want a wide food variety it isn’t hard to find here, especially in major urban areas.
There is veggie haggis. Made of Oats, Lentils, Rapeseed Oil, Kidney Beans, Onions, Carrot, Swede, Mushrooms, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Salt, Spices, Pepper.
There's also veggie bacon, and both are prime examples of the saying "Just because you _can_ doesn't mean you should". Veggie bacon is basically a coloured shoe insole with Frazzles flavouring (frazzles being a famous bacon-flavoured corn snack), and veggie haggis is similarly just not really haggis at all.
There is no such thing as vegetarian haggis. By definition, haggis is made with offal.
Veggie haggis is the best! I have fed this to my carnivorous friends and they didn’t complain. Simon Howie’s veggie haggis is the best though.most other veggie haggis is not worth the effort.
I'm not veggie but love the veggie haggis and leave the meat version to my Brasilian wife. @@eloquentlyemma
I tried it - once.
We were visiting Ottawa and had a couple of days in Toronto. Our daughter's Canadian husband said "For a quintessential sample of Ontario food culture, grab a peameal sandwich with mustard from the carousel bakery and a butter tart from any bakery stall". We did both - and both were delicious to the VIA Rail ride back to Ottawa
Alanna, obviously the best food is found wherever The Butler is cooking it. 👨🍳🍕🍕👧😊
🙏🏻
The PM needs to announce a new task force to prosecute people who pronounce 'doner' 'kebab' 'bannock' and 'bagel' the way you just did lolol
You can tell she isn't much into Canadian food by the way she pronounces them!
How else would "bagel" be pronounced?
It's annoying because kebab and bagel pronunciations vary a lot anyway so whatever, but the other two were literally just wrong xD
The best way to enjoy foods is to go for the local speciality as you travel... a Cornish Pasty in Cornwall, a Lancashire Hot Pot in Lancashire, Haggis in Scotland, a Devon Cream Tea... There will be something in the local family run Bakery, served in the local Pub or Tea Room, Offered at the Fair or Fate or from a Van, in the Market or the local B&B will serve it for breakfast. I love your journey of discovery.
Melton Mowbray pork pie 😋
Alanna, Bannock kinda rhyms with Canuck. It was called, before enlightened times, "Indian Bread". Vancouver has such a diversity of cuisines due to influences from Califorian, but mostly we're on the gateway to Asia, so there's lots of Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, but mostly Japanese and Indian. "Infusion Cuisine". Japanese tourists come to try "Japadogs" and Indian tourists want Butterchicken Pizza. None of this stuff existed when I was a kid.
Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.
I've just found you via your Deadliest Beers vid (thanks UA-cam!) and you are now my Emotional Support Canadian. Best UK food has got to be a fry-up!
The next time you get to Scotland try the ultimate Scottish/Indian fusion Haggis Pakora. Also try macaroni and cheese pie.
And square (Lorne) sausage in a roll, but only as breakfast.
Whilst visiting Midland Ontario as a 18 year old Scottish girl I was introduced to ‘toasted bacon & tomato sandwich’ 50 years later it is still my favourite breakfast.
One of my favourites. As a young lad growing up outside of Glasgow a bacon buttie was one of my favourites but since moving to Canada my tastes have evolved to loving a bacon and tomato sandwich. Although when I am under the weather I resort to my roots a bacon buttie is the best.
If you want to make it a real BLT, add some lettuce & mayo! Yummy!
I never realised that this was a Canadian sandwich. I had them MANY times growing up in Ontario. I have just TRIED to check the origins for this sandwich on Google & they don't even seem to know about it - (hence, it probably is Canadian.) 😐
A Staffordshire oatcake goes with everything and makes for a great savoury breakfast.
I regularly visit the Triumph dealership I bought my Speed Twin from in Staffordshire - I'd like to think that it's because it's a nice ride out from here in God's Back Yard (Shropshire), the staff are a good craic & they've always got something interesting out on the shop floor - but it's mostly for the full breakfast oaties available from the van on the site.
Great video as always! Smoked haddock, mash, peas or green beans with a poached egg on the mash is a wonderful meal that's much much lighter on the tum than a roast for example. Oh! Don't forget to put a little salted butter on the fish once it's on the plate. Definitely worth a go🤩x
Stornoway black pudding is a must try.
Jugged hare! In fact almost any game, pheasant, partridge, venison.. all amazing. Leek and potato soup, Kedgeree (though that is anlgo-indian to be fair), summer pudding. Now I am hungry and nostalgic (I live in Costa Rica)
Great video Alanna! As a vegetarian, I agree that traditional British foods are generally meat-based BUT - it's important to say that the UK is one of the easiest places to eat out as a vegetarian. Every pub and restaurant will have at least one, but usually several, vegetarian option. That isn't true for a lot of countries in Europe.
(I don't know about Canada, because I haven't been there, yet.)
You should try Stargazy Pie! It’s a Cornish classic and only served once a year. Going back to the 16th Century, one December there were some horrendous storms off the shore of Cornwall and the fishermen from a tiny village called Mousehole couldn’t go out to get fish, so in the run up to Christmas the whole village went hungry. One sailor, Tom Balcock, decided to brave the waves and set out to get fish for the village. He gazed at the stars (where the name Stargazy Pie comes from) for good luck and prayed that he would return with some fish for the village. He brought back enough fish to make one big pie to feed the whole village. On the 23rd of December each year in Mousehole they bake Stargazy Pie to honour the bravery and heroism of Tom Balcock! Great story, delicious pie, what’s not to like?!
Its appearance is kind of intimidating. All those fish heads sitting on the pastry, staring at you; gazing, if you will. I'd eat it, but I've seen a lot of youtubers dismiss it on appearance alone.
My long dead Grandma's homemade *Steak & Kidney Pudding.* I still make it, just like she taught me how to do.
Plus. I always make a *Jam Roly Poly* with the suet pastry, I have let over. YUM YUM..
According to Google, Hawaiian Pizza was invented by a Greek in Chatham Ontario.
And I know that a Japanese chef in Vancouver British Columbia invented the California Roll.
As a Canadian these are foods I enjoy and eat regularly.
The Vancouver California roll origin story is highly disputed. Most food historians don’t agree with it. The restaurant still works today and is not far from me. I haven’t been though.
Hawaiian pizza is indeed Canadian. The greatest Canadian sin :)
@@nicktankard1244pepperoni & diced pineapple on pizza is delicious
The Vancouver Chef who invented the California role did so when he was living and working in California. So is it really a Canadian invention? I would say not and I live in the Vancouver area and have been in the particular restaurant in question .
@@davidf3696 haven't heard that. I think he claims that he invented it here in Vancouver in his restaurant. I don’t think he even been to California. He moved from Japan to Vancouver.
But then again this origin story is only one of many. And it’s not the most widely accepted one. He has no proof. Just his claims.
I am Welsh you need to try Cawl a traditional broth if you get a good one its hard to top it on a winters day. Welsh rare bit as well and to finish with Welsh cakes. I hope you get a chance to visit Wales one day, I mean south west Wales.
Another good soup on a cold day is Cullen Skink, from NE Scotland.
Alanna, considering we're from completely different generations, from watching your videos for several years now, I'm amazed at how similar our growing up in Southern Ontario was. My view and experience of "Canadian food" is very similar to yours.
Ruth Goodman a practical historian who I much admire, has a theory that British particularly English food diverted from European cooking when we moved from wood to coal as our main source of heat. Coal could burn longer without attention and the food had to be kept away from the smoke. Nobody sells artisan food smoked over coal.
I'm a great admirer of Ruth Goodman - I haven't seen her say that but absolutely agree with/trust (as always) her.
The Bannock is a traditional Scottish bread and there's a whole place named Bannockburn in Scotland (and a National Heritage site) which was the scene of one of the most famous historical battles betwixt England and Scotland, and which involved the legendary Scottish hero, Robert The Bruce. It is almost certain that the very name of the Bannock food was from where it originated. Just as the Yorkshire Pudding originated in Yorkshire, the Lancashire Hotpot came from Lancashire, the Eccles Cake from Eccles, or even how the sandwich originated from the Earl of Sandwich.
Traditionally it was made from oats and cooked on a skillet, a common enough cooking method in Scotland historically, as per 'Scotch Pancakes'. Obviously, Canada was heavily settled by the Scots (who found many areas of Canada to have a familiar climate, and who of course appreciated the mountains and hillsides and lakes that reminded them of home), along with the French, and those two different influences have a profound effect on Canada even today.
Bannock was introduced to the indigenous peoples of North America by Scottish fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries and variations of it are still eaten today most commonly by indigenous people.
Great video! Do the little maple leaf creme sandwich cookies count as authentic Canadian food? I love those things...
omg those are divine, you're totally right 🍁
As a vegetarian of around 35 years, it’s really not difficult to be vegetarian in the UK (though it wasn’t that easy back in the late 80’s/early 90’s, when all cheese had animal rennet and McVitie’s Digestives and Rich Tea both had animal fat in them too…along with the only meat replacement being dried soya etc etc) but almost everywhere has a vegetarian/vegan option and supermarkets carry many options (back in the day you had to go to health food shops…which were really quite expensive). But even back then it was easier than in the US. When I visited in the US in ‘93 it was nigh on impossible to find even a salad option that didn’t have some sort of meat in it, let alone an actual vegetarian option…at least we had the old trusty option of mushroom stroganoff.
Mainland Europe wasn't much better. School trip to Germany in about 1998, on the first night the hotel served these gigantic meatballs to start, spaghetti bolognese to follow and, as the vegetarian option, pepperoni pizza. When the teacher finally convinced them that pepperoni is not a vegetable, the only thing they could find in the entire hotel to offer the veggie students was french fries. Luckily I'm not vegetarian so we got to feast on the excess of meaty meals, but it was so weird to see people not even understand the distinction between meat and vegetables.
Being vegetarian in the 1980s led to my forty year addiction to Fox's biscuits because, at the time, they were the only popular brand of biscuits that didn't use animal fats. McVities have been dead to me since 1985!
@@bobblebardsley yeah, I went on a school trip to Spain, at the actual accommodation us vegetarians were given white rice topped with a tomato sauce for every evening meal but when out and about there was next to nothing available.
Though around a decade ago in the Westcountry I experienced someone serving in the work’s canteen who couldn’t get their head around the concept of a vegetarian option. I asked if there was one, the answer was that there was beef or chicken curry, when I reiterated that it was something vegetarian I was looking for, she offered to make me a ham sandwich. My niece and nephew (who have always been vegetarian) had a dinner lady at Primary School who was convinced that Halal meant that it was vegetarian and kept trying to get them to take the meat because it was Halal.
@@tonycasey3183 your comment has just made me realise how very rare it is that I have bought McVitie’s over the last 35 ish years. I’m presuming that it’s a subconscious thing that’s just become ingrained because they changed over to vegetarian back in the 90’s I think.
Margarines and seed oils are much worse for your body than butter and animal fats. You’re killing yourselves
Friday,will be a good laugh,I’m looking forward to it.
I am originally from Britain but live in Canada. If I ever buy baked beans with maple syrup it is a grave mistake and one that I regret instantly. I sometimes also mistakenly buy bacon that has been made Canadian with the addition of maple syrup. Yuk. Another grave mistake. Don't get me wrong, maple syrup is great and if I want to add it to something then I will. But tricking me into buying it by making it difficult to spot unless you are paying attention is not cool, and adding it to random things does not make for Canadian cuisine. The things I miss the most about everyday foods are the quality cheeses and delicious regional sausages from the UK. Maybe you could focus on sausages for an episode and do some comparisons between Lincolnshire, Cumberland, etc. Yum.
I love sliced Haslet on a sandwich, probably with small chunk Branston Pickle, but I do have it with Mayo or Salad Cream and is great with Tomato. It'll be available most Supermarkets, Butchers or Deli, but might be considered an East Midlands specialty. I normally encounter it at Asda pre packaged (not the best way), the most delicious Haslet I've come across was from a Butchers in Lincoln who sliced it up as needed from a 'Loaf'. You will have to try Bakewell Pudding, and you can only buy it in Bakewell, Derbyshire and there is a shop called "The Bakewell Pudding Shop" (original and best. is what they call themselves). Beats Bakewell Tart hands down. (I believe you can get the shop to ship it to you).
Visiting Wales 40 years ago or so:
'Do you do a vegetarian option for Sunday dinner?
'Would that be the lamb vegetarian or the beef vegetarian you'd be wanting?'
😄😆
I think that we can be pretty sure that both the lamb and the cows were vegetarian when they were alive
Hi Alanna,
I think UK is pretty good for Vegetarians, 'though not so much the traditional meals, and Vegans have a bit more of an issue, but the fact that Greggs have Vegan options is impressive given last century.
I was vegan for a while, way back in the 00s, and found eating in the UK much better. It was harder to eat out admittedly (as salads for mains wasn't much of a thing in the UK until recently), but shopping in the supermarkets was a breeze! Nothing in Canada can hold a flame to Linda McCartney sausages; there was only Yves fake meats and TVP from bulk barn, it was brutal. Vegans have it much easier in Canada now, with a few more product brands to choose from
You should definitely try a Teesside parmo if you haven't already. It's a regional dish from Middlesbrough that's really popular on Teesside. Especially after a few pints in the pub 😂
Have you had smoked haddock with parsley sauce? A lot of the smoked haddock now is yellow on the outside but white in the middle. The proper stuff is yellow all the way through.
Some smoked haddock isn't particularly yellow, it is dyed just for looks.
Great video Alanna and I care what you think! 😁
Caul, Welsh cakes, laver bread, lardy cake, Cornish fairings, corned beef hash, steak and kidney pudding (in suet pastry and steamed), bara brith, rhubarb suet pudding with custard
Don't forget Parkin.
Apple pie...
Caul, Welsh cakes, laver bread (seaweed!) and Bara Brith are all from Wales (for the benefit of anyone who is not Welsh!)
Welsh Cakes are similar to Scottish griddle scones, I believe.
Great video, Alana
Wiltshire Lardy Cake! Marshall's bakery in Pewsey does a good and relatively traditional one. Like many cakes they tend to be a lot sweeter now than they were 50 years ago.
Surprised you missed that Scottish delicacy the deep-fried Mars bar....
Greetings from Canada! We were in Hamilton Ontario last summer and we thought of you! Also THANK YOU for mentioning how Tim Horton's sucks, we agree! Okay you didn't say "sucks" but we'll say it on your behalf.
As a fellow southern Ontarian, I agree with Alanna that we do not have recognizable regional dishes. Our food was originally from the indigenous with the maple syrup and the bannock which I tried once up in Moosenee on a trip. The other influences came from the French and British settlers. The poutine, tourtire etc. is Quebec origins. Our buttertarts and Nanaimo bars are as Canadian as you can get, but not a dish per se. I love British food as my mothers parents were from Durham and further back from the borders of Scotland.
My late mum was from BC, so my go-to Canadian foods are: Chinook salmon, pancakes with Maple syrup, salmonberry or cloudberry pie, Nanaimo bars, and White Spot hamburgers. Whilst at school in England, I grew to love: roast lamb, steak & kidney pie, pease pudding, junket, Bakewell tarts, and jugged hare. Which do I prefer? All of the above, plus Rennies!! 😅
I had a really excellent shepherds pie when I visited Vancouver, also fish and chips were common. I felt right at home, the people were really friendly as well.
I feel having travelled the world a few times with the sole purpose of broadening my knowledge, palate and being an ex Michelin level Chef de Cuisine with 2 decades exp I'm somewhat of an authority on this.
Comparing the two cuisines you'll notice we both love our comfort foods full of calories and ideal for the cold nights, not to mention all the good stuff is brown food.
Only because of age and imported diversity I would say the UK just has it in this argument.
We also have a lot of influence from traditional French cuisine.
However as an industry professional I don't rate either very highly.
South East Asia is unrivaled for food.
Top rated imo are Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Singapore, Thai, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, mainland China and Philippines.
When I've visited Canada, the food was basically American food, but cooked in a much cleaner kitchen. To enjoy poutine I think it needs to be something you eat regularly, sort of a poutine, routine.
Pronounced “Poo-tin” Delightful, isn’t it?
As a Canadian, I can honestly say that, for the most part, our food is American food. Let's just call it North American food.
Went to Canada twenty-five years ago and had poutine. It's the greatest thing imaginable!
The only Canadian dish I know is poutine.
My favourite videos of yours are taste testing videos.
I changed my tea to Yorkshire tea after watching one of your videos. It’s a commitment I did not take lightly might I add.
So I want to thank you for opening up my world to taking risks I would never have considered before😅😂
Ahh that is so fun, thank you!! If you ever think of something I should try, let me know! ☺️
@@AdventuresAndNaps I absolutely love all your taste tests.
One idea might be to try different cultural dishes well known throughout Britain. e.g Chinese, Indian, Thai, Malay etc. although that might get a little costly.
I just appreciate the time you take out to make your videos as much fun as possible. Your videos are absolutely a delight to watch.
As someone who spent a lot of time in the Ontario area while working at BlackBerry, most people I worked with would say that hot wings were the local food. Saying that we did spend a lot of time in the bars after work. 😊
You should visit the North West and enjoy Lancashire hotpot, meat and potato pies, Ecclescakes, Lakeland tea bread and so on. And we have a few Tim Hortons around too.
And Chorley cakes, topped with butter
Fish pie - it’s not a pastry-based pie but is mashed potato-based, bit of stock, and whatever fish bits you fancy or have to hand. Optional breadcrumbs & cheese topping. Serve with a selection of seasonal vegetables. Delicious.
I made Bannock at Brownie camp once, I remember it being pretty bland. My Aunt makes tortiere at Christmastime and it is served with some chutney. I agree, there isn't really a Canadian specific food. Tim Horton's, like most chains, is just fine and convenient and can be a cheaper option. I don't even think it's Canadian anymore 🤷♀
Great video Alanna! I have to represent the west country and say the cornish pasty is king :-)
I've watched a couple of these videos now and you seem fun so I'll give you a follow
Growing up in England in the 60s-70s the diet was awful so I was glad in the mid 70s to get various foreign cuisines especially Indian and Italian. I now do Spanish every weekend. I make my own Christmas puddings every year and have done for about 30 years. We only discovered vegetables in the 70s (along with mayo). I have watched American cookery shows - there is the ultimate brown food!.
When I holiday in Scotland there are a few things I really like: Scottish plain bread, empire biscuits, butteries and thick oat cakes (which are more like biscuits).
Proper Steak and Kidney Pudding with Mash, veggies and tons of gravy
You could try grey peas and bacon, plenty white pepper and crusty bread. There's quite a few on-line recipes where they add all sorts of stuff but you don't need them. It's a Black Country dish.
You’ve got to try beef stew and dumplings on a cold winters evening, with a loaf of bread to dip into it 👌🏼🤤
A lot of traditional British food is best enjoyed on a cold winter's evening, ideally with a crackling fire in the background. Food that was intended to keep you going through 14 hours of icy night.
Since leaving Canada we do miss Tim's. They always get my tea right :) My son misses the Halifax Kabob (donair) although we had no idea it was called that (and my son grew up in NS) It has a sauce/dressing that you can't get in UK. It's made from condensed milk, sugar and cheese I believe. Sounds odd but my son loves it lol
There is no cheese in the sauce (or strictly speaking in a classic Halifax donair). The sauce is just sweetened condensed milk, a bit of vinegar, and some garlic powder. The toppings on a donair are the sliced donair meat (100% ground beef , heavily seasoned, formed into a log and cooked on on a spite), diced tomato, raw white onion, and the sauce. Some HEATHENS (joking, but I do think its not nearly as good way to have them) put cheese and/or shredded iceberg lettuce on as well.
Agree with your Tim Horton's "rant".
I lived in the United States in the late 80s and early 90s (I was a nanny in Chicago, IL and Avon, CT). An awful lot of what made that experience exciting for me were the differences. Now, almost everything I experienced back then is available here now. Doritos, Haagen Dasz, Ben & Jerry's, M&Ms, etc. And our high streets look so similar now too with a lot of the same chains. Back then, I think we did have McDs and KFC here, but now we have 'em all; Starbucks, Burger King, Taco Bell, Five Guys, Hard Rock, etc. It's cultural homogenisation. USA have a monopoly now. It's sad. But for friends and better weather, I almost don't feel a need to ever go back there. 😆 (I would like to see some of Canada though).
We've lived in Canada for 15 years now and I totally agree with you about the lack of national identity through food, but culturally, a lot of Canada is a little bit generically "North American." You get more elk or bison burger options popping up than you'd likely encounter in a country pub in the UK, but other than that, there's not much I would consider archetypically Canadian.
Canadian here. (New Brunswick) Poutine and donairs are , in my neck of the woods at least, typically 2AM bar close food truck dishes. You can find them during the day, but I find they really are best when you've got a belly full of beer.
There is not a food stuff - at least those that contain huge amounts of salt & fat - in the universe that is not improved upon by getting eight pints of something nice down your neck before hand.
I'm really enjoying this video, and had no idea we (Britain) had so many traditional foods! Lancashire Hotpot, bangers & mash, haggis etc all of which I enjoy and think of as "ordinary" - ditto the more obvious/well known (?) food like fish & chips or a Sunday roast.
I thought the world only knew "us" for fish & chips ... and over boiled cabbage
Chicken Tikka Masala was invented in the UK - making a dish with Indian flavours that would appeal to British tastes. Ditto Chow Mein. Plus many, many local pies, pastries and cakes. Each town seems to have it's specialty.
If you like savoury you have to try North Staffordshire oatcakes. A traditional breakfast item best enjoyed with bacon, melted cheese and tinned tomatoes. We even have shops that sell only oatcakes (and pikelets).
Been following your channel for 6 months think you do well and come across as genuine i beleave you are :-) anyway Canada i agree i know people from there i lived there when i was 16 for 2 months problem is like Russia and other land masses that are massive its difficult to say this is this - you get me so i stayed in the farm lands of Saskatchewan and travelled 3k miles in a car to a wedding - north Dakota - -Montana - south Dakota Wyoming etc if i recall ..i was 16 oh the black hills of Dakota also so many wow amazing people amazing country but don't beat her up its huge FFS. hope this helps and is supportive your ace!
As someone who is a big lover of traditional British meals I have to try and balance them out to only two or three a week maximum as they can be very heavy even without vegetables added in although I also find gravy tends to go with the vast majority of them too which probably doesn't help.
I would also argue they we may do the best savory pastries in the world as there is a huge variety in not only fresh bakeries but in near enough every supermarket or corner shop you go to and this notion that the food lacks flavour is usually from people who haven't tried much of it.
Although I do think we are now in an age where certain food brands are becoming just as associated with a country even if the food is available in other places as that brand is what you grew up with and may even taste different to similar products anywhere else in the world. So in many ways Canada being a relatively young country compared to any in Europe, Asia and Africa it took on the cuisines of the people from Europe that would emigrate there.
For some interesting cooking look into how people dealt with the WWII rationing, my grandmother could make an amazing steamed sponge cake from almost nothing.
Try Marmite again - but just as very, very thin trace on buttered toast. My wife also likes 'savoury' and thinks it's wonderful! Fun fact: it's a yeast byproduct of brewing beer (the brown gunge scraped off the top of the brew) invented in Germany (around the time of WW1) as a vegan equivalent to 'nourishing beef tea' made from Bovril or Oxo - they had to set the business up in England because they knew we'd never buy anything from Germany!😀
Vegan is actually really easy in the UK these days. We're probably a world leader in vegan options. You should taste test some vegan ice creams for a video. Maybe try some mock meats in another. There's a brand called squeaky bean that does some really good mock meats.
"Butteries" also known as "rowies" in North East Scotlnd are kind of like a flat scone and taste kinda like a croissant, but oily / buttery and quite salty. Best eaten fresh from the local bakery, but obviously not a slimming food. Legend has it that the buttery was made for the fishermen sailing from Aberdeen harbour. The theory is that they needed a bread that would not become stale during the two weeks or more that they were at sea. The high fat content meant the bread also provided an immediate energy source.
Nice one Alanna, interesting.
I'm English, and I will eat anything that stays still long enough.
I tried a Tim Hortons in Toronto, don't need to go back.
Could not find decent pies in Canada nor U.S..
Now attempt a video on cakes, sponges and desserts please?
Thank you.
I prefer Canadian food over British food. In the US food is spicier as you go south and less spicy as you go north. The food in Canadian is good, being an American from the south, it does tastes a bit bland though. Just like the northern US, or even more so, Canadian food is not very spicy. I've had a lot of not so great food in the UK. It wasn't always terrible, but seemed even plainer than Canadian food. I think every British family I stayed with, served me fish and chips. One Spanish friend in London took me to an Irish restaurant for roast dinner. I visit Canada a lot and the food is decent, it just doesn't have a lot of flavor. I stayed in Ashford, Kent for a while.
Please review traditional British bakery cakes, such as jam doughnuts, apple turnovers, apple slices, iced finger buns, Bakewell tarts, (British) Belgian buns, chocolate brownies, Chelsea buns, Lardy Cake, chocolate eclairs, and all the other British health foods
Chickeb Tikka Masala? Allegedly created in Scotland. A Northamptonshire clanger, a type of pastie savoury one side and sweet the other.
Beaver Tails! Canada is a melting pot of all nationalities and a relatively new country with very short history. Also being close to the U.S. we tend to eat American things. I have tried all the items from Canada except tortieres. Love your pronunciation lol Lost any French you learned? I was born in Ottawa, Ontario but gave been in Alberta since I was 30. I actually made Bannock in grade school on a trip to Upper Canada Village. Yumm! I love learning British culture. Sorry to whomever I might offend...I have been a Corrie fan since I was a kids...eons ago it seems!😂 Glad I found your channel!😊
Hiya Alanna, when I was on the bus a couple of weeks ago, this young lad said my favourite meal is "Chips (aka fries) cheese and gravy, I said "that's called poutine" the young lad was quite mesmerized thinking it didn't have a name, this is Choppy
Not just food that is old here. We went to a theatre last month to see a comedy show that Brits have been laughing at for over 400 years, and it was hilarious. It was Twelfth Night. Never seen it before, and I wish I had.
How about trying these? - Scouse, Lancashire hotpot, Cottage pie, Shepards pie, Cornish pasties, Cauliflower cheese, Beef wellington, Faggots, Ploughman's lunch, Pork pie, Steak and kidney pie, Welsh rarebit, Banoffee pie, Bread and butter pudding, Christmas pudding, Eccles cake, Trifle, Raspberry fool, Jam Roly-Poly, Knickerbocker glory, Mince pies, Scones, Sticky toffee pudding, Syllabub, Treacle tart.
Alana mentioned most of those.
I've tried most of those, and made the rest on my channel ☺️ But thanks!
Be careful using the meatball-like F-word online, some over-zealous auto-filters will ban you for it even when talking about the food. I think Alanna discovered that herself in the past.
@@bobblebardsley _"some over-zealous auto-filters"_ - you mean, youtube.
@@wessexdruid7598 I think in Alanna's case it was Twitch. Funnily enough I was born in Scunthorpe which contains a very offensive four-letter word and gave its name to the Scunthorpe Problem caused by early internet profanity filters blocking the name of the town 😅
I have never been to 🇨🇦 but I immediately think of Maple syrup and then different meat like say Elk or moose and poutine. That’s it for me as a Brit. British food has a bad reputation, but a lot of it is warming, comforting and tasty. We made a Sunday lunch for Spanish friends and they wanted seconds of the Yorkshire pudding with gravy and the trifle I did for dessert; so not all bad then 😝
I am from Hull and we have the Hull patties. I remember leaving Hull and went to a fish and chip shop in sheffield and being utterly bewildered they had never heard of them as it is still yorkshire and only about 60 miles away. The big one though is chip spice. Chip spice in particular is something that the whole world is missing out on. An alternative to salt for chips but oh so much better !
Okay. Bannock. Also known as fry-bread. Very common out here on the We(s)t Coast. Great with salmon.
Montreal smoked meat. In Victoria (which is near me), I go to a restaurant/deli that imports it from Montreal. And I'm probably further from Montreal than you are.
Poutine is available just down the road from me. Really good--and yes, filling enough for a meal, but even better when you've been into the beer for a few hours.
Donairs? Ate hundreds of them as a teenager in Edmonton. And other than pemmican, the prairies aren't really renowned for their cuisine. But you have them in the UK as well: big rounds of vertically roasted pressed meat cylinders sliced off into strips and put into a pita. Great drunk food as well.
I know food culture has been pretty crap in southern ON for a long time, but c'mon. Tor-tee-air. French-Canadian meat pie. Again, I can get them out here on the coast.
Canadian cuisine is best exemplified by the Joe Beef restaurant in Montreal: walleye and smoked haddock chowder. House-smoked trout. Then there's Red River cereal from the grocer. There are lots of dishes that are Canadian.
But Canadian food culture seems to be ahead of most places in creating a cuisine out of imported memories. Like "Chinese food" from the take-away--invented in Canada by immigrants, and spread by older immigrants teaching newer ones. Ginger beef, sweet and sour pork, chicken chop suey--these are all Canadian. My not-Mennonite mother used to cook almost exclusively out of the Mennonite cookbook created in Steinbach, Manitoba. Not really authentic Mennonite food, but food adapted from the originals to use local ingredients. And it made her Mennonite mother-in-law treat her a bit better.
Oh, and Pizza? Italian-American creation that travelled back to Europe.
So please, Tim's isn't Canadian--was once, but not for a long time. And southern On? Isn't it really the boiled -to-death-everything capital of Canada?
Have you tried Pie, mash and liquor - traditional East End London dockers food. Just discovered that far from being some mysterious concoction, the liquor is just parsley sauce.
I wouldn't have said Lancashire hot pot was a uniquely British thing, as every country has a similar peasants stew in which you throw anything and everything.
I'd say curry, I know it's not originally British. However, due to the ethnic variety in the UK, many global food recipes have been brought over and adapted to our tastes.
British foods to try (that you haven't mentioned in this video):
Shepherds Pie
Liver & Onions with mash
Tripe & Onions with mash
Pea & Ham soup
Pea soup with pigs trotters
Cauliflower Cheese
Honeyed Parsnips
Welsh Rarebit
Bara brith
Welsh Cakes
Staffordshire Oatcakes
Scouse Stew
Irish Stew
Smoked Salmon with cream cheese and capers on sourdough bread
bread and butter pudding
Jam Rolly-Polly
Gooseberry Crumble
Baked Rice pudding
Potatoes in Jackets with cheese and baked beans filling - you can also add chopped up bangers
Scampi and chips
Mushy peas with steak & kidney pie & chips (fresh cut not frozen)
Cornish Pasties
Almond slices
ok, try laverbread, bacon and egg, oh and the bread of your choice.. toast/fried bread/bread n butter. For that Welsh feel. Surprisingly good.
DOUBLE DOUBLE WEDGES DIPPED IN THE HONEY GARLIC SAUCE FROM THE CHICKEN WINGS! the best thing i ever tasted in Canada or the world so so morish
I don’t know whether you’ve ever tried a butter pie?
This might be a northern thing.
It’s basically potatoes, onion, butter and seasoning in a pie. Sounds simple, tastes great!
there are loads of vegetarian and vegan options in the UK. Maybe not the traditional foods, but still loads of other options, certainly moreso than I found in the US (and maybe Canada, but i've only been there once and it was about 20 years ago so that's not a good comparison)
I remember when I first made sticky toffee pudding for my Canadian partner. She was blown away. Last time we visited England, she refused to go into Tim Hortons. I wanted to go in just to compare it to the ones in Canada
Weird how just one province over makes such a difference: donair (kebab), bannock, tourtiere are very common in Manitoba- and not just in Winnipeg. There’s a kebab place just up the street, our local grocery bakery does a great tourtiere, and bannock is ubiquitous (bannock tacos, even!)
You ever tried jellied eels? (Or at least pie, mash, and liquor from a pie and mash shop?).
Oh and on the subject of Canadian food, what about moose burgers?
I love all the British dishes you talked about. May I ask a personal question though - in your older videos you wear glasses so do you have contact lenses now? I love your videos.
She had corrective eye surgery. She made a video about it too, was really interesting.
@@Gismo-ih7gi Thank you for the update as I must have missed that particular video.
The Canadian food you mentioned Poutine sounds like the Irish alcohol Poteen made from potato's.
I agree, it does.😃 ( Sorry to be a pedant, Patrick Kelly, but it's - potatoes.)
@@TheWalnut47 You my friend are correct, I wrote potato's on the page it did not look right but spell check said nothing so like the lazy person I am I did not correct myself, If my memory is working correctly there was a USA politician who made the same mistake as I did Dan Quayle embarrassed himself in front of a class room full of children and a TV crew by insisting he knew the correct spelling he was a big hit on You tuba. Thank you.
@PatrickKelly-lz3pv Hi Patrick, In the UK, an apostrophe like the one you used is known as a "greengrocer's apostrophe." Growing up in south London, I used to see apostrophes everywhere at street markets on handwritten signs showing the price of vegetables and fruit. "Carrot's 2d a pound." 😃
@@TheWalnut47 Thanks for the info my friend.
I live in the same neck of the Canadian woods where you're from, Alana, and I agree with you about 'Canadian' food 😂 I wasn't brought up with any of them either!