13 February 2008

What Won't Those Brits Eat?

Since I work 15+ hour shifts and don't have the luxury of being able to leave the building to get food (which, at 4AM, would mean going to the convenience store up at the corner), I try to maintain a small stock of food here at work. Those stocks were running a little low, so I left home a little early in order to swing by a nearby supermarket to get some comestibles before my shift began.

Said supermarket is of a pretty good size and they have a decent-sized area devoted to natural foods adjacent to a decent-sized section of "international" foods, arranged by country. I ended up getting some ginger preserves from the Brit section and just happened to see this fine product.

021308Spotted_Dick

Last I knew, you weren't supposed to eat it if it had spots, but then, the British aren't exactly known for their stellar sense of discernment where food is concerned. Anyway, since I work with a bunch of perverts, I did the only thing I could. I bought it as a gift for the hospital manager.

And, of course, when I mentioned "weird Brit food" to Rabbitch, she immediately guessed what it was. But is anybody really surprised?

12 comments:

Elemmaciltur said...

Now, srsly, where the heck did they get the name from?

knitnzu said...

Yeah, but has she eaten it? I used to know this Portuguese guy (from the Azores) who was so incredibly freckled that we (myself and a couple of the female chemists in the lab) wondered if he was freckled EVERYwhere.

yarnslinger said...

I lived in England for a year in the 80s with my former hubby. We were in the grocery store one night and I came upon the very same thing, only it was in the freezer section. We could not stop laughing, and I'm sure the locals wondered what the crazy Americans were up to THIS time. My other moment of fame was asking a store worker "where are the English muffins?" Yeah...over there they just call 'em muffins...

Anonymous said...

I can't believe you have never heard of it before. Apparently it was a staple of school dinners back when my partner was in school. And, yes, a staple of middle school jokes.

Anonymous said...

I am married to a Brit - a CHEF no less. And they do indeed eat some pretty strange things. BUT Spotted Dick is actually quite tasty - no pun intended.
Steak and Kidney pie is another story...

Anonymous said...

What - no Bubble and Squeak?

Pam the Yarn Goddess said...

I didn't know that spotted dicks were a phenomenon peculiar to Brits, but I learn something new every day. What I find even more amazing is that Heinz has somehow found enough of them to process and can them for general consumption. I suppose it would give one an introduction to the world of uh... eating dick.

Anonymous said...

And it's microvavable too!

Paul said...

But how does it taste??

*blink, blink*

Kiska said...

Like Jo, I can't believe you haven't heard of it either. Its name dates back far beyond a time when the word 'dick' means what it means today. It's really good when it's well-made and horribly heavy and turgid when it's not.

Anonymous said...

Nothing shocks me. I grew up in a town where the scent of SPAM filled the air at all times...

alice said...

on our first trip to england, you should've seen my family and i giggling our heads off when the desert menu came around at the restaurant. yep, even mom and dad. ohhh the amusement us silly americans must've provided! but seriously, as said above... if made well, it's quite delish!