The writer found that the food tended to be hearty, which can largely be attributed to the vagaries of the British weather. It is not a warm country so rich warming food has always been the order of the day. It did make me smile that an American would find it hard to watch the calories in England, as I have the same problem in America. You are the country of enormous portions, with more delicious high fat or high sugar foods than anywhere I have ever visited. Perhaps it is just that wherever we are on vacation, we forget all the good rules we have at home and just indulge in the tasty treats another country has to offer.

Regarding the food mentioned, it is interesting that both pasties and clotted cream come from Cornwall an area of England seldom visited by American tourists. It is the most south westerly of the English counties, and has the mildest of the British weather. Pasties were originally invented for the Cornish tin miners and were meant to be a whole meal in a pastry case, easily portable in a lunch box down the mine. They traditionally have meat, vegetables and potatoes in a half moon of pastry. In Cornwall there are shops that just sell freshly baked pasties and there is nothing like them…yum yum yum. If you fancy heading off the beaten track next time you visit the UK then try a trip to Cornwall, my favourite place is St. Ives. The clotted cream is also fantastic. The Cornish maintain that the climate and the quality of the grass make their cows cream so thick and creamy yellow. Scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam…ooh my mouth is watering.

As Marion said Toad in the Hole is also a delicious supper dish, and Lancashire Hotpot a hearty casserole with dumplings on top is great. Shepherd’s Pie (Lamb) or Cottage Pie (Beef) are classic family meals too. Puddings from Spotted Dick (a kind of fruit cake) with custard to Treacle Tart are an after dinner staple. I’m making myself hungry.

By the way, the language barrier runs both ways. I had to learn a whole new vocabulary when I lived in the US in the late 80’s. When reading recipes I had no idea what a zucchini or eggplant was until I saw them in the store and realised they were courgettes and aubergines. Oh and by the way it is almost impossible to get American style lemonade on this side of the Atlantic. It is something I really miss. The closest is Lemon Squash which is lemon flavoured liquid that is diluted to taste.

And as for Irish food, that’s another interesting story for another day….

Happy cooking. xxx

‘Puddings’ are indeed all deserts - steamed puddings are winter comfort food and the curiously named ‘Spotted Dick’ is a nostalgic school classic!

Pasties (Cornish are legendary) and fish and chips are rare treats for me, with my waitline in mind - you are right, culturally, fear of carbs is not such a big issue here.

Like New York, London has become very cosmopolitan - some of the best food includes a ‘fusion’ of a range of world cusines- French, Thai, Indian to name but a few.

My family and I adore food in the States! (We think ‘arugala’ is our version of ‘rocket’ and we are still trying to work out what ‘chipotle’ is.

Cheers.