Posted on 05/18/2008 6:01:21 AM PDT by Daffynition
LONDON -- "It's very dark. It's almost black." May Woodward, an office worker in central London, is holding an Oreo cookie in her hands. It's the first time she has ever seen one "in the flesh as opposed to on an American TV show," and she's not sure she likes what she sees. "It's the color of wet mud!" she complains. "And the bit ... looks like toothpaste rather than cream."
She twists and turns the cookie in her fingers, staring at it from every angle with a screwed-up look on her face that seems to say, "Gross!" not "Mmm, cookie time." You could be forgiven for thinking she's handling some dangerous alien element, Cookie Kryptonite, say, rather than one of the best-known biscuits in the Western hemisphere.
She bites, chews, raises an eyebrow, chews some more.
"OK, I get it," she says, finally. "I can see the attraction. It's very sweet." Suddenly she seems to change her mind. "Actually it's too sweet ... it's becoming mushy," she says, alarmed as tentative chewing becomes frantic munching to wolf the cookie down.
My impromptu taste test in Leicester Square is now attracting the attention of puzzled passersby giving us weird looks.
Ms. Woodward's verdict is that the Oreo is "too ... damp."
I tell her that, according to the ads, it should be "dunked" before eaten.
"In tea?" she asks. (Dipping biscuits we Brits call all cookies "biscuits' in a steaming hot cup of tea is an almost sacred ritual here.)
"No, in milk," I reply.
"Milk?! A biscuit dipped in milk? Who does that?"
"Apparently Americans do," I explain.
"Well, let them," she say dismissively. "I won't be doing it anytime soon." And with that, she disappears into a throng of pedestrians, nonplussed by what has been labeled here as "America's Favorite Cookie."
" " "
The Oreo has landed in Britain. And it is giving rise to a furious Battle of the Biscuits.
The classic sandwich cookie may be as familiar and nostalgia-inducing as, well, Mom's apple pie for Americans, but the majority of us here have never seen or tasted one. Until now.
Now, Kraft, the makers of what some Brits refer to as "the black-and-white biscuit" is launching it across the United Kingdom in an advertising campaign that makes it hard for anyone who lives and breathes to avoid the Oreo message. Big blue-and-white posters on the sides of our iconic red buses implore us to "Twist Lick Dunk." A new TV commercial shows a young boy teaching his scruffy dog how to eat an Oreo: "First you twist it. Then you lick it. Mmm. Then you dunk it," he says, sploshing his Oreo into a glass of milk. This will be the first time that many Brits have seen a biscuit dipped in milk.
[snip]
Doesn't your ex speak English?
My brother lived in the UK for awhile. They didn't have Oreos or Doritos. We had to send care packages.
I don’t know whats so brilliant about a japanese wife...
They used to be subservient. And according to legend it is turned 90% LOL
You’re supposed to spread it on very thinnly, not whack it on like peanut butter.....
yes, but she had no idea what the british use of the word “pissed” meant..
I have actually said complete sentences to a British guy living here in Texas and he just stared at me like "what the bloody hell did you just say?"
I doubt many Brits have ever eaten boiled beef I certainly never have.
They have recently been relaunched in Britain along with an advert on TV of a child dipping them in milk which is not usual for Brits to do we dip our biscuits in tea or dunk as we call it.
I prefer their ginger creams wonderful for dunking in tea. And of course the British custard cream - Marks and Spencers make the best. It is vanilla flavoured biscuit with vanilla cream.
Everyday British food IMHO is hard to beat as mostly it is fresh meat and fresh veg and only ruined by the skills or lack of skills of the cook.
Many complain about lack of spices or herbs - traditional British cooking uses plenty of both but does not drown the delicate flavour of fish or some meat to extent you cannot taste it. Often highly spiced or herbed dishes in the past were to disguise the fact that the meat was either poor quality or had gone off.
Have you tried chocolate hobnobs or McVities chocolate digestives?
Ever tried a deep fried Mars bar by the way don’t bother it is awful
I will have to see what British Coca-Cola contains we do not tend to use much corn syrup here so maybe we still have the sugar variety.
I often think that it what we are used to we like and maybe when something unknown or cooked in a different way is put in front of us sometimes we immediately think it is bad - maybe food in other countries is nearer to what most Americans eat than what maybe some Brits eat or cooked in a similar way.
Thought to be honest I think it is changing rapidly as most households in Britain have spaghetti bolonaise and stir fries or sweet and sour dishes at least once a week which I would guess would be the same as in the States.
Have you tried leeks wrapped in ham and cheese sauce (strong cheese) poured over baked in the oven until the cheese starts to crisp. Yummy if leeks are fairly think best to par boil for a few minutes first.
Also there are some great new ones that a good class butcher will have such as lamb and mint, pork and apple even pork and Stilton one of my favourites.
We have many good quality Mexican restaurants and many pubs serve a reasonable Mexican dish in particular fajitas an enchiladas.
Only not as thickly spread on the bread it would be too salty and almost burn your mouth.
You love or hate marmite nothing in between I love it. I also like Bovril on toast or really fresh bread from the bakers.
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