19 British Foods That Confuse The Rest Of The World

Puddings aren't puddings and tea isn't tea.

1. Digestive biscuits

Twitter: @litrvixen

People from other countries wonder, "Do digestive biscuits have something to do with bowels and digestion?" Well, obviously you digest them. But look, successfully dunking them in tea is a skill we are very proud of. You probably speak two or more languages, we dunk digestives.

2. Haggis

Twitter: @tucsonlaboda

It's a bit like sausage, but stronger. But not as strong as black pudding. It should be eaten with neeps and tatties, and it's delicious.

If you're visiting Scotland, be sure to try and spot a haggis in the wild:

Twitter: @TheFoodSnobUK

They're quite rare due to being so delicious.

3. Spotted dick

Instagram: @jerecooke

Sounds porny, but in fact the only thing dirty about it is the sugar content and how blimmin' yum it is.

4. Ginsters products

Twitter: @Ste_OCallaghan / tribuna.com

Ginsters is classic regional British food, the region being British petrol stations. You can get Ginsters pasties, sandwiches, and pork pies in every garage in the land. Here is non-British person Jurgen Klopp looking politely confused about being handed a giant Ginsters.

5. Greggs sausage roll

Twitter: @_MP88_

This national delicacy is so sought after it caused a stampede in Coventry in 2011 (it didn't but it could have done). British people usually eat four Greggs sausage rolls in one sitting. Here is a picture of a Greggs "birthday cake".

Bonus fact: "Gregg" invented his famous sausage rolls in Ye Olde Englande way back in the 1600s, and one is even depicted in this baroque painting.

Giovanna Garzoni / Twitter: @GiantRatSumatra

It's got two flies on it though.

6. Chips and gravy / chips and curry sauce

Twitter: @rob_clowes, Twitter: @Dave_mac91

We prefer our chips to be fully submerged in something wet and salty before we eat them. The Canadians are also on to this.

7. Colin the Caterpillar Cake

Twitter: @Exsurgo_Group, Twitter: @broadwaytrinity, Twitter: @Swipiicard, Twitter: @BalletBlack, Twitter: @OlsenMetrix, Twitter: @AuctionHouseSco

It was decreed that all citizens shall receive a Colin the Caterpillar cake upon the occasion of the day of their birth, a tradition that is honoured and upheld by every British person to this day.

Literally every single British person:

Instagram: @davidbeckham

Every single one:

Twitter: @david_cameron

8. 99 Flake ice creams

Twitter: @vine_tree

The confusing thing is that they don't cost 99p. It's a reference to the Italian king having a special guard of 99 soliders, so like anything special should be called "99". Except the only thing it stuck to was this British ice cream.

9. Pickled eggs

Twitter: @EurostarJustinp

They sit on the bar in pubs and no one actually buys one, they're just there to add a reassuring old-fashioned British vibe to the pub.

10. Irn-Bru

Twitter: @craighermit

It's orange, but it kind of tastes of bubblegum, and it's got something to do with weightlifters and making you as strong as "Irn" which is how the British spell iron.

11. Lucozade

Twitter: @Vikki_IsonParry

This is what British people drink when they are ill or hungover. It's scientifically proven (by mums) to cure any ailment.

12. Freddos

Twitter: @Charlie_jaay, Twitter: @MattCott1

So much more than a chocolate bar. The price of a Freddo is how we determine the health of our economy. Basically they used to be 10p, and now – well, look at the state of them.

13. Space Raiders

Twitter: @thespasaltaire

Space Raiders have a place in our hearts for the opposite reason to Freddos because they always cost just 20p. Every time you see a packet it's like time travelling back to a more innocent time and it's glorious.

14. Drumstick lollies

Twitter: @aston1970ap

The nation's greatest lolly. Has a really distinctive but hard-to-identify flavour. You have to try them.

"Drumstick lolly" is also the colour that white British people go in the sun:

Twitter: @hannahfaye05

Watching Drumstick lollies being made is the best thing you could do with your day:

Facebook: video.php

15. Proper brew

Twitter: @sailortownsend

This isn't just a cup of tea. It's not a tea party, with fancy china and cucumber sandwiches. This is a piping hot, mid-brown brew in a quite ugly piece of crockery known as "my cup", and it's the national drink.

16. Tea

Twitter: @joelrayner72

This is a proper tea.

17. Pudding

Twitter: @Bodders_88, Twitter: @bierhuis1

A fleshy-looking savoury snack sold in Northern chip shops. Called a pudding, but full of meat instead of chocolate. See also Yorkshire pudding, which comes served with beef and gravy.

18. Black pudding

Twitter: @eatyourwordsgb

It's that black thing on the plate. It's a sausage made of blood. 😢

19. Angel Delight

Twitter: @nels3

Actually a pudding and also the taste of British childhood.