18 Questions I, An American, Have About British Food

Gordon Ramsay, please advise.

Hi, I'm Kristen, and it's no secret to my friends that I used to be really obsessed with British pop culture (and low-key still kind of am).

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(Mostly Doctor Who.)

My love for everything BBC drove me to study abroad in the UK for a summer. However, even though I traveled and ate all over the UK, there's still so much about British food that remains a mystery to me.

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I have some burning questions about British cuisine.

1. What, how, and why is haggis?

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The closest I got to this Scottish specialty was a puppy I met named Haggis in Edinburgh.

2. Who's brilliant idea was it to put beans on toast?

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Not gonna lie, this is what I lived on during my brief time abroad, and I still make it sometimes. I'd like to thank the inventor by name.

3. Is a Jaffa cake a biscuit or a cake?

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They're made from sponge cake, but they're sorted with the biscuits in the store. I know this topic is highly debated, but I really want to know the truth.

4. WHAT is going on inside an Aero bar?

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Why is it so bubbly? It reminds me of that soap that puffs up when you put it in the microwave.

5. What makes something a pudding?

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Yorkshire pudding is a dinner, and chocolate pudding is a dessert — two very different things.

6. Should I be pronouncing "scone" like it rhymes with own or on?

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Does it even make a difference?

7. Why is all your chocolate so sweet?

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Maybe I'm just more of a dark chocolate person.

8. Is an egg cup a common thing to have in your kitchen?

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I recently taught myself to make soft boiled eggs, and I was using a flan ramekin to hold them until I finally bought an egg cup. My Loch Ness monster–shaped breakfast friend has made several appearances on my Instagram story.

9. Why is the meat + puff pastry combination so popular?

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Sausage rolls, Beef Wellington, meat pies... It's a long list.

10. What is Daddies Brown Sauce?

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It was on like every restaurant table, but I was never brave enough to try it.

11. I'm sorry, but what do you see in Marmite?

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I tasted it once and honestly the memory still haunts me. It's like putting salted tar on toast. I promise you, there are much better flavors in the world.

12. Why do you gotta mush the peas?

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I just feel like this would ruin a perfectly good meal.

13. How do you keep a biscuit from crumbling in your tea?

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I always end up with mush in the bottom of my mug.

14. When should I take the tea bag out?

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Please share your best practices.

15. How do y'all come up with such...unique...chip flavors?

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Like, who ate a potato chip and thought, "I wish this tasted like shrimp"?

16. Why do you prefer vinegar or gravy with fries over ketchup?

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Should I give it a go? I'm sure there's a way to make vegetarian-friendly gravy.

17. Have you actually heard of all the desserts Paul Hollywood challenges the contestants to make on the Great British Bake-Off?

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The last season alone I had to look up savarins, Florentines, Battenburgs, and Sussex pond puddings.

18. And finally, why is this called toad in a hole when it looks nothing like an amphibian?

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Sorry, I just don't see it.