Steve_P

I guess I've been here long enough that I now find UK Cadburys quite objectionable and much prefer the Canadian.

Different strokes for different folks.

MarkG

That's one of the main things my girlfriend mentions about British food... after growing up in Canada she can't get used to the idea of putting sweetcorn on pizza, let alone anywhere else .

I don't think anyone's mentioned scotch eggs, but I don't think they'd survive the trip over too well .

Steve_P

Gravy granules and Oxo cubes a good idea, don't bother with the English mustard Keen's English mustard dry and pre-mixed readily available.

Can't speak for Nova Scotia but Shortbread, Oatcakes, Pickled Beets and porridge oats readily available in Alberta.

Yes HP Sauce is available here but it manufactured here under licence and may not taste exactly the same although I can't tell the difference.

Cheers
Steve

sydney

I live here so it has to be stuff that I can buy here otherwise I can't get it!!!
I have mincemeat and I am making my own mince pies (you have to add brandy or something as the mincemeat tastes a bit flat). Pork pies I can buy in local grocery store.
I know these things are available here but most Canadians haven't tried them so I thought I would give them a little taste of something different. We are going to a traditional Canadian Xmas dinner so I thought that we would take a bit of Britain with us.

Daedra

Definately cider, its not all that popular to be carried by supermarkets/alchohol stores in Canada. I'd throw in Becks beer as well as possibly Carlsberg as I think those are hard to come by/expensive in CDN.

Marmite crisps (for fans of marmite) are always a big hit with my Canadian relatives, cant get enough for them and heaven forbid if I forget to get a multibag pack by Walkers for someone!

Twinnings tea is quite readily avaidable & popular in Canada so if you're going to go that route, I'd go for one like Yorkshire Tea or maybe even Red Rose or PG Tips, don't remember seeing those in the supermarkets.

If there are any fans of Bisto or Bovril products, thats a brand not easily found in Canada so scoop some of those up.

But I find that when I visit Canada the most appreciated gifts are the sweets/candies/chocolates we bring with us. Particularily, jaffa cakes (dont know of any such similar brand in Canada) and especially Thorntons Chocolates... have one relative who is absolutely mad for their Vienesse Truffles. I've always found that the 'typical' chocolate bars in Canada (ie, Mars, Bounty etc) taste a bit wierd like a metallicy after taste, the chocolates here taste far better, even Asda's brand chocolate tastes very nice compared to Canadian cheap chocolates.... thats my excuse for putting on the pounds since moving to the UK, its all the bloody delicious/afordable chocolate around!!!

Anyway, hopefully some of the above gives you some new ideas

Steve_P

Sorry my mistake I took it that you are in the UK, I think a lot of the other posters have made the same mistake.

You can get Cross & Blackwells mincemeat here in Calgary it's much better than the other brands, I feel. We had to settle for a local brand recently and the mince pies are quite anemic.

Cheers
Steve

Daedra

Oh that (disgusting) post (if you dont mind me saying so) reminds me, marrowfat peas are hard to find in Canada as are mushy peas. Lard is usually replaced with 'vegetable shortening' in cardbboard packaging so thats not really one.

Did remind me though of another I missed in previous post, curries are hard to come by in grocery stores (premade stuff, just add meat & veggies etc) so if you have fans of curry, a couple of jars of Korma or Jalfrezzi etc might be well appreciated to make a 'home-made' curry as most have to go out & search for the rare Indian restaurants or scouwer the 'exotic' small indian markets for ingredients & get a good recipe to make their own from scratch.... other words, not pre-made & readily avaidable in jars in the supermarkets! Same goes for the Naan breads and so on should you want to bring some of those along.

Other then that, only other thing I can think of (which I knew OF but couldnt get when I lived in Montreal Canada) is Marks & Spencers stuff. OK it's not the cheapest stuff you can buy here in the UK but they do make some really lovely smelling bath/beauty products that wont put you into debt buying! As Canadians (I think) know of Marks & Sparks but dont get to buy the stuff locally in Canada, that might be an idea for gift sets for feminine tastes

sydney

I think I have been cheap on the mincemeat as the Cross and Blackwell was $10 for a much smaller jar so I bought the cheaper brand. I have experimented though and added some alcohol and it spiced it up enough to make them taste okay.
I should have made it clearer in my post that it had to be things that were obtainable in Canada.

Daedra

Thats the stuff I grew up calling "Blood pudding" not sure if its the main ingredient or not but it tasted repulsive when my dad made me try some and have never touched the stuff since!

Mind you, I do enjoy a good steak & kidney pie now and again but I've been told kidney is refering to the kidney beans in the pies, not actual organs... dont know if I've been lied to all my life though, has happened before

sydney

Hi
Thanks for the info but I live in Canada and cannot get most of the things that you have listed. I am going to a Xmas dinner with some Canadain friends and thought it would be nice to take a parcel of British things with us, things that they may not have tasted. Actually one of them in Irish so it may be a blast from the past for him.

What about a typically British alcoholic drink (not lager) that I might be able to get in case I can't get cider (which I will try to get).

Daedra

Oh shoot... 4 posts later and Daedra finally reads that it's about stuff to be bought in Canada!! Now don't I have egg on my face

Mind you, I'm sure there are online shops you can order stuff over from the UK to Canada for some of the listed stuff... doubt it would get there in time for x-mas though.

Hmm.... if your in Canada then maybe some English Cream (I think its called that anyway) on some mince pies.... or perhaps marmite although its hard to find anything bigger then the tiniest jars for an extrodinate amount of $!

Crumpets are very English, maybe raisin scones too? Oh trying to think of the name of the cake... it escapes me now, its a layer cake... is it Victorian Sponge or am I making that up? Anyway thats not very widely known/used in Canada as an English treat.

sydney

Yep, the main ingredient of black pudding is blood and the kidney in steak and kidney pies is not a vegetable, you have been lied to, sorry!!!

Steve_P

Can you get Eccles cakes (fly cemetery).

For some reason Safeway in Calgary insist on calling them Eccle cakes can't seem to convince them it's ECCLES.

Daedra

Hmm your in Ontario so I'm hoping the 'Beer' or 'Wine' shops (or whatever they are called) carry these but, I'd look for some Carling or Becks beer, thats not widely known in Canada. Baileys Irish Cream is very much known & enjoyed in Canada but might remind your Irish friend of home? Carlsberg, Kronenberg 1664 although the only one of the previous listed that I know are British/Irish are Carling & Guiness.

Twinnings tea is known to be British and can be bought in Canada.

There are also "English Muffins" which basically look like the McDonalds breakfast muffins that the egg/bacon or egg/sausage sandwiches come on... ok it's probably not been invented in England (or maybe it has!) but its something with "English" in the title *lol*

I think your best bet though is to try and recreate a typically British dessert or food though, you can probably translate the recipe for a Victorian Sponge cake for example pretty easily and it will keep alot easier then the hot/main meals.

Marmite can be bought in Canada but it isn't commonly known/enjoyed by typical Canadians... it really is one of those 'love' or 'hate' things that you would be taking a gamble on.

Other then that.. only other thing that comes to mind is there are some English imported cheeses you can get at the big supermarkets, stilton is one I can think of off the top of my head.

Hope some of this helps, have a happy Christmas in Canada, hope it snows for you by the 25th!

Daedra

I somehow feel repulsed with myself about having enjoyed so many steak & kidney pies in my past without realising it was an organ I was eating <insert vom smiley here>

Blood is in black pudding, thank god I never developed a taste for that stuff.... very vampiric isn't it?!