I'm currently just over three months in the United Kingdom; doing a combination of house and pet sitting as well as sightseeing. Eating here has included my own grocery shopping and cooking while doing house sitting and eating out while traveling around. I thought I'd give a few of my impressions of eating while here, because British food has such a bad reputation.
I am definitely happier buying and cooking my own food, as British grocery stores have a great selection of foods. In addition to the selection, its nice to know that genetically modified foods are illegal here, and most of the foods do not have the amount of preservatives that American foods have, Breads will mold in three or four days (as they should), and eggs are not irradiated. The breads here are crusty, thick and hearty, even the white breads, and make wonderful toast. Eggs have beautiful, golden yolks rather than the insipid pale yellow yolks of American eggs. There is a plethora of breads to try, and it is a big part of every meal, tea, and snack. The same goes for desserts. "Pudding" or "pud" is an integral part of British life, and there are cream rolls, turnovers, funnily named dishes like "spotted dick". Whipped cream is the unsweetened variety and freshly whipped. It has a wonderful, buttery taste without the sugar that goes perfectly with the fruit jams in the rolls and turnovers. My early hosts were very frugal and "healthy" eaters who avoided sugar, but now while visiting friends here in Northern Ireland, I've had some wonderful apple lattice pastry with marzipan tucked in, a nice sponge with butter cream, and more to come, I'm sure.
Cooking in homes comes with some challenges, foremost of those the ability to get the hob (stove) turned on. I've seen as many types of stoves as I have been in houses, and only one was like an American stove (meaning you turn the knob and the gas or electric comes on). Some have required pushing a button while turning the knob (basically to light a pilot light), turning on an electric switch on the wall to get power to the stove, and figuring out how to convert Celsius and "gas marks" to Fahrenheit. Once I got the hang of it, cooking was no problem.
As for as the normal meals, breakfast has many offerings, including scones, pancakes, waffles, bacon, eggs, and numerous types of sausages. Then there are the additional breads for meals: brown, white, granary, farls (skillet breads), and a full selection of Indian breads if wanted as well. Bacon is different. It is back bacon rather than pork belly bacon, so much more lean, and closer in American ham to taste, and with little fat. Some people have compared it to Canadian bacon, but it isn't the same at all. Most places out are going to offer baked beans, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, and a hash brown as well, which, along with the meats, eggs, and breads, makes for a substantial experience. On the subject of baked beans, they are very similar to American pork and beans, but perhaps without the dab of added sugar. Most British people who I've read online confuse our "baked beans" with theirs, and are appalled at how sweet they are. I guess no one has ever pointed out that pork and beans are what they want. I admit, I DO like beans on toast (a British favorite), but just don't see the need for them along with everything else on the "Full English" (also called a Full Scottish or Full Irish). I don't think people here eat a full breakfast like this every day, because it'd be like Thanksgiving dinner every single day. That being said, they have a huge selection of cereals and "porridge" (oatmeal) is still very popular though it is eaten much thinner than in the United States.
Sandwiches are also hugely popular in the UK, and besides typical sliced deli meats, there are a variety of "sandwich fillings", which is basically the main ingredients premixed with mayonnaise. Tuna and sweetcorn, three cheese and onion (similar to pimento cheese, but richer and higher in fat, of course), chicken tikka, and coronation chicken are the top fillers. Coronation chicken is a curried chicken salad created for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and would be familiar to some pot luck occasions in the US. The "Ploughman" sandwich is ancient and popular: a thick slice of mature cheddar on crusty bread with sliced onion and perhaps some Branston pickle. I had eaten Branston pickle in Chicago, being able to find it in the International grocery stores there. It might be considered an acquired taste, being made of diced vegetables including rutabaga (called swede in the UK), carrots, vinegar, apples, sugar, spices, etc. and in short, is a crunchy condiment that tastes like a slightly more vinegary steak sauce.
For dinner, "Sunday roast" is still the tradition, with roast beef, "roasties" (potatoes roasted in goose fat in the oven), a veg (usually green peas), and Yorkshire puds (a type of popover). Holiday meals usually include a fresh turkey and all of the trimmings, and a flaming Christmas pudding or Christmas cake, which is a fruit cake covered with marzipan and fondant.
A peculiar aspect of "British cooking" is how much Indian cuisine has been incorporated into the average British diet. In the grocery stores, there are as many microwaveable, frozen, and ready to go Indian meals as there are more traditional British food. For that matter, curry is now British, part of the average household repertoire, and ordered for takeaway as much as pizza.
As for differences that Americans might find difficult (depending on where they live), are what you might not find in the grocery stores or peculiarities of British restaurant dining. One thing to know, is that just about every meal choice in the average restaurant, will include chips (french fries), whether it is fish, hamburgers, lasagna, middle eastern, or even Chinese food. They will still serve chips. Also, outside of Indian or Chinese food, I found it difficult to get any other option as a vegetable other than green peas or a simple mixed salad (without any dressing). Salad dressings are on the grocery shelves, but to date, all of those I have tried are much sweeter than American versions, and not to my personal taste. I also am not fond of British "salad cream", which is basically a slightly thinned, sweeter mayonnaise. So if you are a "salad person", you might not be happy. As a budget traveler, I'm sure there are more choices in better restaurants, but that hasn't been the case at any restaurant that I had a meal, which is really strange, as the grocery stores are full of a beautiful variety of fresh veggies, such as green beans, carrots, spinach, etc.
One week I had a craving for some "home style food" and thought of greens and cornbread. I could not find cornmeal of any sort there, not even the type to make polenta at either of the major grocery stores. Also there are no "greens", meaning turnip greens, collards, etc. There are packages of baby spinach leaves and a package of shredded "spring greens", which when you read the label, find out is only green cabbage. So, I'll be waiting until I return to the US to satisfy that craving.
Then there are differences between the fast food in the US and UK. One big difference is KFC, which has none of the typical sides that Americans are used to having. No mashed potatoes and cole slaw or green beans. Potato wedges and corn cobbettes are the only option. They also have a "rice box" that is heavily advertised that I tried and cannot recommend: a box with a bed of Spanish style rice, a layer of lettuce, a fried chicken breast, and covered in barbecue sauce and a white sauce similar to ranch dressing. I ended up pulling out the piece of chicken and tossing the rest after a few bites. If you do decide to visit KFC, don't plan on it filling your crowd as much as the US sites, as the chicken are not hormone filled, so the pieces will seem tiny, or rather, the size of real, natural chickens.
Pizza Hut and McDonalds are also all over the country, and McDonalds is pretty much the same world wide in terms of the hamburgers, though in the UK they also offer a veg burger, and a bacon roll with brown sauce for breakfast. Pizzas are also different. Crusts are softer, an anathema to someone who loves a thin, crispy crust like I do, and again, toppings like sweet corn (surprisingly good) and chicken tikka (strange chemical flavor not like real chicken tikka). The meats are thicker and not quite the same as US style pizza, but a decent substitute in a pinch if you had a pizza craving. That being said, I only ate at the US chains a few times when there were no real options. I would rather try foods that are part of the country than the imports. The food that I can recommend highly are the savory pies. I tried quite a few and my favorite by far, is the traditional Cornish pasty. A beautiful, substantial pie, with flaky crust, and filled with beef, rutabaga, and potatoes. I had one right out of the oven while visiting Chatsworth House, and it was heavenly. There is also a chain called "Cornwall Pie Company" that sells pasties at the motorway oases, in mobile stands near airports and at train stations, and they are quite good. In addition, there are 'slices', which are also savory pies with chicken and mushroom, cheese and onion, and other flavors. Obviously, a high fat pastry and meat pie might not be a healthful choice, but its a nice, filling meal a couple of times a week.
The UK and Ireland, also being so close to the ocean, has some wonderful fish, and besides the well known fish and chips, there are fish pies, cockles, whelks and many more things from the sea. I have tasted some excellent fish while here, though think I would have preferred my cockles (tiny shellfish) with a hot sauce instead of the traditional vinegar black pepper.
I could probably go on and on about the foods here in the UK: but will leave you with a list of quick observations in case you get a chance to visit: hot sauces in the UK are not as hot as the US and you won't find that many, fizzy drinks (sodas) are not the drink of choice as much as the US, though I am seeing younger people start to drink them. British people really do drink as much as you might think, though they don't seem to get "drunk" like Americans do when they're drinking. Forget what the chefs on TV say: that you never combine fish and cheese. Those ingredients in fish pie are very tasty. Indian food in UK restaurants tends to be a bit different than US restaurants, with the addition of the south Indian ingredient, coconut, being added to north Indian cuisine, and apparently some sugar in some of the cream curries. That being said, it really is amazing how many food traditions are different in the countries are different; having a shared history, but like everything else, time creates change and variation. My only recommendation is to try everything as you travel and not stick to eating at places you could find in your own country.
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