And to get totally back on track, the thing I miss most from England when I am in America is a decent cup of tea.
That is because we dumped so much of it in a place called Boston 200+ years ago.....
Seriously, you are right, the water makes a whole world of difference. When we lived in Minnesota we had a water softener and it made the water 1000% better. Still had a flavor but it was nowhere near as bad as the unsoftened stuff.
That is because we dumped so much of it in a place called Boston 200+ years ago.....
Seriously, you are right, the water makes a whole world of difference. When we lived in Minnesota we had a water softener and it made the water 1000% better. Still had a flavor but it was nowhere near as bad as the unsoftened stuff.
That must have been a really good softener then. 1000% better???
again tend to agree. moved from the north-west(soft water) to the south-east.harder water though not as bad as london. been here 25 years now. sort of got used to the taste of it finally.
When I was growing up we had Jacksonville, Florida HARD water. I could not take the very soft (and much better!) soft water of North Carolina whenever we went up there to visit.
Where in Utah. Helen? In SLC and Ogden the water is from maintain runoff and you have to be very careful. It is so soft that if you use more than a drop of soap, it is impossible to get rid of all the suds.
In Britain the water varies from area to area. We live in a soft water area where the local water is said to be one of the best tasting in the country. But all water in the UK is treated with all manner of chemicals of course. Many places are in areas of limestone etc which produces 'hard water'. This not only affects the drinking water - it leads to deposits on washing machines and water pipes, and the sediment makes toilets hard to clean and causes washing machines and kettles to 'fur up' and 'bits' end up floating in your drink. Here our kettle never gets limescale and is as clean as the day we bought it eight years ago. My daughter lives in London and the tap water there is so foul tasting I do use bottled water for making tea.
Now I am sure the same things happen in the States but the problem with my step-daughter's house in Minnesota is that they soften the water artificially. It comes out of the taps (faucets to you!) all aerated, as fizzy as soda, but makes tea and coffee taste disgusting. Luckily they have a drinking water filter in the fridge, and I use that for making my drinks.
Oh Oh .............I do love a tea debate. Well, I am from Ingerland (no relation to Engerland - hehehe). My Mum is an elderly British lady and of course tea was a terrible problem for her here in Florida. I used to arrive with half a suitcase of M&S tea. We managed to find an electric kettle here and that has helped considerably. Here they don't boil the water 'proper like' and that's part of the problem. And then she discovered Red Rose tea bags. Very acceptable apparently!!! Not the best, but according to Mum - satisfactory!!
We now have a small British section in our Publix Supermarket and can get Piccallili!! Wowee!!! By the way, the Walkers Shortbread you buy here don't taste the same as the Walkers shortbread in Ingerland. And Publix also have Heinz Baked Beans at an exorbitant price of course!! And Heinz Tomato Soup - all in the British Section of course.
If you are ever in Fort Lauderdale, do go to Seawatch and have fish'n'chips. Best ever - even have malt vinegar and great tartare sauce. Can't beat it for lunch - $10!!! And a lovely restaurant on the ocean to boot!!
Most of the fish'n'chippies in London are rubbish now - but in Hinde Street, off Thayer Street, there is a great fish'n'chippy - really good - freshly cooked to order.
Can't remember the name offhand. May come to me later on. Oh yes, I think its the Golden Hinde. But its only a tiny street - you will find it, if you seek!!!!
Most of the fish'n'chippies in London are rubbish now - but in Hinde Street, off Thayer Street, there is a great fish'n'chippy - really good - freshly cooked to order.
Can't remember the name offhand. May come to me later on. Oh yes, I think its the Golden Hinde. But its only a tiny street - you will find it, if you seek!!!!
If you want good fish and chips in Engerland come to sunny (no, scrap that), come to West Yorkshire. Chippies use haddock. Harry Ramsden's chain is famous, and there's brilliant fish and chips in Whitby, Scarborough etc. On the other hand, we have eaten great fish and chips all over the world, the States included. In the UK the 'proper' way to eat fish and chips is out of a newspaper package, yesterday's news of course. Oh and do they eat whelks, cockles and jellied eels in the USA? I imagine not.
Now chips is another matter. I grew up in the south, where you ate them with salt and vinegar. Then I moved to Lancashire and found people eating them with gravy or curry sauce. Or mayonaise. I did not succomb to such strange habits, it's salt'n'vinegar or nothing, for me.
I will investigate Red Rose tea bags, sounds promising. I don't understand the bit about Americans not boiling water properly, two of you have mentioned that. What is a tea kettle, for instance? Surely a kettle is a kettle is a kettle, and the only way to boil water is to bring it to boiling point?
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Things the average American takes for granted- but you can't in England
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