Fun British Food facts …

British food often gets a bad rap … no one thinks of the British as the culinary geniuses of the world but we do deserve some credit occasionally. So below are some fun facts about British food.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room (or should I say the spotted elephant in the room )  With the sauciest named (and can I just say delicious ) of all the British foods …

Spotted Dick isn’t actually as diiirty as it sounds – “spotted” refers to the way that the raisins resemble spots, and “dick” derives from the word “dough”.  If you are a fan of raisins … you will be a fan of Spotted Dick (I know that sounds so weird!) 

The sandwich was invented by the 4th Earl of Sandwich, John Montagu.  Montagu allegedly asked that a piece of meat be served to him between two slices of bread so that he wouldn’t get both his hands and cards dirty during a gambling game.

When it was first introduced to Britain in the 18th century, Broccoli was originally known by the much fancier name of Italian asparagus.  I think I would like it more if it was called that. 

The world’s first solid chocolate bar was made in Bristol in 1847.   (Ummm …You’re welcome America!)  Fry’s mass-produced their Chocolate Cream bar, and then in 1873 produced the first chocolate Easter eggs in the UK.  Fry’s was eventually taken over by Cadbury.