The sweet taste of home

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Posted at 12:15PM, 26 June 2009 by Emily Boyce - Acting sub-editor, bbcgoodfood.com

It's strange the things you crave when you're abroad. Beyond EastEnders and orderly queues, of course. I spent a year in Turin, northern Italy, in 2005, and though I loved doing the Italian thing of going to markets and cooking beautiful fresh veg, there were times when I longed for the familiar tastes of home - or for something a bit more exotic than pasta. In Italy, it's pretty difficult to track down a decent Indian restaurant, or to find the ingredients for a curry in a supermarket.

I was overjoyed once to come across baked beans in a little shop near the main market. I don't normally even like baked beans, but they were somehow reassuring and I cleared them out of their supply. A friend who lived in Spain had a similar experience with Branston pickle - she needed to keep a jar on hand in the kitchen, even if she never used it. Marmite, salt and vinegar crisps and ketchup can also suddenly become essential.

There are so many cows in France, where's the fresh milk going?

Other things I missed were ordinary white bread for toast and sandwiches (ciabatta's all well and good, but it's already hard and dry when you buy it, then by the next day it's inedible) and proper cups of tea made with PG Tips and fresh, cold, non UHT milk. Indeed, a straw poll around the office reveals dairy products are one of the most troublesome areas. As one of the cookery team pondered, there are so many cows in France, where's the fresh milk going? Into all those 246 + varieties of cheese, I suppose. None of which is good old Cheddar. And cookery assistant Jemma regularly gets calls from readers abroad desperately seeking equivalents of double cream.

Then there's cooking equipment. The team report feeling stranded without a good sharp knife, a mini blender, a trusty set of versatile butter knives and an oven that can be relied upon. In Italy, I couldn't believe no one had an electric kettle - no way was I resorting to boiling water in a pan, however charmingly rustic that might be.

Which ingredients, dishes and gadgets do you miss when you're away from home?

Comments

21-40 of 47 comments

mad auntie

30 June, 10:52AM
mad auntie

I always take teabags with me abroad - can't face coffee first thing! Found a tiny shop on the Algarve last year that sold all sorts of 'British' must-haves - Cadbury's, crisps, Mr Huda curry paste, white sliced bread, English cheeses etc. Heaven!

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Nicola

30 June, 12:06PM
Nicola

From reading all the responses, us Brits dont half like a lot of garbage! I also spent a year in the US and I really missed good milk (their 'fresh' milk is virtually UHT) and also orange squash....couldn't find a suitable alternative anywhere. Also, their chocolate is rubbish...hershey's smells vaguely of sick if you ask me...!

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sue's recipies

30 June, 1:51PM
sue's recipies

We have just had 2 wks self catering in South France. I took 2 (sharp) kitchen knives, my zyliss garlic press, (the one provided was rubbish) a large box of Yorkshire tea bags and my daughter actually found salt and vinegar pringles in the speciality isle of one supermarket so she was happy. I agree about fresh milk but the lovely fresh veg and fruit made up for that and I was able to cook a roast dinner for my husband.

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Lauren Ricci

30 June, 5:54PM
Lauren Ricci

My sister is living in Cayman Islands and we have to send her Cadburys Chocolate, Birds Custard Powder, Angel Delight and Pickled Onion Monster Munch!! Random but just shows how much we can miss the simple things!! When i went travelling the first thing I had on my return was a 'grill-up' with proper farm sausages, poached egg and Heinz baked beans then I had homemade rice pudding -it was heaven!

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Chris Brack

1 July, 8:29AM
Chris Brack

Hi, its funny you mention the whole baked bean things. I have some Italian and Spanish friends and I have asked them what food to you hate the most in this country (Ireland by the way) and all of them have said baked beans. I was totally shocked, I thought they might have said black pudding or something. They think the sauce is disgusting and the texture of the beans vile. Who would ever have thought.....

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Carol

1 July, 11:00AM
Carol

I live in Cyprus and the variety of food you can buy here is excellent - I've found Creme Fraiche, and can get a decent cup of tea! I do miss the Scottish steak pie from what was our local butchers !!! I just can't seem to get the same taste when I make it myself - the butcher must have had a secret recipe - it was FAB!!

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Anne

1 July, 11:19AM
Anne

I live in central France and am able to get Heinz baked beans, Heinz soups, Heinz salad cream, fresh milk, cheddar cheese, in fact so many British foods that I can't mention here, from the three main supermarkets Carrefour, LeClerc and Intermarche plus I also use the British Corner Shop for other bulk buying which sends British food over from Britain to my doorstep. The main things that I can't get and do miss are fresh British sausages and bacon and double cream. By the way what can I substitute for double cream, I use creme fraiche but the acidity can alter the taste of certain dishes.

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CloClo

1 July, 5:25PM
CloClo

A decent cup of tea, milk, cheddar cheese, walkers crisps (lays - the abroad version, do not taste the same).

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Karen

1 July, 6:08PM
Karen

I live in Germany and I agree with Jas. We just cant get a decent curry here...so I now make my own thanks to Good Food!!

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Lisa

2 July, 8:41PM
Lisa

I live in Spain for part of the year and the thing that I miss is TAP WATER!!! Ours tastes of chemicals, which means that the cup of tea tastes wrong!!! We normally have to boil the kettle twice to get rid of the taste, that coupled with the fact that milk is horrible means that the thing we always miss is an English cuppa!!!

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Duncan

3 July, 9:28AM
Duncan

I have lived in China for the passed 8 years. In the early days you struggled to get most familiar things but these days just about everything is available like HP, baked beans, Branston and Cheddar cheese. The main thing that I miss is salt and vinegar crisps. For some reason they just don't do them here.

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MMY

4 July, 8:30PM
MMY

Last week I found Manor house Country Ploughmans, and Heinz Salad cream in Newbury Park, California, USA. it was at Fresh and Easy if anyone has a desire for these. M

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sudhakar

5 July, 8:00AM
sudhakar

In India my couldn't stand the milk so took whitener. I soon got tired of the curries from the restaurants and my aunt and craved simple food like toast.( I'm Indian by the way) The loaves are small and sweet tasting there.Also missed safe tap water. Spent 4 weeks in Italy in all and can just about remember 4 meals. Wasn't impressed with Italian food in Italy. Missed curry. However I do miss the Italian hot chocolate. It was so good, ditto for Prague. May have found it in a deli in a garden centre near me.

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Mrs Chutney

8 July, 8:14PM
Mrs Chutney

In Barbados, the one thing missing was a cold real ale. The local food is freshly cooked in the restaurants and self catering is breakfast. Always it is the milk which makes the difference,even in the UK. Switching from whole milk to semi skimmed made coffee taste awful and it has taken me ages to find a taste I enjoy.

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ACTINIA

12 July, 12:25AM
ACTINIA

Latch onto the positive aspects of life abroad, I have lived and worked in at least 26 different countries, all of which had food and drink experiences unique to that particular country. I still had the foresight to take my favourite tea with me, because tea is an importatnt part of my working day, it aint rocket science folks.

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ACTINIA

12 July, 12:26AM
ACTINIA

Latch onto the positive aspects of life abroad, I have lived and worked in at least 26 different countries, all of which had food and drink experiences unique to that particular country. I still had the foresight to take my favourite tea with me, because tea is an importatnt part of my working day, it aint rocket science folks.

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Geraldine

28 July, 7:55AM
Geraldine

Message for Meamac83 I also live in Holland, not sure where you are based, but there is an English shop in Den haag called Kellys they will have all the things you are looking for.

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MaryW, Finland

28 July, 7:14PM
MaryW, Finland

Oh now you've got me going! Moved to Finland over a year ago and really miss double cream, cruncy peanut butter - I've always liked it on toast, as I'm not into sweet stuff but now it's almost an obsession! A decent joint, at this stage I don't even care what the meat is I would just love to be able to do a proper roast! And Hellmans mayo, the stuff you get here tastes just like salad cream....although that's been solved for a while as my husbands American gran just gave me a 2litre jar :) Finally we all miss a good real sausage not the frankfurter type things the Finns call sausages!

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Tonia

28 July, 10:00PM
Tonia

Ive been living in greece for 12 years and I miss English sausages, bakewell tarts , fresh cream and many more things but you will all be glad to hear that you can find good old pg tips , baked beans, cheddar cheese (although its always the mild one) in AB Vassilopoulos supermarket chains here. I also miss sliced bread especially granary all the sliced bread here tastes disgusting.

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Philippa

29 July, 3:01PM
Philippa

I was laughed at whilst working in France for asking someone to bring out horsraddish sauce. I thought it was a perfectly normal thing to miss! Sausages in France were really rather nasty and whilst in South America I was constantly craving a roast.

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