10 foods I miss the most after moving from the US to the UK

Cheese-flavored popcorn is not a thing in the UK. I haven't found it for sale anywhere, save for a gourmet popcorn company in England that will ship me a single bag for about £10, or $13. 

The UK's snacking habits definitely trend toward chip ("crisp") consumption, and popcorn doesn't seem to be as popular here as it is in the US. 

Here, the movie theater is the one place where you're suddenly faced with a variety of popcorn options. You can get salty (not buttered) popcorn, but you can also order sweet popcorn or even a mix of sweet and salty.

Few things fill me with more homesickness and nostalgia than the vaguely unsettling sight of a cylindrical glob of Ocean Spray jellied cranberry sauce slowly sliding out of a can. 

I grew up surrounded by cranberry bogs on Cape Cod and was essentially raised on Ocean Spray products. Canned cranberry sauce may be a divisive condiment, but I miss it deeply. 

It's possible to find cranberry sauce here, but it generally comes in a tiny jar and is very much a liquid sauce. What I'm really after are those signature ridges that remind me of home. 

I've considered importing a can as a special holiday treat, which would cost about $15 and might be worth it.

Saltines are flaky, salty, and perfect for settling an upset stomach or pairing with a cheap block of cheese. 

They're also the cracker equivalent of sitcom laugh tracks: You don't notice when they're there, but you miss them when they're gone. 

UK grocery stores offer similarly plain crackers called "cream crackers," but they're denser and less salty.

My favorite food is boxed mac and cheese. It may not be glamorous, but this is my truth. US supermarkets carry many different brands, so it's easy to find flavors like white cheddar, Alfredo, or sharp cheddar — as well as vegan and organic options. 

I've encountered just three different brands of boxed mac and cheese (aka "cheesy pasta") in the UK, and almost no store carries more than one.

I've tried them all, and they're just variations of orange cheddar and elbow noodles. And for some reason, at least to me, the cheese powder smells like sweat. 

When I visit America, I buy about 30 boxes of white-cheddar mac and cheese. I give the pasta portion to my mother and take the cheese-powder packets with me to the UK.

I'm not proud. I'm just trying to survive.

When the only thing south of the border is England, it's probably not surprising that Mexican (or Mexican-American) food isn't as popular in Scotland as it is in the US. 

I miss the unique flavors and finger-food aspect of dishes like tacos and quesadillas. 

Although you can find the occasional taqueria or burrito shop in the city, Mexican food certainly isn't appreciated here like it is back home.

Unlike some American foods and flavors that have migrated across the pond, I feel like this autumnal dessert is still absent from the UK. 

My husband and I hosted a small Thanksgiving dinner last year, and I was determined to serve pumpkin pie. However, no grocery stores near me stock premade pumpkin-pie filling, and after asking at five different shops, I only managed to find a single can of cooked pumpkin. 

None of our friends had tasted pumpkin pie before, and one of them had never even heard of it. They thought it was meant to be a savory dish and were stunned at the revelation that a whole nation of people likes to eat "sugary gourd mush."

I miss the American convenience of walking into a coffee shop or restaurant and ordering a regular black coffee. 

In the UK, brewed coffee — the kind you make in big batches using a coffee machine and a filter — is not a standard menu offering. For example, the closest thing I can get to a standard black coffee in a UK Starbucks is an Americano, which is a shot of espresso in hot water.

The occasional specialty café here might offer coffee made in a French press or a pour-over contraption, but for the most part, espresso-based coffee drinks are the norm. 

Since moving to the UK, I've found myself craving those little cellophane sleeves of tiny doughnuts you can buy at gas stations or out of vending machines. 

I never really ate them in the US, but homesickness can do weird things to your palate. 

Sure, mini doughnuts often have a slightly waxy, chemical taste to them. But they're a distantly American junk food that you can't find as easily in the UK.

This one could be a fluke, but I've yet to encounter a side of mashed potatoes in the UK that has been prepared with the skins intact. 

The UK definitely loves its mashed potatoes ("mash"), but the kinds I've been served in restaurants or purchased premade in grocery stores have always been silky smooth and free of any skins — almost whipped.

I like a bit of texture in my mashed potatoes and don't mind the occasional lump or peel.

Oreos are available in the UK, but they're not quite the same. They taste slightly different, and after a side-by-side comparison, they seem to be a whisker smaller. 

In the US, supermarket shelves are stuffed — double-stuffed, one might say — with a rainbow of zany flavors like birthday cake, pumpkin spice, strawberry shortcake, and even carrot cake.

In the UK, there are far fewer options. The UK and the EU are generally more strict regarding the use of artificial food coloring and flavors, which might explain the scarcity of neon-colored Oreos.

This story was originally published in August 2020 and most recently updated on November 5, 2024. 

Read more:

• 8 things that surprised me about moving from the US to the UK
• 7 ways my social life is different in the UK than it was in the US
• I grew up in the US and my partner grew up in the UK. Here are 16 differences that surprise us the most.
• 15 snacks you can only find in the UK