What typical English food can you not buy in Spain?

Question

I want to take out some "hard to come by" goodies to an ex-pat, the only thing I've come up with is marmite!

Any one know?

Answer 1

Pot noddles, clover butter,& dont know how it would keep while treaveling,but i noticed the meat over their is abit c**p,not as nice as ours! Sauages,beef,&chicken! Oh dont 4get the yorkshire puddings! Yum!

Answer 2

curry sauces

decent tea

chinese food

bitter (beer)

english chedder cheese

black pudding

lincolnshire sausages

marmite

daddies brown sauce

gravy granules

heinz baked beans

heinz tomato sauce

Answer 3

Having lived here for many years, I know what one can/cannot buy...the answer is everything british can be bought here, simply get to an english supermarket along the Costas and shop away...but you´ll pay a premuim. But at the end of the day, if you are wanting to move here, why on earth don´t you just change your diet for the one here, the spanish diet, far healthier than the british diet of stodge & chips

Answer 4

Black Pudding, Tripe, Pig's Trotters in Aspic, Malt Bread, Jammy Dodgers, HP sauce, the list it endless!

Answer 5

You seem to have started a storm in a teacup from a simple question!  

Firstly so no one can have a go, personally I have adapted to the Spanish diet (not that different from what I ate in the UK) you will probably find that your friend is the same, also as people have said most 'English food' can be found over here (and boy do they make you pay for it) although I have yet to work out why taco shells are English but according to our local Eroski they are!

As for what to take tea bags always go down well as you pay a lot more for them over here.  I also tend to bring back brown sauce, Colman's mustard and English muffins.  As long as it is for personal consumption you are allowed to take over small amounts of meat products so pork pies and scotch eggs may be appreciated???

However what I would do is ask them, if you want it to be a surprise then ask someone else that has been to see them what they have taken or what has been mentioned as being missed from home.  It is often the strangest things, a friend of mine has raisins and currents brought over and mixed spice!  I have also had treacle brought over and baking powder (you can only get it in small boxes here not industrial size jars and self rising flour is way expensive)  

A lot of the things that are brought over are to save on the cost not because they cant be bought here although not everyone lives near the big supermarkets so they may not be able to get hold of some of the above articles mentioned and therefore appreciate them a lot!!

Answer 6

You can find everything now in Spain, if you go in an english shop, but the prices are really expensive!!! however, you could think of... lemon curd, custard, english beer, twigglets, bacon, baked beans, worcestershire sauce, pickles, cheddar, peanuts buttter, scones, chirstmas pud!.... good luck! and have fun in spain!

Answer 7

to be honest you can buy anything thats english in spain newspaper, books, food etc... it also dependes on where your going, in the costa brava, there your really can buy anything english its almost like england exept with better weather.

Answer 8

Hienz bean are not easy to come by

Answer 9

Jars of salmon / chicken spreads like princess or own supermarket makes

Corned beef

Fry's Turkish Delight

Teabags are always welcome as they are expensive.

Coffee Mate.

Answer 10

you don't need to take anything they sell it all out there

Answer 11

Sorry to disappoint you, everyone (well almost) here must live in the sticks if they think they can't get British products here in Spain. You can get most anything now.

Marmite etc readily available even in carrefour.

Answer 12

Well although I hardly go to Spain, I remember once I got so fed up. I couldn't find my favourite blueberry muffins. Hmm I'm not sure if it was because I only searched around my hotel area. Hope this helps!

Answer 13

CADBURYS CHOC, WALKERS CRISPS

Answer 14

Baked Beans and tea bags

Answer 15

Its true when your living abroad that the mundane things that you take for granted mean so much more when you get them (getting a pack of Tayto crisps which are as common as (and boring as) mud in Ireland was a massive treat when I got a pack while living in Germany!)...

..but its a pity that many of these British people (and maybe Irish but all you hear about are British) who move to Spain seem to not give a c**p about local customs - they don't make any effort to integrate, learn the language or try local foods. This may not be true for the majority - but if you're to believe the programs shown on (British!) television - it is.

Answer 16

scratchings

Answer 17

As most people have said you can actually get most things in Spain now but they can be quite expensive. So I am sure your friend will appreciate you taking some things out to them.

As for the misery above me, no-one was complaining only you.

Anyway my list would be -

Teabags

Chocolate (cadburys etc..)

Biscuits (any kind)

Toasted teacakes

Crumpets

Tomato Soup (heinz)

Cheddar Cheese

Bacon

Sausages

Pork pie

Tomato ketchup (heinz)

Brown sauce

Any other kind of sauces, pickles etc..

Stuffing

Christmas pudding

Christmas cake

Any other seasonal items (easter eggs, tin of quality street, cranberry sauce etc....)

Maybe you could ask your friend? Also, remember you are limited to what food you can take over.

Answer 18

I GET VERY ANGRY ABOUT IGNORANT IMMIGRANTS. YES I MEAN YOU!

Most of what has been written is rubbish. The guilty ones should be ashamed of themselves, learn Spanish and get a life.

Almost everything can be found (at a price) in Spain unless you live in the sticks.

Only fresh items such as pork pies and fresh semi-skimmed milk are difficult to find locally, but I bet someone knows where!

There are specialist English shops which sell English foods and Corte Ingles has many of the weird things listed.

Here is a useful vocab.

Custard powder: Natillas

Tripe: Callos

Black pudding: morcilla

Pigs' trotters:  manitos de cerdo

Alubias cocidas (de Heinz). Heinz baked beans

Colmado: grocer

Cacahuetes: Peanuts.

Mantequilla: butter.

Also

Scratchings. Easily obtainable in most Spanish patata frita shops

I can't remember what they are called ( Collins is wrong!).

Malt Bread, Difficult but any good bread shop should have. unusual breads are 'de moda'. If you mean that industrial 'malt loaf, try the English shops.

Jammy Dodgers; Any Hiper but they are not called that.

Walkers crisps. Called Matutano in Spain and still owned by the English Pepsico Group!

Cadbury's chocolate. Any supermarket or sweet shop.

Curry sauces: easy in main centres, buy curry powder.

Decent tea: Easy if you are willing to pay. Go to a tea merchants or colmado..

(PG tips etc in English shops only).

Chinese food. Go to a Chinese supermarket in any main town.

Bitter (beer) go to any English pub or good grocers/ Hiper.

English cheddar cheese. Corte Ingles, Alcampo both have it as do cheese specialists. (The cheap stuff is usually Irish).

Lincolnshire sausages: Buy butifarra.

Marmite. English shops

Daddies brown sauce. English shops. I have ony seen HP in Spanish shops.

Gravy granules. Ugh! These I have never seen. Disgusting. Make your own.

Heinz baked beans. Easy Called 'Alubias Heinz'. Most Hipers have them.

Heinz tomato sauce. Easy but labelled in Spanish for some reason.

Lemon curd, Corte has it.

Twigglets, English shops

Bacon. Try a buchers or buy the stuff with the stupid bones in it at the super.

Worcestershire sauce. Easy as it is used in cocktails such as bloody mary. Any grocers / super.

Pickles: Spanish eat pickles. There are market stalls full of pickles, olives et al. Branston at any Hiper.

Scones. Never seen them.

Jars of salmon / chicken spreads: Any Hyper. For luxury ones go to Corte or a colmado.

Corned beef. Any Corte or colmado.

Fry's Turkish Delight. English shops. I have not seen any but I don't like it, so would not notice.

Coffee Mate. It exists but I don't use it.

The replies show much of what is wrong with mass immigration.

I suggest that you stop complaining and go shopping in Spanish shops.

Answer 19

Marmite

Answer 20

If there are already lots of ex-pats where they are, you do not need to take them anything. If not, it might be an idea to ask them. As you didn't mention age, it's hard to advise. But I found oats for porridge difficult to get because Spain does not grow them and it's not eaten on its own, except in muesli. But that's not consider 'goodies' by some. Try some good, high quality tea or conserve for breakfast.

As I said above, there're few things they can't get in Spain that you can get in the UK, but just because you can get some vino from your local Tesco, it doesn't mean you can't take your friend a bottle of the best claret when you visit them. I love Spain and it has a large (maybe larger than in  the UK) variety of foods and groceries in their shops. I admit that I was disturbed to see so many expats in Come's Sunday market flogging baked beans from Sommefield, HP sauce, etc.  But is doesn't hurt to take something to remind your friends of 'home'.

Answer 21

don't forget the traditional fish n chips!!!!!!!!!!

no place like home!!!!!!