SS Radio #250: British Food Month begins.

[Jdcuth]

Sausage rolls.

They are absolutely spot on old chap!

Can I hijack this thread to ask for some input on a US delicacy from the board? I have tried making homemade iced tea using some online recipes but it doesn’t taste the same as I’ve been served in the US (sadly I’m out of contact with the friends who served it). I wonder if it’s the brand of tea I’m using? Any tips?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Make a cup of strong black tea. PG Tips works just fine. Do not add milk. Fill a glass with ice. Pour the tea over the ice.

[mkm5]

The bangers & mash and the sausage rolls look delicious!

I seem to recall bangers & mash being served with black and white pudding?

I've never had mince pies before; recipe please?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I've never had mince pies before; recipe please?

It's on the network forums.

[Jason Donaldson]

Make a cup of strong black tea. PG Tips works just fine. Do not add milk. Fill a glass with ice. Pour the tea over the ice.

No mention of sugar here... I'm not at all against making tea without it, mind you, but having grown up in the south, it still seems odd to hear.

[Mark Rippetoe]

No mention of sugar here... I'm not at all against making tea without it, mind you, but having grown up in the south, it still seems odd to hear.

Sugar is for little kids.

[Jason Donaldson]

Sugar is for little kids.

Not arguing with that.

That said, Jdcuth, where in the US did you have iced tea? If you had it in the South, you were almost certainly served sweet tea, which is made with large amounts of regular table sugar, usually added when it's hot, to get as much dissolved as possible. When I was growing up, Lipton was a common brand of the tea bags used.

I'm tempted to go off on a tangent about switchel / haymaker's punch, but that would not be keeping with the regional focus of the thread.

[gadders]

Then I guess you guys will have to post pictures of your mince pies.

They're only eaten at Christmas over here, so I'll get back to you in December. But the shops are so full of them people just buy them 99% of the time.

[Jdcuth]

Not arguing with that.

That said, Jdcuth, where in the US did you have iced tea? If you had it in the South, you were almost certainly served sweet tea, which is made with large amounts of regular table sugar, usually added when it's hot, to get as much dissolved as possible. When I was growing up, Lipton was a common brand of the tea bags used.

I'm tempted to go off on a tangent about switchel / haymaker's punch, but that would not be keeping with the regional focus of the thread.

About as far from the South as you can get - Maine. It was sweet but the tea was strong and I think I’ve just not been getting it properly brewed.

What is the consensus on lemon/mint? Essential? Sacrilege?

[Jason Donaldson]

About as far from the South as you can get - Maine. It was sweet but the tea was strong and I think I’ve just not been getting it properly brewed.

What is the consensus on lemon/mint? Essential? Sacrilege?

The usual risk with brewing tea, especially black tea, is bitterness from steeping it too long. Of course, if you're supersaturating it with sugar afterward, that's not a problem.

I don't know why Mainers drink sweet tea, but where I grew up, it was very hot and humid, so cold drinks were popular. I seem to recall lemon being common, probably for the same reason lemonade is popular in the summer, too.

I don't personally mind if you want mint in yours. Then again, I'm weird. I like cardamom in my coffee, for example.