§ Black Pudding - a sausage made of congealed pig's blood or, in the Western Isles of Scotland, sheep's blood, rusks and sage or spices, cooked in an intestine. Available all over the UK but a speciality of the North of England, in particular from Bury, the Black Country, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In actual fact, it tastes much better than it sounds.
§ Cheese - Although the British are not as famous for, or as proud of, their cheeses as their neighbours in France, a multitude of cheeses is produced, and are generally named after a particular region. Well-known examples include Stilton (named after Stilton but produced elsewhere) - a blue cheese to rival Roquefort or Gorgonzola, Cheddar (named after the village of Cheddar in Somerset), Lancashire (which may be "creamy" or "crumbly"), Wensleydale(a valley in North Yorkshire), Caerphilly and Cheshire. The quality varies tremendously, depending on where they are bought; the best place is probably a local market – e.g. buy your Lancashire cheese in Lancashire. Supermarkets will offer a wide range of cheeses but are often of inferior quality.
§ Cornish Pasty - beef and vegetables baked in a folded pastry case. Originally a speciality of Cornwall, but now available throughout the UK. Usually very good in Devon and Cornwall, but can be of variable quality elsewhere. The variety sold in a plastic wrapper in places like petrol (gas) stations and motorway service stations are well worth avoiding. As of 2011, Cornish Pasties can only be labelled as Cornish if they are made in Cornwall.
§ Deep Fried Mars Bar - Originally from Stonehaven, Kincardineshire, but now available in other parts of Scotlandand sometimes by request in fish & chip shops elsewhere in the UK. Not usually available in south-east England, where it is sometimes believed to be an urban myth.
§ Eccles Cake - a popular flaky-pastry type cake with raisins, from the small namesake town in Lancashire.
§ Haggis - a mixture of sheep innards, minced meat and oatmeal boiled in a sheep's stomach. Available widely, but a speciality of Scotland. Also available in many supermarkets, where it appears that many sheep have plastic stomachs - although the contents are often quite reasonable - sometimes mildly spicey.
§ Lancashire Hotpot - a hearty vegetable and meat stew. A speciality of Lancashire, but available throughout the UK. In Lancashire, it is often accompanied by pickled red cabbage or pickled beetroot.
§ Laverbread - a puree made from seaweed, rolled in oatmeal, lightly fried and generally served with bacon rashers, though can be prepared as a vegetarian dish. Available in Swansea and West Wales.
§ Oatcakes - this speciality of Stoke-on-Trent, North Staffordshire and Derbyshire is a large, floppy, oat-based pancake, eaten hot, in place of bread at breakfast time, or with a savoury filling. Not to be confused with the Scottish oatcake, a sort of biscuit.
§ Pastie - recipes vary, but generally a pasty is minced pork with onions, potato and spices, shaped into a thick disc, covered with batter and deep fried. Pasties are unique to Northern Ireland and well worth trying from a Fish & Chip shop.
§ Pork pie - a pie made of pork, with an outer of a particularly crispy sort of pastry. Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire is their spiritual home but they are available across the country. They are served cold or room temperature as part of a cold meal.
§ Potato Bread - a mixture of potatoes, salt, butter and flour. A speciality of Northern Ireland which, alongside Sodabread forms one of the main ingredients of an 'Ulster Fry'. Similar to, but not quite the same as potato bread, are Potato Cakes as sold in England and Tattie Scones in Scotland.
§ Sausages - Europeans will be surprised to discover that the filling contains breadcrumbs, rusk or other fillers as well as meat (Britons think of frankfurters and similar solid-meat sausages as German or French). Generic sausages are nothing special and very much a 'mystery meat' experience, that being said not all sausages are pork, with many now seeing a mix with beef, venison, turkey or even soya. Regional speciality recipes such as Lincolnshire and the Cumberland-ring are well worth trying in a pub. Some marketplaces and butchers still serve archaic family recipes, such as Oxford where the sausage is without skin and more like a beef patty. Remeber you get what you pay for. S 2p or 3p 'bargain' bangers like Walls, will taste of very little.
§ Sunday dinner/Roast dinner - this meal is common throughout the UK. Traditionally eaten on a Sunday, the meal consists of a roasted joint of meat (eg: Whole roast chicken, leg of lamb, shoulder of pork etc), and roast potatoes and steamed/boiled vegetables. All served with gravy (a thick or thin sauce, depending on the meat, made with the meat juices and stock. Yorkshire Pudding (a pancake style batter baked in a very hot oven) is traditionally served with roast beef, although some people have it with any roast dinner.
§ Smoked fish - protected as a regional dish from the Great Grimsby area. Usually haddock is the most popular type smoked in this special style. In Scotland, it is traditional to have smoked kippers if not porrdige for breakfast.
§ Welsh Cakes - scone-like cakes studded with raisins and dusted with sugar. Available in bakeries throughoutWales and served hot off the griddle at Swansea Market.
§ Yorkshire Pudding - a savoury side dish made from unsweetened batter. Traditionally a plate-sized pudding would be served with gravy before the main course, to encourage more economical consumption of expensive meat. Squat and round in shape - often served with a roast dinner (consisting of roast potatoes, roast beef and Yorkshire puddings). Originally a speciality of the former industrial cities of Yorkshire, but now an integral part of a beef dinner throughout the UK.