General Chat

I'm going to see my old school pal in America again next year and want to make an English style trifle while I'm there, soooooo could someone on here tell me what they call jelly and custard powder over there so I don't look to stupid just looking, I will be on my own when I go shopping, my friend will be at church and I want to surprise her when she gets back :-D

http://britishfood.about.com/od/glossary/a/AEindex.htm

translation English - American ingredients:

British followed by American:

Custard = custard sauce
Custard - Powder = Instant custard sauce powder

Jelly = jello or gelatin

Can you not take a jelly and some custard powder with you ZZzzz?

I hope your trifle turns out well and your friend enjoys it.

Lizx

good luck finding cream as you know it

:-|

good luck finding custard powder in the US!


Jello is what you in the UK call "jelly"

It's powdered on this side of the Atlantic, not the solid jelly that I remember from years ago.

Most supermarkets do not sell much British "stuff", and I fear you will not find custard powder, nor will you find the ready made custard. If you do manage to find Bird's Custard powder, don't be surprised to find it sweeter than you are used to ............. Americans do like their foods with more sugar, and many British foods found in the supermarkets have got a slightly different ingredient list.


As someone suggested ........... take the makings with you, in your CHECKED baggage, not in your carry-on.


You'll also have to look carefully to find the sponge cake for the base .................. no real equivalent to the UK sponge ................... we've used lady fingers and Angel cake in the past when all else failed. Not as good, and much sweeter, but OK:-)


You will probably find the jam (if you use jam with your sponge) is sweeter than you are used to ...........


For cream, you will have to buy "whipping cream". It will whip up to a pretty thick consistency, especially if you had a teaspoon or so of sugar.

The cream is the least of your worries!

I would be packing a little box (prepacked by Bird's and readily available on supermarket shelves ;-) ) with everything I need to make a trifle - including sprinkles :-D

Make her a spotted dick!

:-D

We have a German friend who loves trifle. Whenever she goes to the UK she stocks up on jelly (still in blocks?), and when she came to Oz a few years ago, she went home with about 20 packets of jelly crystals. Jelly is fiddly in Germany ~ what I remember....... making a jelly with gelatin, and adding flavouring and colouring.

avoid the Kentucky jelly, it tastes Horrible....... ;-)


bit like Vas.............ooops petroleum jelly

Ummm!!!!!

LOL Sharron, she doesn't have a steamer!
I thought it wouldn't be able to take that much powder even in my check in luggage, and yes we do have blocks of jelly here so I will take all ingredients with me in one carrier bag so I can just hook that out if I'm called in for a search :-)

don't take the cream from the UK, though :-)

To be honest .................... I wouldn't bring the jelly either!

Jello in all flavours is very common here ...................... and the crystal form that we have is sooooooooooooooo much easier to dissolve in boiling water than the block

Ignore Bob's ignorant comment ................... you won't find that in the supermarket :-)



I would bring the custard powder ................ and leave it at that!

If you want to add anything else, then make it the sponge cake



BUT remember that the airport and Homeland security now have sniffer dogs, many of them to sniff out food stuffs, AND that the US customs people have the right to search your checked bags whether you are present or not .................. so they can pull them off the conveyor belt to or from the plane, open them by breaking the locks if necessary, and then search them




Making the trifle would be different if you were coming to Canada .......... our supermarkets sell loads of British-style foods, although the taste might differ slightly, so we can get Birds Custard Powder, etc etc etc

Didn't know my case could be searched without me being there, don't like that idea very much, they might put something IN. I will buy it all over there I think :-D

The last time we went to the US (about 8 years ago) we took Aussie sweets with us for friends; no problem at all.

On our return to Oz however, it was a different story. We were waiting for our luggage when a dog came and sat next to us, followed by a uniformed officer :-(

A few questions were asked but we stayed at the luggage carousel.

We had been in the US for a few weeks on business....... and Himself had taken fruit to work every day, in his laptop bag.......... the sniffer dog picked up the scent of the fruit!

ZZzzz .............


I'm not telling any lies, or exaggerating!!!


OH went to a meeting in the US a few years ago.

It was held at Macdonald's Hamburger University, near Chicago (no, I am NOT kidding!!).

The conference was on ethics, and much of what was said was "not for public release". Everyone had to sign a privacy statement.

Meeting over, OH goes to the Chicago Airport, checks in 1 bag, goes through security, and then wanders around to look for something to eat.

He then hears his name over the tannoy, "would xxxxxx go to the Air Canada desk at Gate xx"

The lady at the desk is holding a file folder with papers inside it. One of those papers has his name on it.

The folder had been found lying on the conveyor belt behind the scenes, no suitcase near it. Someone had opened it, found his name, checked passenger lists, and discovered he was travelling Air Canada to Toronto.

That file had been given out at the meeting, and all the papers came under the tightest security as far as the attendees had been told!

He discovered that the lock had been cut off his case when he picked it up at his destination



We have had locks cut off our cases .................. we now buy locks that can be opened by a master key that US Customs are authorized to use. It was one of those that was cut off, despite being open-able. We don't usually lock the closures that are on the case ............... if they decide to break those open, then the case cannot be closed at all.

We have heard about people picking up their case at the destination, only to find it completely enclosed in a plastic bag, locks unworkable.


All the Customs people and those working behind security are supposed to have the highest security clearance .................... but there have been reports of items missing from suitcases. After all, many of the workers are paid very low wages, and may be tempted.



Moral of this story .........

............ buy the extra locks, make sure they are the ones that can be opened by a Master key

Don't use the locks that come with the case.

Do NOT pack anything of value (such as jewelry or money, or art work) in your case "just in case"

Keep all prescription medications in your carry-on baggage


Check what you are allowed to take into the US, and back into the UK, regularly ............ and especially within 2 days of flying. They do change these regulations quite often, and usually without too much notice.

Most of us don't think about what our own countries may require ........... and that's when many of us can be caught out :-)