that crumpet was raw, you have to toast it nice and brown and crispy with tons of salted butter, enough so that when you bite into it, it dribbles down your chin and leaves a puddle of butter on the plate lol
They and Pot Noodles along with tins of Corned Beef, Spam, beans and tinned potatoes are the staples in the cupboard for the day tne world comes crashing down or the internet crashes for ever.
I had 3 Bentos pies sitting at the back of my cupboard for almost a year, opened one this week, and enjoyed it so much, the next day i woofed down the other two. So odd seeing this video talking about them. Steak and Kidney for me is the best.
I always say they are the best of the worst. In fairness their steak and kidney isn't that bad, but of course it can't live up to a homemade product. Still you are right to point out they are an excellent backup for when you get in late after a hard day and just want to throw something in the oven that has substance. They are also good to have around in an emergency as you can add some vegetables and create an entire meal for a low cost.
It's strange to hear someone say that Pot Noodle is "fancy". In the UK it's seen as the cheap, kinda rubbish, option. I would usually go for the brand Naked Noodles, or Kabuto Noodles. But, when I have the chance, I'll get the imported instant noodles from an Asian supermarket.
I'd always go with Shin Ramyun, and then just add whatever leftovers are lying around in the fridge. Soft-egg cooked in the water before you add the noodles, is efficient and delicious.
You both make me chuckle , trying Fray Bentos which tbh people buy just for the pastry as there is never any filling and the Pot Noodles , you got to be honorary Brits already!!..keep up the great work 👏
@@TheMagicGeekdom You need to toast them until they're more browned on the top and bottom and a bit more solid. Undercooked crumpets are bleurgh. I love mine with butter melted and then set honey.
Yes, they do look a bit anemic. Memories from childhood is toasting crumpets over a log fire with a toasting fork. Get that smokiness along with char. Butter and marmite for me, too.
@@TheMagicGeekdom don't put marmite on them, that is an extremely niche thing to do. They do need to be toasted until very brown though, and plenty of butter.
This is the first time I have ever heard a Pot Noodle being called Gourmet! The ones you have in the US must be really bad! Next time you are in the UK look in Tesco for Nissin or Nongshim Shin noodles they are the actual GOAT!
I've not had a Fray Bentos pie for years. I've got a hankering to have one now. I'm quite an old fart Brit and those things have been around forever. My Mum always had a couple in the cupboard for back up for when there was a problem with Sunday dinner. By the time you surround one with with veggies and Yorkshire pudding etc you are good to go...
There’s never much inside a Fray Bentos pie. Usually left at the back of the cupboard as an emergency food 😄 Pot noodles were known for being a student cheap food, there are better noodles to be had in England
I like how you guys are experiencing our 'fast food' and probably now realising you can keep it at home unlike the mcdonalds etc. Scotch eggs, pork pies, slices/bakes/rolls etc its all cheap ready to eat or heat at home
when I was a kid, the Frey Bentos pies used to have good lumps of steak and kidney, in a thick tasty gravy (same with the suet puddings). The ones on the shelves now seem to just be a ground up mess. Pastry is still great though… we used to peel it apart and eat it layer by layer. I remember the puddings simmering away in a pan of boiling water, with a couple of holes pierced for the steam. They seems to take forever. Microwaving them simply doesn’t seem the same
Steak and kidney fray bentos is a real guilty pleasure…it’s all about the pastry and the gravy, not much meat 😂 always have an emergency one in the cupboard! I’ve never actually seen a cheese and onion one though!
The sweet food in M&S is the BEST! They are famous for their Percy Pigs sweets and Colin the Caterpillar cake, and their ‘extremely chocolate’ biscuit rounds and tubs of mini rolls are absolutely divine too 🤤
My wife loves a Frey Bentos pie, but the childhood memory is better than the real thing. To me, they are more of an 'in case of Zombie Apocalypse' food. Emergencies only!
M&S Lasagne & M&S Chicken Casserole with Dumplings. My two favourite ready meals, A while back they did Scotch Eggs that incorporated Black Pudding. Amazing.
Great video - enjoyed seeing you try the various things. I love browsing around a UK supermarket. For M&S, so many good things - I love their quinoa salad, beetroot (not pickled) and the granola square cookies are to die for. So be sure to go to one that has a bakery!
Frey Bentos tinned pies great for camping we were posh and had an oven so meals were great. Scotch egg fresh with a soft egg is amazing, the supermarket versions are good for a long car journey and you did great trying all you did as they are my child hood and who can resist a Pot noodle keep it up great content with a view to match.
Ah yes, Fray Bentos pies, nicely flavoured, partially cooked pastry. With good Scotch eggs, the egg yolk should be a little soft, most supermarket ones are a poor imitation, something you realise after having a well made one.
@@TheMagicGeekdom . I haven't had one for a long time but they used to have pastry on the bottom that never cooked properly I also have to confess I have eaten them, at least the top and the filling. They are tasty enough to be tempting if one is feeling lazy.
There are pork pies and there are pork pies. I'm not a fan of any supermarket ones, but if you can find a proper deli that sells them, they're well worth trying. The M&S Coronation Chicken and their Butter Chicken are AMAZING! They also sell some crazy fruit - grapes that taste like strawberries, stuff like that. Weird but delicious. Oh and their own-brand crisps are great too! The sour cream & jalapeno is a favourite of mine. They've managed to get all the flavour of the jalapeno without too much of the heat. Unfortunately you got Fray Bentos' one bad pie in their range. Their others are great, that one is just awful imo!
I think I may have been one of those dastardly commenters to you who informed you about the Fray Bentos pies, along with other various things quite a while ago now? For me though, I used to wait until they were on offer in the shops or stores, typically at about £1 - £1.50 each, or on BOGOF times, or so, and then restock my cupboard again with them . . . I usually add veg to some though just to make it a better filling meal. And with the likes of Steak & Kidney, Steak & Ale, or Mince and Onion, you can always add chips, peas, and even more gravy made by yourself to help it out, too . . . Ready meals to go such as with normal varieties of pies, pasties, etc, it's your own choice whether or not to heat them in the oven or whatever for a short while first or have them cold (room temp). Again, you can always add extras to it to make a bigger meal from any, and include your own gravy if wished. As I'm not personally in to anything spicy myself, if I buy Scotch Eggs, I have to keep an eye open and not pick-up the ones that say spicy on them - or I get one hell of a sweat on even just from from them . . . (But, that's my own fault for not getting the right ones I wanted at the time!) lol . . .
Pot Noodle. How I eat them I first bore a hole in the middle with a knife or skewer to the bottom, open it up a little, pour the sachet of sauce into the hole then pour your boiling water down the hole, topping it up to the line as the level drops. Leave for a few minutes then stir it. Try it.
My favourite Fray Bentos flavours are steak and ale or beef and onion. I prefer my crumpets twice toasted to make them crunchy, then melt cheese over them 😋
I think that your crumpets were underdone. You should try toasting them a lot more so that they are very hot and the butter melts straight through all the holes. You should also have a slightly burnt ring around the edge on the bottom side. Putting them into a toaster does this perfectly. And I also recommend using Anchor butter!!!! X
All good food, the FrayBentos for me was something i ate a lot of as you could buy a stack of them and store them for a very long time or use them as a daily meal, however just a few years ago they where just £1 and had a lot of meat in them but as with all things due to company greed the prices are shot up to as high as £2.70 in some shops and the quality has vanished and you get hardly any meat in them now and its mostly sauce. Pork pies are awesome but i would recommend trying them hot, its not something many people do now as they are seen as cold lunch / snack foods, but originally it was large hot pie that miners would then take the cold left overs with them the next day for lunch and people liked them so much that bakers started to make smaller ones that where lunch box sized and ready to eat and so was born the cold ready to eat pork pie we all know and love.
You can still buy fray bentos for a a pound in the pound shop. Don't usually have the full selection though. I'd recommend the new veggie ones if they are available.
You need to try the best macaroni cheese from M&S 😍 I also love most of the pasta ready meals, my favourites are the four cheese ravioli and mushroom parpadelle. Also their fresh strawberry tarts with the crème patisserie are to die for, and also their clotted cream rice puddings 😍 their fresh bakery section is also amazing too!
Hey guys! I saw you wanted M&S suggestions: Percy Pig sweets, salt & vinegar chipstick crisps and they do THE BEST dessert for 1; it's a profiteroles desert with chocolate sauce and chocolate mousse - you have to try it!
Yum love crumpets with anything on, “plain Jane day” is butter… “sweet tooth day”… Nutella or jam&butter or peanut butter/ any spreads or I like banana… I also love marmite on them!! Then more of a meal I like egg or beans& cheese on them instead of toast. There demolished along with bagels …more than bread in our house haha !!
That crumpet looked looked straight out the pack (uncooked). If it was then try them grilled (like toast) until golden brown. Then lashings of butter. Hot buttered crumpets to die for. 🙂
Weird fact… Fray Bentos pies are from Uruguay. From Wikipedia: Created in the second half of the 19th century, the name is derived from the port of Fray Bentos in Uruguay where the products were originally processed and packaged until the 1960s. The brand is now owned in the UK by Baxters, which manufactures the product range in Scotland.
Fray Bentos is mainly known for importing tinned beef from Argentina. They normally get their gravy right, otherwise it is reasonably good when you consider it is essentially tinned beef that has been shipped accross the planet.
You should try homemade meat and potato pie ( not Fray Bentos ) with Hendersons Relish. Sold in good food pubs probably from the specials board instead of the main menu. Also a nice plate of stew and dumplings with a nice glass of Brown Ale, although this is more Wintertime food.
You can also add Jam or what you call jelly to a crumpet. Lots of people prefer it that way. The batter that they use to make crumpets is fairly similar to a pancake batter.
if you dig up old townsends vids, you find their investigation shows that the only difference between pancakes and crumpets, are that they're reheated.
Thank you for the video. A pork pie is only ever eaten cold its not the equivalent to a pot pie. Its purely a picnic/ snack food you eat from the packet
Pork pies were originally from Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire and were eaten cold before a fox hunt. Original convience food. Still made in Melton Mowbray to this day., much better than supermarket brands.
The main difference is a standard pork pie uses cured pork, a Melton Mowbray recipe uses uncured pork. Hence the colour difference. Inspite of them being marked as unsuitable for freezing, if one's freezer is below or at -25 C then they freeze OK. Thaw overnight in fridge. Eat within 12 hours once thawed.
Pork pies do tend to be a bit on the plain side if you're not used to them but you can always add something like a little mustard or your preferred condiment.
You guys are awesome. Next time, try toasting the crumpets longer and serving them with butter and strawberry jam. As for Fray Bentos and Pot Noodle, I only ever have those in the cupboard to eat when I stagger in after a Saturday day night out. It really is trashy food but so so good.
Both scotch eggs and, especially, pork pies are usually eaten with English hot mustard. Usually Colman's but all of the supermarket chains have very good "own brand" versions.
For a proper scotch egg, go to a local butchers anywhere in the UK. Either that or make at home. I like homemade ones with a soft boiled egg in, still slightly warm from the oven, and a picnic basket with a multitude of pre-prepaired sarnies, along with wensleydale, cheddar and caerphilly cheeses, branston pickke, butter, fresh crusty bread, cokemans english mustard, maybe a few Lincolnshire sausages, some wiltshire ham, beetroot, gherkins pickled onions etc, and some kettle cooked crisps. Also some seedless grapes, some nice crisp apples and ripe pears, some scones, jam clotted cream. Along with a strawberry cheesecake, banoffee pie and a carrot cake, and a coffee and walnut one. And a few bottles of sparkling honemade cider, ice cold to wash it all down with! Well, if you are going to have a picnic lunch, you may aswell do it right. Even if it does make you feel like a bit of a fat bastard, but it was only once a year and there was 4 of us so its not like i ate it all to myself. Had a bloody good try though! Theres nowt like a good picnic with nice fresh homemade British fare.
Crumpets are made from batter, not dough, so yes - like a pancake. Instead of letting the batter form it’s own shape in the frying pan (like an American pancake) they are cooked in a ring, like a cookie cutter. The holes are from bubbles of steam escaping.
I have eaten tons of Fray Bentos pies over the years. Up until recently you could often buy them for £1 each when on offer. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the tin and lift off the whole of the crust in one piece and set aside. Spoon out the filling on to the plate and add your vegetables of choice Then drop the crust onto the top. They are a ideal single person/student's meal, as the crust is enough without cooking up any potatoes as well. If you are really a glutton, surround the tin with oven chips on a baking tray when cooking.
They don't seem to make the smaller single person ones any more, the steak and kidney puddings used to be delicious as well, boil in the tin just be careful when opening. Or open onto a plate, cover with a bowl and microwave.
If I wake up hungry in the night, one of my midnight snack choices is Bombay Bad Boy sandwich. I just make up the noodles in the normal fashion then put them between a couple of slices of bread and butter.
Those crumpets looked raw! They need to be toasted till crispy on the bottom mmmm crumpets! Also american food must be really bad if you think Pot Noodle is gourmet!
When you come back to the UK, you have to give Pukka pies a try. Also Ginsters slices are really good as well. Never had Fray Benton but even without trying it I knew the cheese and onion would be globs of cheese with onion in. A meaty choice would have been better.
Ooh Fray Bentos pies...(pronounced Bentoss not Bentoes)...not had one for years! And yes, you can take them out of the tin to eat them lol. I used to like the Steak & Ale pie best, great with chips, peas & gravy! Mmm...😋
Fray Bentos use to make excellent pies when they were a proper S.American company, but now they just part of the usual multinational pension consortium type thing which means less bangs per buck... but as others have said the tins last forever so useful as a standby as stodge hole filler.
Scotch Eggs as an outdoor snack can be eaten like an apple. Indoors, cut it in half, apply salt and pepper over egg for that extra flavour enhancement. Crumpets should be well toasted and buttered while they are hot, so it soaks in. Toppings are optional, cheese, honey, Golden Syrup, jam, or anything you want to try - it’s your choice. Also, crumpets are apparently amazingly easy to make. There are plenty of videos on RU-vid showing you how to do it. Have I made any, No! They are far to cheap and easy to buy them in the U.K. I am really enjoying your RU-vid U.K. tour, you both seem to embrace every new thing you see and try. It’s a very positive attitude. I look forward to your next submission. 🚖👍
The Fray bentos pie. I wasn't keen on the cheese and onion or the chicken. I preferred steak and kidney or beef but since I don't eat beef anymore, I've not had one for years. They are great to throw in the cupboard for emergencies cause boy that pie lasts. I stocked up on a few durring covid lockdown for my grandma, knowing whilst she didn't have the best choice, she wouldn't go hungry if distribution halted.
Next time you come to the UK - if you travel down the M5 motorway (between Exeter in the SW and Birmingham in the Midlands) try to stop at Gloucester Services. Run as a Farmer's Market, they have an excellent range of Scotch eggs, in a myriad of flavours - among many other things.
Best way for small pork pies is to cut in half and dip into brown source , ok if you need to ketchup is ok . The best way for me to eat Fray Bentos is after cooking run a knife around the side then knock it out upside down on a plate
The Co-op store Dragons eggs are worth a try, it's a Scotch egg but with a spicy sausage/breading. Quick question for you both, do you use a gimbal at all for your filming? I only ask because I was watching some comparison videos on some last night. The three axis ones add a slickness to filming, the Smooth 5 seemed to keep coming out on top.
Dragon eggs sound good. We don't use a gimbal. We bought one a couple years ago, but it was so hard to set up every time we wanted to use it (and kept looking crooked) that we ended up selling it. Our main camera doesn't have IBIS, so we just have to try and hold the camera verrry steady. 😂
I came from a vegetarian family. Growing up in the 50s and 60s my friends all seemed to have “Proper” food and I had to eat veggie shite. Fray Bentos pies were one of the foods I longed for. Once I was old enough to make my own dietary decisions I made a bee line for the Fray Bentos, off with the the lid and into the oven. It was horrible- I couldn’t understand what my mates saw in it. We were poor in Scotland in those days and Fray Bentos pies were cheap, so I guess that was the appeal.
Fray Bentos used to be a lot better, a brilliant treat on a cold, wet day when camping. Kate and Sidney pie with mashed taters and peas. Yum. Nowadays it's more pastry and air. Always a good item for the emergency bag though. FYI: 'Bombay' usually means fairly spicy in the UK. Personally, I'd heat a lot of those foods if I could. They're find cold but heat usually enhances the flavour. Love crumpets - there's always one pack in the weekly shop. Nice with butter and Marmite.
The cheaper pork pies really need some HP sauce to dip the pie into. In my humble opinion you haven't toasted the crumpet long enough & I don't think you've toasted the back at all. They need to be golden brown. How I handle the Fray Bentos pies is to go round the pastry edge with a knife to release it from the tin. Lift out the pastry with an egg slice (spatula) Place on your plate (to one side) then spoon out the contents onto the same plate, then lift the pastry top back on top of the contents.
Love your videos, but it always makes me laugh how Americans struggle to eat their food with a fork, if you use a knife and fork, life becomes so much easier and cleaner.
It’s a problem I’ve noticed they’ve had for a long time… maybe it’s an educational thing…. I was taught in school how to hold a knife, fork and soup spoon 😳🤷🏻♂️
Yeah we definitely didn't learn it in school, but it's also hard to try to change after doing something so basic as eating after all of these years doing it the way we have.
Plenty of people in the UK don't know how to use them either. I've been on numerous dates with people where they either held them in the wrong hands or like pens. It hurts my head to watch. I am guilty of using my fork as a shovel but only at home and when using a bowl. I'd never do it eating out. I'd never use my knife in the left hand to load up the "shovel" either. I remember going to primary school in a poor area and realising just how many of them had no idea how to eat at a table.
Crumpets are really good with butter of choice. I have either jam on them or lemon curd. But with cheese and a dollop of HP sauce. Heaven.no butter when you put cheese on them. 🥰
Just had a Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney pie last night. They are very pricy in the US. I bought six of them from a UK seller on Amazon and it was something like $60. They are tasty enough that I ate the one last night in 85+ degree heat here in Seattle. And I just eat 'em out of the tin.
I used to like them but there's too much pastry and not enough filling for me. Also, the pastry is always a bit slimy underneath. Anyway, glad you enjoyed yours-keep the tins; they're great as little oven trays, including for baking your own pie creations.
I too prefer things heated - or at least warm - as it makes the pastry taste 'freshly baked'. I don't like crumpets 😝. A lot of the snacks like small pork pies and scotch eggs are usually part of a much bigger buffet - cut in half or quarters.
Fray Bentos pies - another 1950s / 1960s thing. Never had a cheese one. It was a staple of a post WW2 childhood when freezers were quite small. My full time working single mum always had one lurking in the pantry awaiting the ritual of trying to get the metal lid off. Then we always had the meat version - with beef from Argentina. And brown HP sauce - plus tinned peas and carrots. The best bit was the soggy pastry layer under the crispy pastry. I’d never eat a meat one now, mostly because it might still be Argentinian meat. Discovered during covid that they do chicken ones as well - I got a surprise free food box via the government with one in it as I was having chemo then (Hence still watching a lot videos about food!) I couldn’t eat anything like pies then so I gave it to the ambulance driver’s parents who like them a lot and tinned anything was sought after during covid. Pot noodle - not had one since school. Then it was part of a rigourous diet that consisted of pot noodle, Cup-a-soup and sucking Ryvita, but not actually eating them. They’re like cardboard! And drinking Bovril. Another thing I wouldn’t have now. M&S - loads of meals. My fave is the microwaveable sausage and mash. Chilli. V sad! The fish ready meals are good, too. I really like their giant microwaveable pulled beef. The trifles. The salads. The cream cakes. M&S foods are sold online via the Ocado website now. Ocado no longer sells Waitrose foods. There has been much wailing and gnashing of teeth about poor M&S foods vs Waitrose foods in the food reviews, but I just don’t get it. It’s all good. It would be interesting for you to look up the reviews for the M&S foods sold on the Ocado website to see if you agree with the customer comments when you try the items.
@@scotland638 well, if I’d known that, I might have kept the chicken one! They don’t have a saltire on them or anything. They should make more of that as Scotch beef is good. I was puzzled when she kept I’m saying her parents loved them. I just thought it was nostalgia. I might get one in case everything goes on lockdown again. Already got some water in case the reservoirs run dry soon!
Always preferred M&S foods over Waitrose inspite of M&S being further away at the time, it saved a trip as new underwear could be bought at the same time.
I have not had a Fray Bentos for years but you have made me want one now, If you try M&S their cold ready cooked chicked drumsticks are ace, their small casserole pots are magic. cheers
