Kate Connally wrote:
>
> Okay, what are mushy peas anyway? Are they just
> plain old green peas that have been smushed up?

LOL not quite. They are a particular sort of pea (marrowfat) that is
cooked up to the mushy point. Available as the dried peas or else
already cooked in a tin. Can also get pease pudding in a tin.
>
> One of my bosses is going to England for a month.
> When she travels she always brings me something back.
> From Europe it's usually chocolate. I prefer food
> type gifts, rather than some tacky souvenir that I
> have no use for. Anyway, she's used to me so she asked
> me what I want from England.
>
> Well, I've gone on line to see what sorts of things
> might be available that are transportable and she would
> have no trouble bringing back. To tell the truth most
> of the foods I'd like to try are fresh, not canned or
> packaged. It's very hard thinking of anything sort of
> packaged food that I would want, and most of them are
> actually available here anyway, in specialty shops.

Difficult to bring back much in the way of fresh foods. Just not allowed
into the US.
>
> Anyway, so far I have thought of:
>
> Tate & Lyle's Golden Syrup

OK but can often be bought in (expensive) shops in the US. The tin is
interesting LOL.
>
> Cadbury chocolate or other candies

Ask for some of the 'weirder' chocs: http://www.jollygrub.com. While the
UK Cadbury's is better than the US version it isn't the best chocolate
around. However you might like 'Flake' which is often stuck into a
vanilla ice cream cone. There are licorice mixtures of sweets if you
like those.
>
> Heinz Baked Beans (as a sort of lark as I'm curious
> about British "beans on toast" and I understand the British
> version of Heinz baked beans is different from ours)

That's OK.
>
> haggis (I saw that there's a canned on available though don't know
> if it's any good and since my boss is a vegetarian she might
> not want to get me that)

Don't bother. The tinned version is nasty to say the least. Did have
some deep-fried from a chippie in Edinburgh.
>
> clotted cream (not sure if this is practical - I've seen bottled
> ones, but do they still need to be kept refrigerater?).

This can be bought in the US. The unopened jar doesn't need to be kept
refrigerated. Don't know if the fresh version is allowed in the US.
>
> Does anyone have any suggestions. I want something that's
> pretty unique to Britain and is really good (well, with the
> exception of the haggis and bake beans ;-))
>
> Kate
>
A block of real Cheddar (or Stilton) would be nice if you like cheese.
Food items from the former 'Duty Free' shops are usually allowed into
the US.

If you drink alcohol at all a bottle or two of local lager, ale or IPA
might be nice and that's normally allowed in.