As an occasional watcher of Dr. Who...

[johnpalmer]

...I couldn't help but occasionally wonder what the heck a "jelly baby" was. These played an occasional part in some of the old Tom Baker Dr. Who episodes, and every now and again, I just wondered.

Recently, I found UKGoods.com, and found that they sold them. But I needed at least $20 to place an order. So, I ended up having to fill my cart with additional items.

How the heck do you decide what the heck to buy? Well, I was curious about candies, so I restricted myself to sweets, but even then, how do you know what's just plain boring stuff akin to what you can get at a supermarket here in the US, and what's interesting?

I saw a Mars bar, and knew that those are different from what we get in the US so I ordered one of those. And "Fruit Pastilles" which sounded interestingly different. And jam tarts, because if I didn't read of British kids snacking on jam tarts when I was young, I probably should have.

But then my eye landed on something that I just had to buy because it's so indescribably British that I couldn't *stand* it.

"Jammie Dodgers".

You see two words like that paired together, and you just *know* that there's no way on earth anyone in the US could have produced such a thing. I don't know if it's genetic, or a bit of culture that has broken into the collective unconscious; I don't know if it's a strange chip that's implanted in the heads of infants. No one in the US could possibly have come up with *anything* that they would even *dream* of calling "Jammie Dodgers."

I'll have to have them some afternoon... with tea.

Comments

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

Might be interesting.....

"Screaming jelly babies" is a chemistry demonstration which is practised in schools in the United Kingdom. It is often used at open evenings to demonstrate the more light-hearted side of secondary school science.

The experiment shows the amount of energy there is in a "jelly baby". Potassium chlorate is a very strong oxidizing agent that oxidizes the sugar in the jelly baby all at once.

When the experiment is performed, the jelly baby bursts into flames and makes a screaming sound. The smell of candy floss is also given off.

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

In America, I'm pretty sure Jammie Dodgers would be some sort of baseball Underoos.

[grey-lady.livejournal.com]

Well, you could have asked me :) but it'll be a lot more fun to investigate the way you're doing it.

Enjoy!

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

I'd love to know if you have any particularly interesting pointers. The jam tarts were surprisingly nice - flaky crust and intense-ish fruity flavor. I had a Cadbury bar that was filled with Turkish delight, and it was also fascinating (I've already sampled real Turkish delight... but I'd never contemplated chocolate coating it.)

[grey-lady.livejournal.com]

Well, Jaffa Cakes are one of the things I'm asked to bring back with me. I like the Galaxy Minstrels. *blink* KitKat Chunky isn't normally available in the US? Hmm. I still find the meat-flavoured crisps a bit bizarre.

It's an interesting selection they have.

[ljgeoff.livejournal.com]

I just had a lovely image of you and I sitting on Pat's porch of a morning, sipping tea and munching of Jammie Dodgers. I'll have to google-image them so I can better visualize this lovely scene.

edit: oh, yes, they definately look like somethings I'd enjoy. Mmmm.

[johnpalmer.livejournal.com]

Smile; if you supply your delightful self, I'll certainly supply the Jammie Dodgers :-).