British food is generally seen as one of the less exciting cuisines, more known for its comforting qualities than anything else. However, plenty of weird and wonderful traditional dishes challenge that image. From the fancy to the frugal, the slightly strange to the stomach-churning and the delicious to the downright alarming, these are the most bizarre British foods of all time.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover Britain's most peculiar traditional foods – counting down to the most unusual of all.

We've based our ranking on the obscure nature of each dish, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.

Teatime in Wales isn't complete without a serving of Welsh cakes – for a very good reason. These delicious treats have been ingrained in Welsh culture since the mid-1800s, and anybody can throw them together with just a few store-cupboard ingredients (flour, butter, sugar, egg, milk and currants). Traditionally prepared over an open flame on a bakestone, Welsh cakes are the perfect cross between a scone and a pancake. One is almost never enough.

The Scottish version of a classic trifle sees the sponge element soaked in whisky rather than sherry. Proudly served on celebratory occasions – think Christmas, Burns Night and Hogmanay – the ‘tipsy’ in the title of this indulgent dessert refers to said liquor, while 'laird' is the Scottish word for lord. A truly patriotic Scot would ensure that the berries used to garnish this boozy dessert were sourced from Caledonian soil, too.

A traditional British school dinner favourite that dates back to the Middle Ages, sweet and stodgy jam roly-poly sees suet pastry rolled out, covered in fruit jam, then rolled up again. The swirl of red and white is then steam-baked, sliced and served with hot custard. The dessert also goes by the names ‘dead man’s arm’ and ‘shirt sleeve pudding’ because, in the early days, it would often be steamed in an old shirt sleeve or stocking.

You've probably heard of a Cornish pasty, but have you heard about the Welsh oggie? The two dishes have strikingly similar origin stories and served the same purpose when they were invented. That is, to allow miners to enjoy a protein-packed, calorie-dense lunch without the need for cutlery or politeness. But whereas the Cornish pasty is traditionally a beef-and-vegetables affair, the Welsh oggie favours Welsh ingredients such as lamb and leeks.

Pigs in blankets, also known as 'kilted soldiers', are a Christmas staple for many Brits, and they're rarely seen at other times of year. To make them, chipolata sausages (pigs) are wrapped in streaky bacon (blankets), then cooked until the bacon is crisp and the sausages juicy. The first recipes for pigs in blankets appeared in the 1950s, but they were popularised by TV chef Delia Smith in the 1990s. Nowadays they form an integral part of the traditional turkey feast – and they make fabulous festive canapés, too.

Otherwise known by the distinctly less charming names of 'wet cake' or 'moist cake', teisen lap was a miner's dream back when many Welsh workers spent their time underground. It's a moist, fruity cake, traditionally cooked on a plate, that was so appealing for workers because its texture meant it stuck together well inside lunchboxes and could be enjoyed anywhere – even in a mine.

With an enigmatic name that offers next to no hints as to its ingredients, bubble and squeak was invented in the 18th century as a thrifty yet tasty means of reducing food waste. The dish is made by binding together mashed potato and leftover vegetables from a Sunday roast (think cabbage, carrots, swede and onions), then frying until crisp and golden – and it's even better with a fried egg placed on top. In Ireland, a similar dish made from mashed potatoes, onions and cabbage (or kale) is known as colcannon, while in Scotland, a cheesy version goes by the name rumbledethumps.

Toad in the hole was originally created to make meat stretch further in poor households (and thankfully, it's always been devoid of toads). The doyenne of British cooking, Isabella Beeton, was absolutely right when she described it as a ‘homely and savoury dish’. She suggested preparing the batter pudding with rump steak and lambs' kidneys, while English cookery writer Hannah Glasse made the case for pigeon in her 1747 book, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Modern versions tend to favour a sausage-studded batter, with onion gravy being non-negotiable for many.

Few simple dishes are quite so indulgent as Welsh rarebit. Initially known as Welsh rabbit – despite a distinct lack of rabbit in the ingredients list – and born in the 18th century, this dish sees a molten cheese sauce flavoured with mustard and Worcestershire sauce (and often stout or ale) poured over toasted bread and grilled until golden and bubbling. When topped with a fried or poached egg, Welsh rarebit becomes buck rabbit.

This unusual breakfast dish sees fragrantly spiced rice studded with smoked haddock, hard-boiled eggs and sautéed onions. The recipe originated in colonial India – and since then, it's transformed into a British favourite. Despite having fallen out of fashion in recent years, it’s still loved by many for its aromatic spices and blend of flavours and textures.

Every culture has its own take on pancakes, and Wales is no different. A crempog (crempogau in the plural) is essentially a Welsh pancake that traditionally found its way onto Welsh plates on Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day). It's very different from the pancakes or crêpes traditionally dished up in England or France and much closer in taste and style to an American pancake. The buttermilk-laced mouthfuls are best served with a good helping of butter and syrup.

Adding vegetables to a scone mix might sound like a strange idea, but this recipe makes perfect sense. Easy to grow, packed with vitamins and with a slight sweetness, carrots were frequently used in wartime cooking, featuring in baked puddings, cakes and desserts. In her 1995 compilation The Victory Cookbook, British broadcaster, home economist and food writer Marguerite Patten shared a recipe for this simple treat that only called for a few basic ingredients – including carrots.

This straightforward dish – made by coring a potato, stuffing it with sausage meat, then baking – was introduced by the Ministry of Food during World War II as part of a Dig for Victory campaign that sought to help people make the most of available rations and reduce food waste. Leaflets featuring Potato Pete, a cartoon character promoting the benefits of the humble potato, explained how to make the 'piglets' and suggested serving them on a bed of cooked cabbage.

This rich fruit loaf has a history that goes back to the 1800s, and its name translates to 'speckled bread’. Bara brith is infused with tea, sprinkled generously with plump dried fruit and finished with mixed spice to make the ultimate teatime treat. If you want to enjoy the snack as they do in Wales, cut yourself a large slice, slather it in salted butter and eat it alongside a cup of tea.

'Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot, nine days old…' An old nursery rhyme attests to the versatility and shelf life of this medieval stalwart, which is made by boiling dried yellow split peas with herbs, vegetables and vinegar to a paste-like consistency. Pease pudding is still eaten with gusto in northeast England, where it's most often served with thick slices of ham or gammon and lashings of parsley sauce.

Originating in South West England, hog’s pudding doesn’t sound appetising – but it's surprisingly tasty. Similar to black pudding (but without the blood), it’s made from pork meat and fat, suet, bread, oatmeal and spices (white pepper, black pepper and coriander). The mix is formed into a sausage shape before being sliced and fried. It's often referred to as Groats pudding and even West Country haggis, and it's best served as part of a hearty cooked breakfast.

The recognised national dish of Wales, cawl is a warming, comforting dish perfect for harsh Welsh winters – and for packing in those veggies. Recipes go as far back as the 14th century and commonly include Welsh staples such as lamb and leeks (as well as other seasonal vegetables); everything is cooked together in a mouthwatering stew. Serve it up alongside chunks of bread for a satisfying meal.

A sausage traditionally made from pork offal, oatmeal, seasoning and spices, all held together with pigs’ blood, black pudding is a dish firmly ensconced in British culinary history – and it's been enjoyed since at least the 15th century. It’s most often found sliced and fried as part of a proper English breakfast but, thanks to its rich taste, it’s also used to add a delicious depth of flavour to soups, stews and stuffings.

You’ll be relieved to hear that despite its name, this traditional British steamed pudding isn’t made with pond algae or water. That said, those who haven’t grown up eating it might still find the dessert, which dates back to the 1600s, a little questionable. To make it, a whole lemon is slowly steamed inside a pastry casing made from suet (a hard white animal fat often taken from beef).

This clever dish was born out of convenience when savvy 19th-century women produced the hand-held meal for their farm labourer husbands to take for lunch. The long, pasty-like suet dumpling features a savoury filling – typically meat, potatoes and vegetables – at one end, with something sweet (such as jam or fruit) at the other. The latter is scored to identify it as dessert, ensuring everything is eaten in the right order. Crusts were always discarded back in the day, as their purpose was simply to contain the filling and protect it from dirty hands.

Long before Heston Blumenthal caused a stir with the likes of bacon and eggs ice cream, London cookery writer and entrepreneur Agnes Marshall was already pushing boundaries with liquid nitrogen and the like. Known as the Queen of Ices (and believed to have invented the ice cream cone), Marshall recommended making ice cream with puréed cucumber, sugar, ginger brandy, lemon juice and sweetened cream or custard in her 1885 book, The Book of Ices. It was a riff on cooked cucumber, a popular dinner party dish of the time.

Renowned for its rich smoked haddock flavour, this thick soup originates from the small Scottish town of Cullen. It was originally served laden with beef scraps but, after the townspeople fell on turbulent times during the 1890s, the meat was replaced with fish, which was in plentiful supply. You'll still find it served across Scotland, often with a side of crusty bread.

If you don't fancy practising your Welsh pronunciation, the English translation of tatws pum munud is 'five-minute potatoes'. That gives you an idea of what this speedy dish is all about: bacon, potato and vegetable broth are flung together to create a hearty, healthy stew. It's a combination that has served Welsh families well for generations, and many households will undoubtedly have their own spin on this dinner-time staple.

Also known as Teesside Parmesan, this cult delicacy has been a firm favourite in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire since the 1960s. The name Parmo refers to the American chicken Parmesan – which, in turn, was inspired by the Italian melanzane alla parmigiana (a baked dish featuring aubergine, Parmesan and tomato sauce). To make the British version of the dish, a chicken or pork cutlet is flattened, coated in breadcrumbs, deep fried until golden, then covered with béchamel sauce and melted cheese.

This strangely named bastion of British cuisine is a slow-cooked number made for centuries by wrapping slivers of beef around sausage meat, breadcrumbs and herbs (not an olive in sight). As cookery writer Hannah Glasse suggested, the name could be a nod to the phrase ‘to olive’, meaning to stuff something like an olive – and referring to a technique used to impress dinner guests in the 1700s. Once rolled, beef olives are browned, then simmered in a rich gravy until tender.

Despite appearances, Glamorgan sausages are meat-free sausages packed with cheese, leeks and herbs and covered in breadcrumbs. They take their name from the Welsh county of Glamorgan, where they were first sold, but their origins are hard to pin down. The dish was particularly popular during World War II, when meat was difficult to come by, and it continues to be a menu staple in restaurants, cafés and homes across the country and beyond.

Early mentions of Scotch woodcock – softly set scrambled eggs on toast, topped with anchovies or Gentlemen’s Relish (anchovy paste) – can be found in Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management. The dish was served in the Victorian and Edwardian eras as a savoury (a digestive course offered at the end of a meal), and it still featured on the menu at the House of Commons until the 1950s.

Pickled eggs are a well-loved stalwart of British snacking culture, most often found in large jars behind the bar at pubs and on shelves at fish and chip shops. There’s nothing fancy going on here; peeled hard-boiled eggs are cured in a vinegary brine, which they’re then left to sit in, with the pickle preserving the eggs for several months. They're as simple as they are satisfying.

A bit like lard or schmaltz (repurposed chicken fat found in Eastern European and Jewish dishes), dripping is the fat that renders away when beef is roasted. The idea of eating cooking fat spread on toast and sprinkled with salt and pepper became popular among the working class in the 20th century. Another variation on the idea is mucky fat, a thick-set gravy made from the meat juices left behind in the roasting pan. It's often used to cook roast potatoes or to make sandwiches known as mucky fat butties.

Rather misleadingly, there’s no bread involved in this Welsh delicacy, which is also known as ‘Welshman’s caviar’. A dark green paste made from boiled seaweed, laverbread has been enjoyed since the 17th century. Boasting a distinctive salty flavour due to its iodine content (some liken the taste to that of olives or oysters), laverbread is often coated in oatmeal and fried, or served with bacon and cockles as an essential part of a Welsh breakfast.

Although frog legs are often parodied as quintessentially Gallic fare, in 2013 a group of archaeologists discovered cooked frog bones during the excavation of an ancient site near Stonehenge, England. These findings suggested that the British had likely been tucking into frog legs as far back as 7596 BC – well before the first known documentation of French folk feasting on them.

Stargazy pie distinguishes itself from all other pies thanks to the clutch of fish heads (most commonly pilchards or herrings) sticking out of the pastry lid, as if gazing up at the stars. The origins of the pie (which features a creamy filling made from eggs, bacon and potatoes) can be traced back to the Cornish fishing village of Mousehole. Legend has it that, with the village short on food due to winter storms, a brave fisherman named Tom Bawcock set sail and returned with a mighty haul, which was quickly turned into a huge pie. His bravery is celebrated each year on 23 December – Tom Bawcock’s Eve – with, you’ve guessed it, stargazy pies aplenty.

Scotland is responsible for a fair few of Britain’s more unusual foods (here’s looking at you, battered, deep-fried Mars bar), but this one might just be the most divisive. The country's national dish is traditionally made by combining sheep’s pluck (minced heart, liver and lungs) with oatmeal, onions, suet and spices, then cooking the whole lot in a sheep’s stomach. Served with neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes), it's an essential part of Burns Night celebrations, when the haggis itself is serenaded with Robert Burns’ famous poem, Address to a Haggis.

Aspic is a savoury jelly made by slowly cooking meat to produce a natural gelatine that thickens when cooled, and it can be used to encase and preserve cold ingredients. No fancy 1950s dinner party would have been complete without a towering centrepiece featuring prettily presented meat, seafood, vegetables or hard-boiled eggs housed in a transparent aspic coating. Aspic dates back much further, though; one of the earliest Arabic cookbooks mentions an aspic called qaris, made by boiling fish heads with vinegar, parsley, onions and aromatics.

While they're certainly not as popular as they were in Victorian times – when the River Thames teemed with the fish, and eels cooked and cooled in their own gelatinous stock were a cheap city favourite – there’s still a place for this snack in many Londoners' hearts. In fact, it would be remiss to visit an East End pie and mash shop without tucking into a plate piled high with pie, mashed potatoes and jellied eels.

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Last updated by Natasha Lovell-Smith.