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Oh, so there's no Ribena[1] in the US? Or is it imported? [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena
by jfrej 3y ago
Oh, so there's no Ribena[1] in the US? Or is it imported?
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribena
- arethuza 3y agoAlso crème de cassis - which is basically Ribena with alcohol!
- OJFord 3y agoProbably (or its equivalent) 'grape' flavoured.
- joncrocks 3y agoCordial drinks aren't as much of a thing in the US anyway.
- IntelMiner 3y agoI believe they refer to them as "Kool-Aid" drinks, despite being prepared differently
- red_trumpet 3y agoI'm not sure I understand the word "cordial" correctly, but Ribena doesn't have alcohol.
- wuiheerfoj 3y agoCordial is a thick juicy syrup added to drinks, but is not alcoholic itself. I think the GP means ‘squash’ or ‘diluting juice’, which sometimes gets called cordial too (though I associate cordial with the thicker stuff)
- jfrej 3y agoIt's worth noting that Ribena also comes ready made. If I ever buy Ribena, that's what I go for. Especially the carbonated version. There are alternative blackcurrant cordials for diluting which are much cheaper and taste good. I think every British supermarket has their own brand one.
- throwaway154 3y agoI feel Ribena's so baked in to British psychology it's not seen as a cordial. Orange, lime, and blackcurrant cordials are cordials. Ribena's just Ribena. It's mixed with water almost exclusively, lemonade at a push, but blackcurrant cordial would be used for snakebites or rum+Guinness. Surely I'm not alone on this?
- vmilner 3y agoI am with you on this.
- throwaway154 3y agoTo add to mixing... just the right amount of water. Stronger or weaker for a cordial is simply stronger or weaker. But more or less water for Ribena is a question of right or wrong; that's why it's never quite right when going round a friend's house back in the day, or if it is that's uncanny.
- justinclift 3y ago> blackcurrant cordial would be used for snakebites Of the actual snake variety, or are you meaning some kind of drink?
- dfawcus 3y agoA drink, larger and cider. One can have a 'snakebite and black' adding a dash of black currant, also a 'black nasty' being a 'snakebite, pernod and black currant'.
- doloputer 3y agoIn the UK, it's a 50-50 mix of larger and cider. I guess some people mix in some cordial too.
- drivers99 3y agoBoth replies mentioned "larger" (and cider) so I googled it and it's just a typo for "lager"
- dinkleberg 3y agoI’m sure you can find them somewhere in the US, but it is definitely not a usual item here. I’ve never encountered it and have only heard of it from some British folk. I can’t imagine many non-US soft drinks companies try to come to the US and compete against Coke and Pepsi companies outside of maybe niche stores.
- hnbear 3y agoBasically not available outside of specialty stores, or the occasional supermarket with an import aisle. Definitely not widely drunk. Nor is Robinson Orange Barley, which is still my fav drink, despite being somewhat older than the typical market. (Brit in US)
- vmilner 3y agoI remember Annapolis MD used to have a store with lots of British biscuits, Marmite, Bovril, marmalade, Ribena etc. - an oasis to the Englishman abroad.
- Tangurena2 3y agoThe nickname for them is "BritMart" and tend to be more common in areas with large British expat communities. I remember lots of them when I lived in Florida. There is a bit of difficulty getting Cadbury's chocolate due to Hershey owning the trademark in the US. They shut down most grey-market importers.
- vmilner 3y agoCan you get other (ie non-Cadbury) brands of chocolate that don’t have the butyric acid that (I believe) makes Hershey etc. so grim to most British palates?
- hititncommitit 3y agoI’ve never heard of butyric acid but I’m wondering is that what gives American chocolate it’s plastic taste and even texture? Because I can’t stand it. Even in Kraft singles…it’s like there’s this similar thing going on there. It’s different but there’s this common plastic tasting thing going on there that I can’t stand either. I feel bad because my kid loves cooking grilled cheeses and always wants me to try them but I can’t stomach it. At the same time though…it’s so much cheaper, that I still buy it for him. I’m kind of like this with wine- like, I’m not buying the expensive stuff because I already like the cheap stuff and the last thing I’m going to do is develop more expensive tastes if the cheap thing is fine for me right now.
- dghughes 3y agoHit and miss for Ribena here in Canada I never even knew about it until last year. The existence of it I mean not the availability here. Here in Canada we tend to know more about UK stuff than people in the US. We get imports the US doesn't of various products Kinder chocolate/toy eggs for one.
- dghughes 3y agoI just had a look when I went out for groceries and for a 750ml Ribena it is $16.
- masfuerte 3y agoRibena has been ruined with artificial sweeteners. If this tinkering actually worked I wouldn't mind but Britons continue to get fatter.