It’s one of the fascinations of a forum like this that a cheese-to-UK question (with dark anti-imperialist touches) can devolve to fruitflies-to-California.
Not really devolve, though, is it — customs rules and prohibitions are generally to keep disease and pestilence out in some form or other. Plus some protectionism and tit-for-tat.
You can’t separate bugs from why fruits and vegetables have restrictions, nor bacteria / disease from why dairy and meat might have restrictions outside the immediate region.
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Further to why countries have seemingly irrational prohibitions, an Asian psyllid carrying a bacteria wiped out Florida’s citrus production, maybe carried by someone who smuggled just a couple of cuttings in because they like the citrus in Asia better, who knows. There’s a massive effort dedicated to protecting CA citrus as a result. And federal funds devoted to the problem. There is no cure.
Easier and cheaper to have customs regulation and enforcement.
The gravest threat to America’s citrus industry — huanglongbing, also known as a citrus greening disease — arrived in Florida in 2005. Spread by the invasive Asian citrus psyllid, the crop plague has since devastated that state’s citrus production.
In Florida, citrus production since 2005 has dropped 90 percent from 150 million boxes to an expected 16 million in 2023, according to a market brief from the American Farm Bureau Federation. The number of citrus growers plunged 62 percent and a fraction of juice processors remain in business.
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Ah, don’t get me started on the British Empire. On the one hand, we pillaged the natural and human resources of many countries . On the other hand, we left them with cricket. Doubt whether than was a fair swap.
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And room temperature beer. Don’t forget the room temperature beer.
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I was driving into California from Oregon with some French people, and when we got to the ag inspection I said “Douanes!” (Customs!). They went fumbling for their passports until I explained I was joking.
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I learned about the lukewarm beer from the Asterix comics* that were hugely popular in Europe in the 70s and 80s, long before I was legally allowed to have alcohol.
So, when I visited London in 90 and was served not very cold beer at a pub, I was about to complain… then I remembered Asterix in Britain.
*These did not age very well, like many things from that time period, although some stereotypes — like the one mentioned above — certainly apply.
I love fun customs stories! I seem to recall bringing some cheese back from the Netherlands without undue subterfuge.
Add that to skyrocketing land prices and several years od devastating weather (frosta, floods, amd hurricanes) and ita easy to see why there arent many groves left
I no longer drink alcohol so the memory is receeding. But, as I recall, ice cold drinks are simply just that, with the cold dominating the actual flavour.
But it’s a declining issue. European (and Euro style) lagers, served cold continue to dominate the market. They now represents 75% of sales, with British ale now only representing the remaining 25% , according to one industry website Google found. As a young man, my regular order in a pub was for a “pint of mixed” - in the same glass, a half pint of bitter and half pint of mild. Mild has almost ceased to exist in recent years, as demand has generally fallen,
There’s some good looking cheese on medgirl’s link. I’ve eaten the Hafod Cheddar and the Duckett’s Caerphilly. The latter is outstanding. The Cheddar is decent enough but doesnt match a Montgomery. By the by, we were buying cheese for Christmas this morning. I wanted a cheddar and one from the Isle of Mull was suggested. We were given a taste but, even for us, it was too strong and would overpower the other cheeses we’re serving at lunch, so we stuck with Montgomery.
I found the only draft that was remotely chilled was bitter, so that was my standard order at pubs at the time. Still is, come to think of it. My PIC’s a big fan of English ales, however.
On my first trip to London, when I was a sophomore in college, I took to ordering a pint of Flowers. It just sounds cool.
There used to be so many small independent breweries but many have been taken over by the giants, over the years. On the other hand, there’s a growing “micro-brewery” industry producing craft beer of all sorts.
Actually I don’t think room temperature beer was a preference left behind in any (or many) of the former colonies.
Possibly because room temperatures in the UK were somewhat chillier than in, say, India.
Dunno. But it was a joke.
Not disagreeing with you, but protecting local products seems (to me at least) the main motivation behind the UK restrictions, specifically. The US restrictions seem more aimed at blocking pests. But here, too, there are bits that I don;t understand (doesn’t take much, I;ll admit). I get why Hawaii is so strict about letting things in, but why also about letting things out? I once nicely ripened some chickoos there (aka, among other names, chicos), to have as a treat oin my return, but they were confiscated at the airport and thrown into the trash under my very eyes.
On the other hand I have my cocaine-coconut story.
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I’m very pleased to agree with this statement, to the extent that I have any knowledge. I would absolutely hope that the intention is to protect British agriculture. Although restricting the small amount that a tourist might bring with them seems a bit pointless in the great scheme of things.
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This tourist had been planning to bring in 8lbs of cheese, thereby single-handedy wiping out British cheese for a decade.
Just kidding. I’m a fan of Montgomery, too, and Stichelton, among others. I’ve also been exploring Yorkshire cheeses online – are there any you particularly recommend? – although Leeds (where I’ll be in a few days) does not seem to have dedicated cheese mongers.
Switching to cricket: English cricket has certainly undergone a huge renewal. Twenty years ago who’d have believed them capable of the aggressive approach they now employ?
