Us Brits may have a reputation for an unadventurous approach to food.
But the national palate is pretty sophisticated these days thanks to major supermarkets bringing exotic food to shelves across the country.
Marks & Spencer's archive reveals how the British public has been on a steep learning curve over the past century. It unveils shoppers' amusement and confusion as they grapple with new groceries.
Marks & Spencer's archive has lifted the lid on hilarious accounts of shoppers trying new and exotic food
Customers struggled with new groceries including avocado pears, left, and king prawns, right
The debut in 1959 of the avocado pear from Israel sent customers into a spin, with some trying to eat the fruit with the skin on.
Nathan Goldenberg, the retailer's first head of food technology, wrote: 'A lady came back one day to our Manchester store and complained about the poor quality.
'Because they were called 'avocado pears', she had peeled them, removed the stone, stewed them and served them as a dessert with custard. No wonder she complained.'
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Eating a king prawn? Then look away now, you are about to find out what it had for dinner
When pistachios hit the shelves in the 1960s, M&S included instructions, advising shoppers to take the shells off.
And king prawns were considered too risky, with concerns that buyers might eat them raw.
Meanwhile, M&S's chairman Marcus Sieff misjudged how the chicken kiev would be received. He intervened and insisted that the British were not ready for garlic - only to be proven completely wrong.
A radical change to retailing was welcomed in 1948, when customers were allowed to browse shelves rather than ask shop staff to fetch food.
But even that wasn't without its hiccups. Customers were so disorientated by self-service shopping that M&S had to produce a leaflet to explain the concept.
M&S issued instructions on how to eat pistachio nuts, advising customers to peel off the shells first