british food

stetree

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I was thinking the other day how certain nations (mostly the french) call british food stodgy and flavourless. But how many of them have actually tried it? I personally love proper british food, dont get me wrong I do like other nationalities food but prefer my homemade british grub. Cant beat toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, cottage pie, fish, chips and mushy peas (with salt and vinegar and a couple of rounds of bread and butter), full sunday roast, cornbeef hash and one of my fav's rag pudding.
Anyone else find british food under rated and wrongly maligned or is it just me???
 

BigA

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Yes, it is kind of a joke in the U.S. too that they have crappy food. For one, the names don't sound tasty. I've never really had it, so I can't say if it's deserved.

Is eel pie any good?
 

Nelly Gay

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I was thinking the other day how certain nations (mostly the french) call british food stodgy and flavourless. But how many of them have actually tried it? I personally love proper british food, dont get me wrong I do like other nationalities food but prefer my homemade british grub. Cant beat toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, cottage pie, fish, chips and mushy peas (with salt and vinegar and a couple of rounds of bread and butter), full sunday roast, cornbeef hash and one of my fav's rag pudding.
Anyone else find british food under rated and wrongly maligned or is it just me???


The Brits make great puddings such as Spotted Dick, Jam Rolley Polley (?),
Trifles, etc.
For acquired national delights the Scots have deep-fried Mars Bars and deep-fried Creme Eggs and, of course, Haggis and Neeps !
 

stetree

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The Brits make great puddings such as Spotted Dick, Jam Rolley Polley (?),
Trifles, etc.
For acquired national delights the Scots have deep-fried Mars Bars and deep-fried Creme Eggs and, of course, Haggis and Neeps !
Love spotted dick with custard, they tried to ban the name spotted dick at some schools and call it spotted richard instead!!!! W.T.F.??? Yeah scots food is nice to ect cant stand neeps lol
 

Elmer Gantry

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Jamie Oliver has been a saviour for British cuisine. I noticed on my last trip there not so long ago that even the local British pub meal has come forward in leaps and bounds.

I can't imagine how anyone from America could criticise anyone else's cooking!
 

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I've been to London a few times and tried the food and found the generalization to be true. The stuff I had that was identified as "local faire" was all pretty bland and flavorless. It's possible I was just at bad restaurants, I am speaking only from very limited experience.

On the other hand, if you're in London there's no reason you have to eat British food anyway. It has to be up there with Amsterdam, New York and Washington as among the most international cities in the world. I've had some really excellent Chinese and Indian cuisine there, for instance.
 

B_NineInchCock_160IQ

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I can't imagine how anyone from America could criticise anyone else's cooking!

McDonald's is crap, sure, but there's more to American food than that. Go to Louisiana for some good spicy cajun jambalaya, the American southwest for some TexMex cooking, Chicago for some great deep dish pizza and then New York for a good hand tossed one, New England for crab cakes and clam chowder, Philly for a cheesesteak, Florida for some key lime pie, stop in Davis California for a Murder Burger or an amazing salad at Pluto's, Vermont for some Ben & Jerry's ice cream, Coney Island in Ohio for some chili dogs, some baby back ribs with a side of sweet juicy peaches in South Carolina, and maybe some fresh fish (and of course a cup of coffee) over in Seattle... and then try and tell me American cuisine has nothing to offer.
 

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You would have to go a loooooooooong way to beat a traditional roast. Rib of beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, veg and gravy, and don't forget the creamed horseradish!!

And let's not forget beef stew and dumplings - that's what we've got for dinner tonight.

And I love toad in the hole too, with onion gravy and loads of mashed spuds and swedes.

Ooooooooh my mouth is watering now.

PS Nelly Gay, it's Jam Roly Poly and isn't it delicious.

PPS - I can't believe I forgot to mention a full English - when cooked properly it's sublime, and for me HAS to include black pudding. How vile is American bacon?!?!?!
 

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I've been to London a few times and tried the food and found the generalization to be true. The stuff I had that was identified as "local faire" was all pretty bland and flavorless. It's possible I was just at bad restaurants, I am speaking only from very limited experience.

On the other hand, if you're in London there's no reason you have to eat British food anyway. It has to be up there with Amsterdam, New York and Washington as among the most international cities in the world. I've had some really excellent Chinese and Indian cuisine there, for instance.


I had the same London experience. The "local" food was awful (save trifles- haven't met a trifle I didn't like) and the Indian food was dreadful. I'm convinced England has the worst roti in the world. Maybe that's what Indians told the Brits roti tastes like so they'd have less incentive to keep India as a colony. Blech. I found success with Italian restaurants. I found very authentic, very delicious Italian food in London. That, and drining Guiness until I couldn't taste anything anyway kept me going.

Oh wait: The best steak I ever ate, at any time, anywhere I ate in a club in London. Oooohhh *drool*
 

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PPS - I can't believe I forgot to mention a full English - when cooked properly it's sublime, and for me HAS to include black pudding. How vile is American bacon?!?!?!

I believed every word until you got to black pudding. And then I knew you were mad. (I'm teasing. I really do think black pudding is vile though.)
 

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I believed every word until you got to black pudding. And then I knew you were mad. (I'm teasing. I really do think black pudding is vile though.)
Ahhhhhh but do you think it's vile because you don't like the taste, or is it just because you know what's in it??

But you were right, I am mad! lol
 

stetree

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You would have to go a loooooooooong way to beat a traditional roast. Rib of beef, yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, veg and gravy, and don't forget the creamed horseradish!!

And let's not forget beef stew and dumplings - that's what we've got for dinner tonight.

And I love toad in the hole too, with onion gravy and loads of mashed spuds and swedes.

Ooooooooh my mouth is watering now.

PS Nelly Gay, it's Jam Roly Poly and isn't it delicious.

PPS - I can't believe I forgot to mention a full English - when cooked properly it's sublime, and for me HAS to include black pudding. How vile is American bacon?!?!?!


U dont believe u forgot the fry up niether do i esp as I had just had one lol. Love beef stew and dumplings but think I prefer cobbler:biggrin1:
 

DC_DEEP

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I've heard "black pudding" mentioned a few times of late... is it the same as blood pudding?

I have not yet had the pleasure (?) of eating haggis. While I'm sure it is delicious, there's just one of the (ten or so) ingredients, fillers, and flavours that seems terribly unappetizing. I've been thinking of devising my own "Yankee-fied" version of haggis. And by the way, haggis is not properly served without "champit tatties and bashit neeps." The tatties are just fine, I love 'em, but "neeps" are disgusting.

Yorkshire pudding is another that is probably very tasty, but I just can't get past how it's made to give it a try.

As far as "authentic" foods go, I always get a good laugh when I hear someone declare a food "not authentic" because of one small change or substitution in the ingredients or flavors. In most parts of the world, the natives use whatever is available to them at the time. "Authentic fried rice" in the chinese countryside (not the cities, necessarily) is rice, possibly some leftover meat, and whatever vegetables are on hand. Just because it doesn't have "peas & carrots", that doesn't mean it's not authentic. It's the same everywhere, people use what they have. If an italian peasant way out in the sticks puts onions in her sauce instead of mushrooms, does that mean she's not still making italian food?
 

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DC Deep - yes black pudding is a blood pudding.

And Yorkshire puddings are really simple to make. I've seen an American woman cooking them on the food channel, the barefoot contessa, but she called them popovers - how very dare she! lol
 

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Well, my experiences about food in England was:

1) In students commom ground canteen much depended and I don't remember exactly but chix curry I didnt like and stuff like sandwiches, pizza, pies and for sure salads...:biggrin1: I did not got into the fish and chips tradition bcause too greasy and not apetizing to my dry crisp preferences for fried food.

2) I loved the tea breaks , toasts and the variety of jams. Some works that gave lunch I can't remember much just roast chix and roast meat, I hated the miniature cabbage (I forgot the name)..but I do remember it lack seasonings or marinating to taste my preference.

3) I did work for a while in a factory canteen..yeh, than I experienced the full breakfast with all the fried stuff, baked tomatoes, poriedge ? (oats), etc. And at lunch I liked yorkshire pudding day. I hated lamb stews and the smell of it.

4) At home I learn with the roomates to eat sweet beans with toast when in my culture is supose to be salty...:tongue: well, anyways I was hungry. Because beef meat was very very expensive to my pocket I had chix and frozen fish you boil in the bag.

5) The best food I tasted in England and memorable ones were the ones made by fellow foreigner students. Yeh, than I tasted great chix curry by Pakistani, Chinese food, Iranian food, Algerian food and etc.:smile: at that time I did not know how to cook but I knew what I enjoyed and I was that kind of friend that bought the ingredients and went to friends place imploring them to cook for me on weekends... :puppy_dog_eyes: please feed a hungry Brasilian!!!

6) I have to add that I never went to a English home and had not the opportunity to taste homemade food...:wink:
 

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I had the same London experience. The "local" food was awful (save trifles- haven't met a trifle I didn't like) and the Indian food was dreadful. I'm convinced England has the worst roti in the world. Maybe that's what Indians told the Brits roti tastes like so they'd have less incentive to keep India as a colony. Blech. I found success with Italian restaurants. I found very authentic, very delicious Italian food in London. That, and drining Guiness until I couldn't taste anything anyway kept me going.

Oh wait: The best steak I ever ate, at any time, anywhere I ate in a club in London. Oooohhh *drool*

In the same way that NIC mentioned that American food is not McDonalds and Burger King, London is not a good example of typical British food. In fact some of the worst meals I have been served have been in London. I've had some very good one's there too of course but compared to the rest of the Country London is extortionate.

I have eaten in many parts of the USA and on the whole have always been served wonderful food. My only gripe would be that the portions you guys serve would feed the average family not one person.

My absolute favourite Scottish meal has not been mentioned here. Mince and Dumplings (Doughballs in Scotland). The dumplings should have mixed herbs and fresh garlic in them to do them justice.
 

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Cant beat toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, cottage pie, fish, chips and mushy peas (with salt and vinegar and a couple of rounds of bread and butter), full sunday roast, cornbeef hash and one of my fav's rag pudding.
Anyone else find british food under rated and wrongly maligned or is it just me???
It's just you.

For those who don't know, bubble and squeak is fried leftover vegetables. Mushy peas are fresh vegetables boiled to death and then mashed to a pulp. The best part of cottage pie is the potatoes on top. I have no idea what rag pudding is, but it wouldn't surprise me if it involved eating somebody's underwear.

"Chips" were invented by the French (that's why they are called Fench fries, I believe) and are perfected by them. Much British cuisine is simply French food made bad. And since when did the Brtish invent roasting?

(the Scots, however, show more culinary invention. I once bought a fried Mars bar in Edinburgh, and was offered tomato sauce to put on it)

And don't get me started on that most British of meals, fish and chips. I just visited London for a job interview. I stayed in a mid-market hotel, where I paid USD $28 for a single piece of emaciated wafer-thin fish in breadcrumbs flavoured by stock cube, surrounded by some half-hearted fried potatoes. The fish and chips almost anywhere else on the planet are better. The best F&C I ever tasted were in Tokyo, at my local Irish pub, mad Mulligans in Kamiyacho. (Now closed, alas. Probably for impersonating an Irish pub.) Th Japanese know about fish. The British know about battering cod.

I love all things British. But British food ain't one of them. Let's go out for a curry--the most popular restaurant meal in Britain, I understand. No wonder.
 

AlteredEgo

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Ahhhhhh but do you think it's vile because you don't like the taste, or is it just because you know what's in it??

But you were right, I am mad! lol

A little of both! My family serves it with souse. I think that's how it's spelled. Anyway, it's some equally horrendous assault on a pig's ear. Why should we eat blood and ears when there is perfectly good meat on that animal?