England Food:

The Food and Cuisine of England

British cuisine has always suffered from bad press and a bad rep. The simple homespun fare and plain preparation of most traditional British foods pales in comparison to French haute cuisine, and it's not uncommon for food critics to sound almost apologetic when writing about traditional British dishes as if there were something shameful in enjoying a good, thick slab of beef with an accompaniment of Yorkshire pudding. If they speak in glowing terms of anything at all, it is a nod to the clever naming of British foods, where dishes like bubble and squeak and spotted dick appear on restaurant menus.

And yet, for all the snickering and jokes about their bad food, British cuisine at its best is hearty, delicious, simple fare on which to fuel the colonial empire that influenced the entire world, for better or worse. No other nation in the world does a roast of beef to such perfection, nor is there any better accompaniment to the succulent meat than a puffed, piping hot Yorkshire pudding prepared in its drippings -- and few cuisines have a dessert that compare with the pure heaven that is a well made trifle or treacle tart.

British cuisine is a mixing of the practical with the nutritious. If it is, as some critics proclaim , unimaginative, that may be because the food itself needs little imagination to fancy it up and make it palatable. It is certainly not because the British mind lacks imagination concerning food -- the common names for everyday meals sometimes require a translator just so you'll know what's on your plate. A look through a restaurant take-away menu offers such dishes as "mushy peas," steak and kidney pie, fish and chips, and "bangers and mash."

Here are some well-known British dishes for eating at each meal:

Breakfast: A full English country breakfast includes meat, eggs, pancakes or toast and side dishes like hash and bangers and mash, which are sausage and mashed potatoes. It's a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal, the sort that is set on the table for dinner in most other cultures. Breakfast might often include leftovers from last night's dinner, diced and fried together with seasonings and butter, sometimes called country hash.

Tea: The tradition of mid-afternoon tea has been observed by the British for centuries. Among the most common dishes served at mid-afternoon tea are finger-foods like crumpets with jam and clotted cream, dainty watercress sandwiches, and scones with raisins or dried fruits.

Sunday Dinner: The Sunday dinner has a long tradition as being a family occasion, the one meal of the week at which all family members gathered. A roast joint of meat, which can be beef, lamb, pork or chicken, is nearly a requirement, and it is served with a potato and vegetable, and very often accompanied by Yorkshire pudding.

Puddings and custards enjoy a place of prominence in British cuisine. Baked, boiled or steamed, puddings are usually made with suet and breading, and studded with dried fruits and nuts. One of the most popular and delightful British desserts is the trifle, and there are nearly many variations. The base is a sponge cake, often left over from another meal. Soaked in Madeira or port, it is layered in a dish with custard, jam, fruits, and Jell-O and topped with whipped cream. The final result is a delicious mélange that features all that is good about British cookery: plain, practical food preparation that is meant to fill the belly and satisfy the tongue.

English Cuisine, Country Cookin'

British cuisine varies widely, depending on what part of the country you're visiting. The cuisine of London, for example, is far different from the cuisine of Yorkshire, or the cuisine of tiny, unfamiliar regions scattered across the country and virtually unknown to Americans and the rest of the world. Many hold the opinion that the true cuisine of the British is not what is found in the big cities, but the unknown treasures of the table that are hiding in the farmlands and countrysides and old villages across the U.K.

If you wander the British countryside, and you stop at a local pub or restaurant for breakfast, prepare yourself for an experience. As discussed above, the classic British breakfast is a large meal, bigger than what we're used to as Americans, and most of it tends to be fried (terrible for your health). Fried bacon and eggs, fried bread, and fried tomatoes are standards in country cooking. The true British countryside experience involves a breakfast that will jam a woodchipper, to quote Tony Soprano.

Asking for coffee with your breakfast in the UK is a big no-no. Give tea a try. British cuisine leans heavily on tea, served with milk and sugar, the latter of which is usually coarse, brown, and unrefined. Tea is served for any meal and any time in between. It's just as quintessentially British as it sounds.

Any typical British meal, whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner, tends to have some form of potatoes. The British rely heavily on potatoes in the countryside, and they serve them in very traditional manners. A wonderful British treat is something called a pasty. Meat, potatoes, vegetables and warm gravy are wrapped in a flaky bakery crust and sold ready to eat. Pasties are treated like take-out sandwiches or fast food, as you can walk down the street with a paper cone or napkin wrapped around them. They keep your hands warm too, which is a must during the cold winters or rainy days.

The other major staple of typical British country food is fish and chips. Fish and chip shops abound in all cities in England. British fish and chips are amazingly crackly, cooked until the coating is rich brown and salty, and the meat inside tender, white, and flaky. Chips, or potato wedges, are served hot and crispy on the side, and generally the whole thing is smothered in as much vinegar and salt as the consumer's mouth and stomach can stand. There is something distinctly British about malt vinegar, which sits on the tables at restaurants like American ketchup.

The smells and flavors of traditional English cuisine are well worth experiencing. If you find yourself in Britain, take time out to explore the sites, the back pathways and rolling fields. And stop at a bakery for a pasty, stop at a shop for fish and chips. Order tea instead of coffee, if you drink that horrible stuff.

The British experience just isn't the same if you miss out on the marvelous tradition of authentic British food.

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