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BRITISH FOOD : 

BRITISH FOOD Alexandru Visan

British Food : 

British Food Today I want to talk about food in general and especially in the United Kingdom. Food is the most important thing in everyone’s life because it is the base of our existence. Humanity always tried to improve the taste of food and we are finding new ways of cooking and preparing it. So I would say today for most of us eating and drinking is more than a job that we have to do, but it is fun and perhaps a kind of hobby. Many people believe that British food is strange or even tasteless and eating it is more torture than fun. I personally have never really tried British meals or drinks or specialties, but I think that such a great mass of people can’t be wrong when they say that British food doesn’t taste good at all.

MEALS and MEAL TIMES : 

MEALS and MEAL TIMES Some people have their biggest meal in the middle of the day and some have it in the evening, but most people today have a small mid-day meal - usually sandwiches, and perhaps some crisps and some fruit. We have three main meals a day: Breakfast - between 7:00 and 9:00, Lunch - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m. Dinner (sometimes called Supper) - The main meal. Eaten anytime between 6:30 and 8:00 p.m. (Evening meal)

MEALS and MEAL TIMES : 

MEALS and MEAL TIMES Traditionally, and for some people still, the meals are called: Breakfast - between 7:00 and 9:00, Dinner (The main meal) - between 12:00 and 1:30 p.m. Tea - anywhere from 5:30 at night to 6:30 p.m. On Sundays the main meal of the day is often eaten at midday instead of in the evening. This meal usually is a Roast Dinner consisting of a roast meat, yorkshire pudding and two or three kinds of vegetables.

BREAKFAST : 

BREAKFAST Most people around the world seem to think a typical English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms and baked beans all washed down with a cup of coffee. Now-a-days, however, a typical English breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of cereals, a slice of toast, orange juice and a cup of coffee. Many people, especially children, in England will eat a bowl of cereal. They are made with different grains such as corn, wheat, oats etc. In the winter many people will eat "porridge" or boiled oats.

Traditional English Breakfast : 

Traditional English Breakfast The traditional English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms. Even though not many people will eat this for breakfast today, it is always served in hotels and guest houses around Britain. The traditional English breakfast is called the 'Full English' and sometimes referred to as 'The Full English Fry-up'.

LUNCH : 

LUNCH In England lunch can have several courses with a starter like supper, then a main course like meat or fish with vegetables then a pudding or dessert like an apple-pie and then perhaps, cheese or biscuits, but in general it is far less important than in Austria for example. Some traditional British meals are: Haggis (This originally Scottish dish is made from oatmeal, sheep’s heart, lungs an liver) Fish `n` chips (This is the best known typical English meal) And at the end of the meal Yorkshire pudding (a mixture of eggs, milk, water and salt) or Syllabub (sweetened whipped cream with wine).

LUNCH : 

LUNCH Many children at school and adults at work will have a 'packed lunch'. This typically consists of a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink. The 'packed lunch' is kept in a plastic container. Sandwiches are also known as a 'butty' or 'sarnie' in some parts of the UK. Some of the favourite sandwiches are prawn and mayonnaise, tuna and mayonnaise, and ham and pickle sandwiches.

DINNER : 

DINNER In the evening it is time for dinner. Many people like to eat in a restaurant especially in the evening, because it is different from eating at home and you can be sure that the quality of the food is ok most of the time. The evening meal is usually called 'tea', 'dinner' or 'supper'.

Traditional English Dinner : 

Traditional English Dinner A typical British meal for dinner is "meat and two veg". We put hot brown gravy, (traditionally made from the juices of the roast meat, but more often today from a packet!) on the meat and usually the vegetables. One of the vegetables is almost always potatoes.

English Dinner Today : 

English Dinner Today The traditional meal is rarely eaten nowadays, apart from on Sundays. A recent survey found that most people in Britain eat curry! Rice or pasta dishes are now favoured as the 'British Dinner'. Vegetables grown in England, like potatoes, carrots, peas, cabbages and onions, are still very popular.

The Sunday Roast Dinner : 

The Sunday Roast Dinner Sunday lunch time is a typical time to eat the traditional Sunday Roast. Traditionally it consists of roast meat, (cooked in the oven for about two hours), two different kinds of vegetables and potatoes with a Yorkshire pudding. The most common joints are beef, lamb or pork; chicken is also popular. Beef is eaten with hot white horseradish sauce, pork with sweet apple sauce and lamb with green mint sauce. Gravy is poured over the meat.

Tea : 

Tea Tea is the typical British drink. The typical tea consists of bread and butter and jam. Cookies and biscuits. But tea is not an English invention. It was intentioned 5000 years ago by the Chinese and was first brought to England by sailors in the seventeenth century. Throughout the last two centuries its popularity raised extremely and soon it was the national drink of England.

Tea : 

Tea Teatasting is a real job in England and it takes about five years to train a professional tea taster. There exist hundreds of different types and flavours of tea today – one of the best is the Darjeeling tea that should be drunken with a slice of milk. An average Britain drinks about thirty cups of tea a week and this is about 50% of the total amount of liquid he drinks.

Afternoon Tea : 

Afternoon Tea The traditional 4 o'clock tea This is a small meal, not a drink. Traditionally it consists of tea (or coffee) served with either of the following: Freshly baked scones served with cream and jam (Known as a cream tea) Afternoon tea sandwiches - thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off. Assorted pastries

Afternoon Tea today : 

Afternoon Tea today Afternoon tea is not common these days because most adults go out to work. However, you can still have Afternoon tea at the many tea rooms around England. Afternoon tea became popular about one hundred and fifty years ago, when rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for an afternoon cup of tea. They started offering their visitors sandwiches and cakes too. Soon everyone was enjoying Afternoon tea.

HIGH TEA : 

HIGH TEA The traditional 6 o'clock tea The British working population did not have Afternoon Tea. They had a meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven o'clock. This meal was called 'high tea' or just 'tea'. Traditionally eaten early evening, High tea was a substantial meal that combined delicious sweet foods, such as scones, cakes, buns or tea breads, with tempting savouries, such as cheese on toast, toasted crumpets, cold meats and pickles or poached eggs on toast. This meal is now often replaced with a supper due to people eating their main meal in the evenings rather than at midday.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES : 

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES Roast beef and Yorkshire puddingThis is England's traditional Sunday lunch, which is a family affair. Yorkshire PuddingThis dish is not usually eaten as a dessert like other puddings but instead as part of the main course or at a starter. Yorkshire pudding, made from flour, eggs and milk, is a sort of batter baked in the oven and usually moistened with gravy. The traditional way to eat a Yorkshire pudding is to have a large, flat one filled with gravy and vegetables as a starter of the meal. Then when the meal is over, any unused puddings should be served with jam or ice-cream as a dessert. Toad-in-the-Hole (sausages covered in batter and roasted.)Similar to Yorkshire Pudding but with sausages placed in the batter before cooking.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES : 

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES Roast Meats ( cooked in the oven for about two hours)Typical meats for roasting are joints of beef, pork, lamb or a whole chicken. More rarely duck, goose, gammon, turkey or game are eaten.Beef is eaten with hot white horseradish sauce, pork with sweet apple sauce and lamb with green mint sauce. Fish and chipsFish (cod, haddock, huss, plaice) deep fried in flour batter with chips (fried potatoes) dressed in malt vinegar. This is England's traditional take-away food or as US would say "to go". Fish and chips are not normally home cooked but bought at a fish and chip shop ("chippie" ) to eat on premises or as a "take away“ Ploughman's Lunch This dish is served in Pubs. It consists of a piece of cheese, a bit of pickle and pickled onion, and a chunk of bread.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES : 

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES Shepherds' Pie Made with minced lamb and vegetables topped with mashed potato) Cottage Pie Made with minced beef and vegetables topped with mashed potato. Gammon Steak with egg (Gammon is ham) A casserole of meat and vegetables topped with sliced potatoes.

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES : 

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES Pie and Mash with parsley liquor A very traditional East End London meal. The original pies were made with eels because at the time eels were a cheaper product than beef. About fifty years ago, mince beef pies replaced the eels and have now become the traditional pie and mash that people know.The traditional pie and mash doesn't come without its famous sauce known as liquor which is a curious shade of green and definitely non-alcoholic. The liquor tastes much nicer than it looks (it's bright green!). Jellied eels are also an East End delicacy often sold with pie and mash Typically made from cold vegetables that have been left over from a previous meal, often the Sunday roast. The chief ingredients are potato and cabbage, but carrots, peas, brussels sprouts, and other vegetables can be added. The cold chopped vegetables (and cold chopped meat if used) are fried in a pan together with mashed potato until the mixture is well-cooked and brown on the sides. The name is a description of the action and sound made during the cooking process. Eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, mushrooms, baked beans

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES : 

TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISHES Bangers and Mash (mashed potatoes and sausages).Bangers are sausages in England. (The reason sausages were nicknamed bangers is that during wartime rationing they were so filled with water they often exploded when they were fried.) Black Pudding (Blood Pudding) Looks like a black sausage. It is made from dried pigs blood and fat). Eaten at breakfast time.Black pudding recipes vary from region to region, some are more peppery and some are more fatty than others. text taken from and copyright of projcetbritain.com Bacon Roly-Poly (made with a suet pastry) Cumberland sausage This famous pork sausage is usually presented coiled up like a long rope

Puddings : 

Puddings There are hundreds of variations of sweet puddings in England, but each pudding begins with the same basic ingredients of milk, sugar, eggs, flour and butter and many involve fresh fruit such as raspberries or strawberries, custard, cream, and cakes. The more traditional and well known home-made puddings are apple or rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, spotted dick and trifle. The traditional accompaniment is custard, known as crème anglaise (English sauce) to the French. The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation.

Puddings : 

Puddings Favourites include: Spotted Dick (Also called Spotted Dog)Spotted dick is a steamed suet pudding containing dried fruit (usually currants), commonly served with either custard or butter and brown sugar TrifleMade with layers of sponge cake altternate with custard, jam or fruit and Whipped Cream. Sometimes alcohol-soaked sponge cake is used. Apple CrumbleOften served with thick cream, ice cream or custard. Hasty PuddingA simple and quick (thus the name) steamed pudding of milk, flour, butter, eggs, and cinnamon. Bakewell pudding - also called Bakewell Tart.

Puddings : 

Puddings CustardA thick, rich, sweet mixture made by gently cooking together egg yolks, sugar, milk or cream, and sometimes other flavorings. Most people today use a yellow powder mixed with milk, water and sugar. Custard can be served as a hot sauce, poured over a dessert, or as a cold layer in, for example, a trifle. When it is cold, it 'sets' and becomes firm. Bread and butter pudding - old English favourite Semolina PuddingA smooth, creamy pudd made of milk, eggs, flavouring and sugaring. Semolina is cooked slowly in milk, sweetened with sugar and flavoured with vanilla and sometimes enriched with egg. Semolina pudding can be served with raisins, currants or sultanas stirred in or with a dollop of jam. Roly-poly A pudding made of jam or fruit rolled up in pastry dough and baked or steamed until soft. English Crumpets A tasty "muffin" that goes great with tea, and spread with butter and preserves. Mince PiesPastry shells filled with mince meat, and sometimes brandy or rum. Traditionally aten at Christmas time Treacle puddingA steamed pudding with a syrup topping. Jelly and Ice CreamA favourite party food for children.

Pies : 

Pies Pies are a baked dish consisting of a filling such as chopped meat or fruit enclosed in or covered with pastry ( a mixture of flour and butter).   Favourite meat (savoury) pies include: Pork pieA pork pie consists of pork and pork jelly in a hot water crust pastry and is normally eaten cold. Recipe Steak and Kidney pieA traditional English dish consisting of a cooked mixture of chopped beef, kidneys, onions, mushrooms and beef stock. This mixture is placed in a pie or casserole dish, covered with a pastry crust and baked until crisp and brown.

Pies : 

Pies Cornish pastie / Cornish pastyA type of pie, originating in Cornwall, South West England. It is an oven-cooked pastry case traditionally filled with diced meat - nowadays beef mince (ground beef) or steak - potato, onion and swede. It has a semicircular shape, caused by folding a circular pastry sheet over the filling. One edge is crimped to form a seal. Stargazy Pie Herrings are cooked whole in a pie. with their heads looking skyward and tails in the middle. Favourite fruit (sweet) pies include: Apple pie Rhubarb pie, Blackberry pie, A mixture of fruits such as apple and rhubarb or apple and blackberry.

Cakes : 

Cakes Lardy Cake The Victoria Sponge - Named after Queen Victoria Parkin - A spicey cake combining oatmeal and ginger. Traditionally enjoyed around Guy Fawkes Night (November 5) Simnel Cake - A traditional cake for Easter and Mothering Sunday (Mothers' Day) Apple and Plum Crumble with custard Served hot or cold with cream, custard or ice cream. Apple and Blackberry Crumble Served hot or cold with cream, custard or ice cream. Vanilla creme brulee with a Shrewsbury biscuit

Cakes : 

Cakes Lemon Meringue  - served cold with cream or ice cream. Strawberry cheesecake - with strawberry sauce Bread & Butter Pudding - served hot with custard Sticky toffee pudding - with vannila ice cream toffee sauce Ice creams - strawberry and cream, vanilla, chocolate, rum and raisin and honeycomb Sorbets - raspberry, lemon, blackcurrant, mandarin and apple Cheeses - Stilton, Shropshire blue, Appleby's Cheshire and Mrs Kirkham's Smoked Lancashire cheeses served with celery, grapes and biscuits

Cheeses : 

Cheeses Cheese is enjoyed by over 98% of British households. Cheddar is a clear favourite, accounting for over 57% of the market, and is bought regularly by 94% of households. It is a hard cheese with a strong, nutty taste. Cheddar originates from a village in Somerset in western England, also famous for its gorge. There are six varieties of cheddar - mild, medium, mature, vintage, Farmhouse and West Country.

Cheeses : 

Cheeses Cheese VarietiesEnglish people have a great love for cheese and over 400 varieties of cheese are produced in England. They all have have unique flavours and textures. The most common are the harder varieties such as Cheddar, Stilton, Red Leicester, Cheshire and Double Gloucester. Named after placesMany cheeses are named after the place or area they are made. These cheeses include Caerphilly, Cheshire, Derby, Double Gloucester, Lancashire, Red Leicester, Stilton and Wensleydale. Specialty cheesesSpecialty cheeses include the Cornish Yarg, Shropshire Blue, Somerset Brie and Camembert.

Traditional Drinks : 

Traditional Drinks Tea Britain is a tea-drinking nation. Every day we drink 165 million cups of the stuff and each year around 144 thousand tons of tea are imported. Tea in Britain is traditionally brewed in a warmed china teapot, adding one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot. Most Britons like their tea strong and dark, but with a lot of milk. Years ago, the milk was poured into the cup first, so as not to crack the porcelain.

Traditional Drinks : 

Traditional Drinks The traditional way of making tea is: Boil some fresh cold water. (We use an electric kettle to boil water) Put some hot water into the teapot to make it warm. Pour the water away Put one teaspoon of tea-leaves per person, and one extra tea-spoon, into the pot. Pour boiling water onto the tea. Leave for a few minutes. Serve

Traditional Drinks : 

Traditional Drinks CoffeeCoffee is now as popular in Britain as tea is. People either drink it with milk or have it black and either have freshly- made coffee or instant coffee. BitterBritain is also well known for its ale which tends to be dark in appearance and heavier than lager. It is known as "bitter" Bitter is served in Pubs WineBritain's wine industry is growing from strength to strength and we now have over 300 wine producers. A growing number of British vineyards are now producing sparkling white wine as well as full bodied red wine. There are over 100 vineyard in Kent.

Eating Etiquette : 

Eating Etiquette The British generally pay a lot of attention to good table manners. Even young children are expected to eat properly with knife and fork. We eat most of our food with cutlery. The foods we don't eat with a knife, fork or spoon include sandwiches, crisps, corn on the cob, and fruit. If you cannot eat a certain type of food or have some special needs, tell your host several days before the dinner party. If you are a guest, it is polite to wait until your host starts eating or indicates you should do so. It shows consideration. Always chew and swallow all the food in your mouth before taking more or taking a drink.

Eating Etiquette : 

Eating Etiquette You may eat chicken and pizza with your fingers if you are at a barbecue, finger buffet or very informal setting. Otherwise always use a knife and fork. Always say thank you when served something. It shows appreciation. When eating rolls, break off a piece of bread before buttering. Eating it whole looks tacky. On formal dining occasions it is good manners to take some butter from the butter dish with your bread knife and put it on your side plate (for the roll). Then butter pieces of the roll using this butter. This pevents the butter in the dish getting full of bread crumbs as it is passed around.

Eating Etiquette : 

Eating Etiquette It is ok to pour your own drink when eating with other people, but it is more polite to offer pouring drinks to the people sitting on either side of you. It is ok to put milk and sugar in your tea and coffee or to drink them both without either. When you have finished eating, and to let others know that you have, place your knife and fork together, with the prongs (tines) on the fork facing upwards, on your plate.   In a restaurant, it is normal to pay for your food by putting your money on the plate the bill comes on.

Things you should not do: : 

Things you should not do: Never lick or put your knife in your mouth. It is impolite to start eating before everyone has been served unless your host says that you don't need to wait. Never chew with your mouth open. No one wants to see food being chewed or hearing it being chomped on. It is impolite to have your elbows on the table while you are eating. Don't reach over someone's plate for something, ask for the item to be passed. Never talk with food in your mouth. It is impolite to put too much food in your mouth. Never use your fingers to push food onto your spoon or fork. It is impolite to slurp your food or eat noisily. Never blow your nose on a napkin (serviette). Napkins are for dabbing your lips and only for that. Never take food from your neighbours plate. Never pick food out of your teeth with your fingernails.

Using Cutlery : 

Using Cutlery We eat continental style, with fork in the left hand and the knife in the right (or the other way round if you are left handed). At the top of your plate will be a dessert spoon and dessert fork. If you are eating at a formal dinner party, you will come across many knives and forks. Start with the utensils on the outside and work your way inward with each subsequent course The fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right. If you have a knife in one hand, it is wrong to have a fork in the other with the prongs (tines) pointed up. Hold your knife with the handle in your palm and your folk in the other hand with the prongs pointing downwards. When eating in formal situations, rest the fork and knife on the plate between mouthfuls, or for a break for conversation. If you put your knife down, you can turn your fork over. It's correct to change hands when you do this, too, so if you are right handed you would switch and eat with the fork in your right hand.  If it is your sole eating instrument, the fork should be held with the handle between the index finger and the thumb and resting on the side of your middle finger.

How to eat: : 

How to eat: SoupWhen eating soup, tip the bowl away from you and scoop the soup up with your spoon. Soup should always be taken (without slurping of course) from the side of the spoon, and not from the 'end' as in most of the rest of Europe. PeasTo be very polite, peas should be crushed onto the fork - a fork with the prongs pointing down. The best way is to have load the fork with something to which they will stick, such as potato or a soft vegetable that squashes easily onto the fork. It's sometimes easier to put down your knife and then switch your fork to the other hand, so you can shovel the peas against something else on the plate, thus ensuring they end up on your fork.

How to… : 

How to… Eat pudding (desserts)To eat dessert, break the dessert with the spoon, one bite at a time. Push the food with the fork (optional) into the spoon. Eat from the spoon. (Fork in left hand; spoon in right.) Use a napkin or servietteThe golden rule is that a napkin should never be used to blow your nose on. This is a definite no-no. Napkins should be placed across the lap - tucking them into your clothing may be considered 'common'.

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Thank you! Happy Eating!