English cuisine

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Contents

[edit] Background

English cuisine is shaped by the country's temperate climate, its island geography and its history. The latter includes interactions with other European countries, and the importing of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America, China and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration.

As a result, traditional foods with ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish, are now matched in popularity by potatoes, tomatoes and chillies from the Americas, spices and curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine and Italian cuisine, once considered alien, are also now admired and copied. Britain was also quick to adopt the innovation of fast food from the United States, and continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world.

These trends are exemplified by the ubiquitous spaghetti bolognese which has been a common family meal in Britain since at least the 1960s. More recently there has been a huge growth in the popularity of dishes influenced by the Indian Sub-Continent (a throwback to the times of British influence in the region), though modified to suit British tastes. The British curry, essentially a holdover from the days of the British Raj (and subsequently embellished by immigrants), may be hotter and spicier than the traditional North Indian variety, though Bangladeshis and Southern Indians find it insipid. The post-war introduction of refrigeration, in parallel with the rise of the supermarket, has led to the packaging of such foods into oven-ready meals which, often cooked by microwave oven, have now replaced "meat and two veg" in many homes.

[edit] New cuisine

The increasing popularity of celebrity chefs on television has fuelled a renewed awareness of good food and New British cuisine has shaken off much of the stodgy "fish and chips" image. The best London restaurants rival those anywhere in the world, in both quality and price, and this influence is starting to be felt in the rest of the country. There is even a wave of chefs struggling to retain the classic greatness of British country cooking, for example Fergus Henderson.

There has been a massive boom in restaurant numbers driven by a renewed interest in quality food, possibly due to the availability of cheap foreign travel. Organic produce is increasingly popular, especially following a spate of farming crises, including BSE.

There has also been a quiet revolution in both quality and quantity of places to dine out in Britain, in particular, the humble Public House has been transformed in the last twenty or so years. Many have made the transition from eateries of poor reputation to rivals of the best restaurants, the so called Gastropub — very often they now are the best restaurants in smaller towns. The term "Pub Grub", once derogatory, can now be a sign of excellent value and quality dining. Some credit for this sea change has to go to the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), for helping to improve the quality of pubs and their products in general, and some to the privatisation of breweries, which forced many pubs to diversify into dining in order to survive as a business, as well as a greater appreciation and demand among consumers.

[edit] Traditional cuisine

"To eat well in England, you should have breakfast three times a day."
—William Somerset Maugham (attributed)

Ulster fry, a variant of British cooked breakfasts
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Ulster fry, a variant of British cooked breakfasts

The Sunday roast is perhaps the most common feature of British cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb or pork, or a roast chicken and assorted vegetables, themselves generally roasted or boiled and served with a thick gravy. Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy is often served as either a starter or accompaniment to the main course. Since its wide-spread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey. Game meats such as venison which were traditionally the domain of higher classes are occasionally also eaten by those wishing to experiment with a wider choice of foods, due to their promotion by Celebrity Chefs, such as Antony Worrall Thompson, although it is not generally eaten in the average household.

At home, the British have many original home-made desserts such as rhubarb crumble, bread and butter pudding, trifle and spotted dick. The traditional accompaniment is custard, known as crème anglaise (English sauce or English Cream) to the French. The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation. There is also Christmas pudding.

Fish and chips
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Fish and chips

Notably, Britain is famous for its fish and chips and has a huge number of restaurants and take-away shops catering to it. It is possibly the most popular and uniquely British dish, and is traditionally served with a side order of mushy peas, sliced bread and butter and a cup of tea. The advent of take-away foods during the industrial revolution, led to foods such as fish and chips, mushy peas, and steak and kidney pie with mashed potato (pie and mash). These were the staples of the UK take-away business, indeed British diets for many years, though ethnic influences, particularly Indian and Chinese, have led to the introduction of ethnic take-away foods.[1] From the 1980s onwards, a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the West Midlands, and by the mid 1990s was commonplace in Indian restaurants and takeaways over the country. Kebab houses, pizza restaurants and American-style fried chicken restaurants aiming at late night snacking have also become popular in urban areas.

Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and yorkshire pudding
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Sunday roast consisting of roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and yorkshire pudding

At teatime, especially in Devon and neighbouring counties, meals eaten include scones with jam and butter or clotted cream, while nationwide, assorted biscuits and sandwiches are often eaten. Teatime is not practised by many British people in the 21st century, having been replaced by snacking, or simply ignored, although regional variations do exist and many areas such as Devon and Cornwall feature establishments catering to tourists with traditional cream teas.

The full English breakfast (also known as "cooked breakfast" or "fried breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Its contents vary, but it normally consists of a combination of bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, sausages, eggs (fried, scrambled or boiled) and other variations on these ingredients and others. Hash browns are sometimes added, though this is not considered traditional.

Bacon Sandwiches, often referred to as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties" are commonplace as well, sometimes eaten as an informal outdoor breakfast or in midmorning as a workplace snack.

A unique sandwich filling is Marmite, a dark brown savoury spread made from yeast extract, with a tar-like texture and a strong, salty taste. There are also butterfly cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain.

Tea, usually served with milk, is consumed throughout the day and is sometimes drunk with meals. Coffee is perhaps a little less common than in continental Europe, but is still drunk by many, typically with milk. Italian coffee preparations such as espresso and cappuccino are popular, especially in more urban areas, while tea, though still an essential part of British life, is less ubiquitous than it was. In recent years herbal teas and specialty teas have become popular. In more formal contexts wine can be served with meals, though for semi-formal and informal meals beer or cider may also be drunk.

Kedgeree, a popular breakfast dish in the Victorian era
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Kedgeree, a popular breakfast dish in the Victorian era

In the Victorian era, during the British Raj, Britain first started borrowing Indian dishes, creating Anglo-Indian cuisine, some of which is still eaten today although many once-popular Anglo-Indian dishes such as kedgeree have largely faded from the scene.

Another formal British culinary tradition rarely observed today is the consumption of a savoury course, such as Welsh rarebit, toward the conclusion of a meal. Most main meals today end with a sweet dessert, although cheese and biscuits may be consumed as an alternative or as an addition. In Yorkshire, fruit cake is often served with Wensleydale cheese. For formal meals, coffee is a usual culminatory drink.

[edit] Reputation abroad

English cuisine still suffers from a relatively poor international reputation, being typically represented by dishes consisting of simply cooked meats and vegetables (so called "meat and two veg") that need to be accompanied by bottled sauces or other condiments after cooking to make them more palatable. Many think that food served in England often fails to reach the same general level of excellence that can easily be found across the English Channel in France. In fact French president Jacques Chirac in 2005 openly proclaimed that English food was the second-worst in Europe, after Finnish. However it can be observed that traditional English food, with its heavy emphasis on 'meat-vegetable-and-potatoes' falls squarely into the north European tradition extending from Austria and Germany to the Low Countries and Scandinavia, albeit with a marked French influence.

During the Middle Ages, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation;[citation needed] its decline can be firmly traced back to the late 18th century when the majority of the English population began to move away from the land, and was compounded by the effects of rationing during two World Wars (rationing finally ended in 1954), followed by the increasing trend toward industrialised mass production of food. However, in Britain today there is more interest in food than there has ever been before, with celebrity chefs leading the drive toward raising the standard of food in the UK.

In 2005 British cuisine reached new heights when 600 food critics writing for Restaurant magazine named 14 British restaurants among the 50 best restaurants in the world with the number one spot going to The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire and its chef Heston Blumenthal. However, many of the restaurants, while located in the UK, do not serve traditional British cuisine - for example, Le Gavroche which serves French food - or are headed by non-British chefs such as Pierre Gagnaire.

Gastropub ready meal from Marks & Spencer
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Gastropub ready meal from Marks & Spencer

Despite the availability of better quality fare, pre-packaged "ready meals" that require little preparation time have become more popular over the last 30 years - but they have themselves advanced considerably from their very basic beginnings.

[edit] Vegetarianism

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Since the end of World War II when their numbers were around 100,000, increasing numbers of the British population have adopted vegetarianism, especially since the BSE crisis of the 1990s. As of 2003 it was estimated that there were between 3 and 4 million vegetarians in the UK, one of the highest percentages in the western world, and around 7 million people claim to eat no red meat. It is rare not to find vegetarian foods in a supermarket or on a restaurant menu.

[edit] Lists

[edit] English food writers and chefs

[edit] Examples of English cuisine

For fuller lists, see the English section of the list of recipes and Category:British cuisine. For traditional foods protected under European law, see British Protected designation of origin.

Savoury dishes
Sweet dishes

[edit] Meals

breakfast, elevenses, brunch, lunch, dinner, supper, dessert, Tea

[edit] Dates of introduction of various foodstuffs and methods to Britain

[edit] Prehistory (before 43 AD)

[edit] Roman era (43 to 410)

[edit] Middle ages to the discovery of the New World (410 to 1492)

[edit] 1492 to 1914

[edit] After 1914

[edit] Rationing

See the article on rationing in the United Kingdom during and after World War II (which started in World War II and lasted for several years afterward)

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Grove, P., Grove, C. "The History of the 'Ethnic' Restaurant in Britain", Menu Magazine [1]
  2. ^ Mrs Beeton, the most famous cookery writer in British history and author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management
  3. ^ a b c d "Bread in Antiquity", Bakers' Federation website [2]
  4. ^ "Unearthing the ancestral rabbit", British Archaeology, Issue 86, January/February 2006 [3]
  5. ^ a b "Cooking by country: England", recipes4us.co.uk, Feb 2005 [4]
  6. ^ "Chives", Steenbergs Organic Pepper & Spice [5]
  7. ^ Grieve, M. "Mints", botanical.com - A Modern Herbal [6]
  8. ^ Hovis Fact File (PDF)
  9. ^ a b c d e "Food History Timeline", BBC/Open University [7]
  10. ^ Lee, J. R. "Philippine Sugar and Environment", Trade Environment Database (TED) Case Studies, 1997 [8]
  11. ^ Stolarczyk, J. "Carrot History Part Two - A.D. 200 to date" [9]
  12. ^ Turkey Club UK [10]
  13. ^ DeWitt, D. "Pepper Profile: Cayenne", fiery-foods.com [11]
  14. ^ "Properties and Uses: Parsley", Herbs and Aromas [12]
  15. ^ a b "Fruits Lemon to Quince", The Foody UK & Ireland [13]
  16. ^ Coleman, D. "horseradish", Herb & Spice Dictionary [14]
  17. ^ Dunlop, F. "Tea", BBC Food [15]
  18. ^ Forbes, K. A. "Bermuda's Flora" [16]
  19. ^ "Coffee in Europe", The Roast & Post Coffee Company [17]
  20. ^ "Vitamin C - Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts", Your Produce Man, April 2005 [18]
  21. ^ Cox, S. "I Say Tomayto, You Say Tomahto...", landscapeimagery.com, 2000 [19]
  22. ^ "National Rhubarb Collection", RHS Online, 2006 [20]
  23. ^ "Marmite", Unilever brand page [21]
  24. ^ "Pot Noodle", Unilever brand page [22]

[edit] References

  • Hartley, Dorothy — Food in England, Macdonald, 1954; Little, Brown, 1996, ISBN 0-316-85205-8. This is a charmingly old-fashioned survey of the history of English food from prehistory to 1954, full of folk wisdom and recipes (not all practical).

[edit] External links

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