British Cuisine

Since the Early Modern Period the food of England has historically been characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. This, in no small part influenced by England's Puritan heritage, has resulted in a traditional cuisine which tended to veer from strong flavours, such as garlic, and an avoidance of complex sauces which were commonly associated with Catholic Continental political affiliations.

Traditional meals have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, boiled vegetables and broths, and freshwater and saltwater fish. The 14th century English cookbook, the Forme of Cury, contains recipes for these, and dates from the royal court of Richard II. The English are justifiably famous for their gardens, and the kitchen garden has long been a source for herbs and vegetables.

Other meals, such as fish and chips, which were once urban street food eaten from newspaper with salt and malt vinegar, and pies and sausages with mashed potatoes, onions, and gravy, are now matched in popularity by curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine and Italian cuisine are also now widely adapted. 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 while at the same time rediscovering its roots in sustainable rural agriculture.

Traditional Cuisine:

A Full Country 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.

High Tea

The tradition of mid-afternoon tea has been observed by the British for centuries. This is no longer the case in the workplace, and is rarer in the home than it once was. A formal teatime meal is now often an accompaniment to tourism, particularly in Devon and neighbouring counties, where comestibles may include scones or crumpets with jam and clotted cream (together known as a cream tea). There are also butterfly cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain. Nationwide, assorted biscuits and sandwiches, such as watercress sandwiches, are eaten. Generally, however, the teatime meal has been replaced by snacking, or simply dispensed with.

Tea itself, usually served with milk, is consumed throughout the day and is sometimes also drunk with meals. In recent years herbal teas and speciality teas have also become popular. Coffee is perhaps a little less common than in continental Europe, but is still drunk by many in both its instant and percolated forms, often with milk (but rarely with cream). Italian coffee preparations such as espresso and cappuccino and modern American variants such as the frappuccino are increasingly popular, but generally purchased in restaurants or from specialist coffee shops rather than made in the home. White sugar is often added to individual cups of tea, or brown sugar to coffee, but never to the pot.

For much of the 20th century Britain had a system where fresh milk was delivered to the doorstep in reusable glass bottles in the mornings, usually by electric vehicles called "milk floats", though it has now been largely replaced by supermarket shopping.

The Sunday Roast

The Sunday roast was once the most common feature of English cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes (or boiled or mashed potatoes) accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb, pork, or a roast chicken and assorted other vegetables, themselves generally boiled and served with a gravy.

Sauces are chosen depending on the type of meat: horseradish for beef, mint sauce for lamb, apple sauce for pork, and bread sauce for chicken. Yorkshire pudding normally accompanies beef (although it was originally served first as a "filler"), sage and onion stuffing is used for pork, and usually parsley stuffing for chicken; gravy is now often served as an accompaniment to the main course.

The practice of serving a roast dinner on a Sunday is related to the elaborate preparation required, and to the housewife's practice of performing the weekly wash on a Monday, when the cold remains of the roast made an easily-assembled meal. The leftover joint could be recooked in a curry, pie, stew, or fried with cabbage, onions, and potatoes into the onomatopoeic "bubble and squeak." Sunday was once the only rest day after a six-day working week; it was also a demonstration that the household was prosperous enough to afford the cost of a better than normal meal.

An elaborate version of roast dinner is traditionally eaten at Christmas, with almost every detail rigidly specified by tradition. Since its widespread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey, superseding the goose of Dickens's time. Before the period of cheap turkeys, roast chicken would be more common than goose, goose being unsuitable for small groups of diners. 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, although it is not usually eaten frequently in the average household.

Meats

Beef is big industry in England, and the Aberdeen Angus is one of her famous beef-producing breeds. Dairy cattle are also farmed extensively. Lamb and mutton are the second most-widely consumed meats followed by pork, farmed mostly in Ireland, at a distant third. Game has always had a central role in the British diet. This reflects both the abundant richness of the forests and streams and an old aristocratic prejudice against butchered meats. Formal feasts were built around venison, rabbit, and game birds. This preference can still be seen today on the menus of good English restaurants.

Potatoes

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.

Sausages

English sausages, colloquially known as "bangers", are distinctive in that they are usually made from fresh meats and rarely smoked, dried, or strongly flavoured. Following the post World War II period, sausages tended to contain low-quality meat, fat, and rusk. (Reputedly the term "banger" derived from the excessive water added to the mix turning to steam while cooking and bursting the casing with a bang.) However, there has been a backlash in recent years, with most butchers and supermarkets now selling premium varieties.

Pork and beef are by far the most common bases, although gourmet varieties may contain venison, wild boar, etc. There are particularly famous regional varieties, such as the herbal Lincolnshire, and the long, curled Cumberland with many butchers offering their own individual recipes and variations often handed down through generations, but are generally not made from cured meats such as Italian selections or available in such a variety as found in Germany.

Most larger supermarkets in England will stock at least a dozen types of English sausage: not only Cumberland and Lincolnshire but often varieties such as Pork and Apple; Pork and Herb; Beef and Stilton; Pork and Mozzarella; and others. There are estimated to be around 400 sausage varieties in the United Kingdom.

Sausages form the basis of toad in the hole, where they are combined with a batter similar to a Yorkshire pudding and baked in the oven, this can be served with an onion gravy made by frying sliced onions for anywhere over an hour on a low heat then mixed with a stock, wine or ale then reduced to form a sauce or gravy used in bangers and mash.

Black puddings and white puddings:

A variant of the sausage is the black pudding, strongly associated with Lancashire similar to the French boudin noir or the Spanish Morcilla. It is made from pig's blood, in line with the adage that "you can eat every part of a pig except its squeal". Pig's trotters, tripe and brawn are also traditional fare in the North. There are also white puddings, similar but lacking blood.

The Pie

The English tradition of meat Pies, dates back to the Middle Ages, where originally an open top pie crust was used as the container for serving the meat and was called a coffyn. Since then, they have been a mainstay of English cooking. Different types of pastry may be used including the lard rich pastry of a raised pie. Meat pies are generally enclosed with fillings such as chicken and mushroom or steak and kidney (originally steak and oyster). Pork pies are almost always eaten cold, with the Melton Mowbray pork pie being the archetype.

Open pies or flans are generally served for dessert with fillings of seasonal fruit. Quiches and savoury flans are eaten, but not considered indigenous.

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. The Cornish pasty is a sort of portable pie used in past times by tin miners of Cornwall. Developed with a thick tough crust to be held by the hand of the miner, the clean pastry covering and filling are eaten. The crust would have then been disposed of due to the transmission of mining dirt from the miners hand to the crust. 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.

Another kind of pie is topped with mashed potato instead of pastry—for instance, shepherd's pie, with lamb, cottage pie, with beef, or fisherman's pie. As usual, there is a vast difference in quality between mass produced and hand-made versions. Good quality pies are obtainable from some pubs, traditional pie and mash shops, or specialist bakeries.

Fish

Being an island makes fishing easy for the Brits. Fish are central to the English diet. Many species swim in those cold waters: sole, haddock, hake, plaice, cod (the most popular choice for fish and chips), turbot, halibut, mullet, John Dory. Oily fishes also abound (mackerel, pilchards, and herring) as do crustaceans like lobster and oysters. Eel, also common, is cooked into a wonderful pie with lemon, parsley, and shallots, all topped with puff pastry.

Chip Shops and other Takeaways

England is internationally famous for its fish and chips and has a large number of restaurants and take-away shops selling this dish. 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.

Fish and Chops may be the most popular and identifiable English dish, however before potatoes were imported from the Americas the 'chips' would have been sections of roasted root vegetables seasoned with herbs, and salty butter. In some regions fish and chips were served with a side order of mushy peas with salt and vinegar as condiments. Foods such as scampi (a deep fried breaded prawn dish) are usually on offer as well as fishcakes (authentically a fish slice between two potato slices) and a number of other combinations.

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, and indeed of English diets, however, like many national dishes, quality can vary drastically from the commercial or mass produced product to an authentic or homemade variety using more carefully chosen ingredients.

However, ethnic influences, particularly those of Indian and Chinese, have given rise to the establishment and availability of ethnic take-away foods. 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 restaurants 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. Fusions such as chips with curry sauce, chips with kebab meat and so on are also found.

Cured Meats and Vegetables

Northern European countries generally have a tradition of salting, smoking, pickling and otherwise preserving foods. Kippers, bloaters, ham, and bacon are some of the varieties of preserved meat and fish known in England. Onions, cabbage and some other vegetables may be pickled. Smoked cheese is not common or traditional, although apple-wood smoked cheddar has become available in many supermarkets. Meats other than pork are generally not cured. The "three breakfasts a day" principle can be implemented by eating bacon sandwiches at any time. (In parts of northern England these have local names such as "bacon sarnies" or "bacon butties".)

Sandwiches

England can claim to have given the world the word "sandwich", although the eponymous John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich was not the first to add a filling to bread. Fillings such as pickled relishes and Gentleman's Relish could also be considered distinctively English. Common types of sandwich are ham, cheese, salad and non-traditional forms such as the "ploughman's lunch" (cheese and pickle).

Pickles, Preserves and Condiments

Pickles and preserves are given a twist by the influence of the British Empire. Thus, the repertoire includes chutney as well as Branston or "brown" pickle, piccalilli, pickled onions and gherkins. The Asian influence is also present in condiments such as tomato sauce (originally ketjap), Worcestershire sauce and "brown" sauce (such as HP). Because Britain is a beer-drinking nation, malt vinegar is commonly used. English mustard is strongly-flavoured and bright yellow; served with meats and cooked with cheese; internationally noted for its pungency; and particularly associated with Colman's of Norwich. Pickles often accompany a selection of sliced, cold cooked meats, or "cold collation". This dish can claim to have some international influence, since it is known in French as an "assiette anglaise".

Cheese

England is famous for its creams and butters and for its sturdy and delicious cheeses: Stilton, Cheshire and its rare cousin blue Cheshire, double Gloucester, red Leicester, sage Derby, and of course cheddar. Cheese is generally hard, and made from cows' milk. Cheddar cheese, originally made in the village of Cheddar, is by far the most common type, with many variations. Tangy Cheshire, salty Caerphilly, Sage Derby, Red Leicester, creamy Double Gloucester, pungent Lincolnshire Poacher and sweet Wensleydale are some traditional regional varieties. Cheddar and the rich, blue-veined Stilton have both been called the king of English cheeses. Cornish Yarg is a successful modern variety. The name 'Cheddar cheese' has become widely used internationally, and does not currently have a protected designation of origin (PDO). However, the European Union recognises West Country Farmhouse Cheddar as a PDO. To meet this standard the cheese must be made in the traditional manner using local ingredients in one of the four designated counties of South West England: Somerset, Devon, Dorset, or Cornwall. Sheep and goat cheeses are made chiefly by craft producers. Continental cheeses such as French Brie are sometimes also manufactured.

Savoury Course

Another English culinary tradition, rarely observed today, is the consumption of a savoury course. A savoury is the final course of a traditional British formal meal, following the sweet pudding or dessert course. The Savoury is designed to "clear the palate" before the Port is served. It generally consists of salty and plain elements. Typical savouries are Scotch woodcock, Welsh rabbit, Sardines on toast, Angels on horseback and Devils on horseback

This now though may be eaten as a snack or a light lunch or supper. Some 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. Coffee can sometimes be a culminatory drink.

Puddings and Custards

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. Other popular desserts include Eccles cake, rhubarb crumble, apple pie, treacle tart, spotted dick (soda bread with raisins) , and summer pudding. An accompaniment, custard, sometimes known as crème anglaise ("English sauce") is a substitute to "eggs and milk" made from cornflour and vanilla. These dishes are simple and traditional. There is also a dried fruit based Christmas pudding, and the almond flavoured Bakewell tart originating from the town of Bakewell. Crystallised Ginger or a Peppermint Sweet might be offered after a heavy meal to aid digestion.

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.

Other Desserts & Sweet Breads

Hot Cross Buns are eaten on Good Friday, Simnel Cake is for Mothering Sunday, Plum Pudding for Christmas, and Twelfth Night Cake for Epiphany. Local delicacies include Bath Buns, Chelsea Buns, Eccles Cakes, and Banbury Cakes.

Drinks

After Romanization, wine has been served with meals. As a less formal accompaniment to meals, or alone, varieties of beer or cider are also drunk. Elderflower and Elderberry Cordial is a refreshing and fragrant non-alcoholic beverage, made from the flowers and berries of the Elder bush. Apple juice in its fresh pressed form, and varying stages of fermentation would be drunk, warmed and spiced in the Winter time. Locally growing fruits and berry extract would also be used to flavour water with their juices. Roast Dandelion root and the fresh leaves would be made into teas and tinctures and drunk for good health. Other herbal teas such as Rose-hip, Raspberry Leaf and Nettle, amongst others, would also be drunk in this way.

Dishes of Indian Origin

In the Victorian Era, during the British Raj, Britain first started borrowing Indian dishes, creating Anglo-Indian cuisine. Kedgeree, Mulligatawny soup and Coronation chicken are traditional Anglo-Indian dishes. The process continued with many varieties of Indian curry such as chicken tikka masala in the 1960s and Balti in the 1980s. The word curry, meaning 'to spice', has been used since the medieval period. The chicken tikka masala is now considered one of Britain's most popular dishes.

Reputation Abroad

English cuisine may suffer from a relatively poor international reputation when compared to that of French cuisine and Italian cuisine. However, at least for the English, this perception of English food may seem outdated. During the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation; its decline can be traced back to the move away from the land and increasing urbanization of the populace during the Industrial Revolution. During this process Britain became a net importer of food. British food also suffered heavily from effects of rationing during two World Wars (food rationing finally ended in 1954), followed by the increasing trend toward industrialised mass production of food. However, in Britain today there is a renewed fascination with the politics and culture of food popularly led by celebrity chefs who seek to raise the standard of food understanding in the UK.

Now, the cynical may still say it's a good thing the English have worked so hard at that which covers food. But, for a moment, imagine the perfect cup of tea accompanied by scones, with clotted cream and strawberry jam, a juicy slice of beef with a dollop of strong horseradish, or the perfect piece of Scottish smoked salmon, and you just may find your mouth watering at the thought of what the British have brought to the table.

Conclusion

English food at its best is hearty, simple, delicious fare, with the food and cooking of England developed to feed the colonial empire, which in its time influenced the rest of the world. The food and cooking of England is steeped in history and heritage, and the modern face of British food presents a dynamic and thriving cuisine.

Since ancient times English food has been influenced by foreign invaders. First the Vikings, then the Romans and even the French brought to the English table a melting pot of ingredients and foods.

The invasion of the Franco-Normans brought spices of saffron, mace, nutmeg, pepper, ginger and sugar. Medieval English cookery abounds with recipes containing the exotic fare. The route of these ingredients can be traced to the modern day in traditional recipes such as Plum Pudding (Christmas Pudding), Christmas Cake and Hot Cross Buns. For centuries the English aristocracy ate only French food as a source of distinction from the peasants.

The British Empire

The British Empire’s colony in East Asia brought tea back to England. From India came the English obsession with curry, spicy sauces and condiments which now are an intrinsic part of English cuisine.

War Years

Much damage was inflicted on English cookery throughout two world wars; the war effort used up all available goods and services, leaving little for private consumption. During the Second World War food rationing of the most basic ingredients - meat, sugar, butter and eggs - continued until early into the 1950’s. It is from these years that England gained a reputation for poor cooking and became a gastronomic joke worldwide.

Food Today

Though it has taken many years, that joke is now forgotten as England has regained its reputation for some of the finest foods, best chefs, and renowned restaurants. Throughout England today there is a massive resurgence of traditional foods, recipes and cooking, using wherever possible locally produced, seasonal foods.

Food Traditions

English food traditions are many and varied. Who has not heard of its National Dishes, Afternoon Tea, The Full English Breakfast, Sunday Lunch and the tradition of the great British Pub; the inclination to drink one's beer in the evening in the company of others.

Favorite Dishes

England boasts no less than three national dishes. Roast Beef and Yorkshire Puddings and Fish and Chips, but argument rages within its shores over the third, Chicken Tikka Masala. Some say this is the new national dish; one that has evolved from the extensive ethic migration into the country from India and Pakistan. It is most certainly an English favorite.

British puddings are renowned, often steamed or baked, as in Spotted Dick. And served with custard, they are the perfect dish on a wet, winters' day. But, puddings are not always sweet. Steak and Kidney Pudding and Yorkshire Pudding are most certainly savory.

Pies and Pasties are another English favorite, again sweet and savory. Pork Pies, Steak Pies, Cornish pasties were all created for ease of carrying and eating when farm workers were in the field. No pasty, however, is complete without a dollop of English pickled onions or chutney.

Britain is currently in the throes of a food revolution, and where it's all going to end is anyone's guess. Even though Britain hasn't had a longstanding tradition of valuing food, there is still undeniably something that makes British cuisine distinctive and these new chefs are taking traditional dishes to new elevated heights.