British cuisine

Once thought to be an oxymoron by the culinary minded, British cuisine once had a reputation as being take-away food or the unfashionable meat and two veg.

In fact, there are several distinct types of cookery in the United Kingdom. While some people may eat only one type of cuisine, many switch between them during the course of the week.

Table of contents

1 Industrial-Era Foods
2 Take-Away Food
3 New Cuisine
4 Traditional Cuisine
5 Alcoholic drinks
6 Vegetarianism
7 Lists

7.1 Modern practitioners of British Cuisine
7.2 Examples of British Cuisine
7.3 Traditional foods and drinks
7.4 Meals

8 Rationing
9 References
10 See Also

10.5 External Links

Industrial-Era Foods

The Industrial Revolution that began in Britain in the 18th century is responsible for the former poor reputation of British food. Unlike the populations of most other countries, by the mid 19th century the majority of the British population were working in city factories and living in very poor housing. The new working classes had lost contact with the land and the standard of cooking declined as a result.

In the home, food was indeed frequently reduced to "meat and two veg", perhaps with stews and soups. The rationing of most foods during (and for some years after) World War II did little to assist the situation, though it did raise the average nutritional standards of the population to levels never previously achieved - from which they have since declined. However post-war population movements, foreign holidays and immigration to the UK led to the increasing absorption of influences from former colonies (e.g. India) and from Europe (particularly France and Italy). Italian-American influence is now ubiquitous and pasta or pizza make a significant contribution to many diets.

These trends are exemplified by the ubiquitous spaghetti bolognese (known colloquially as Spag Bol) 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 like chicken tikka masala and lemon chicken, from Indian and Chinese origins respectively though modified to suit British tastes (Chicken Tikka Masala was indeed first prepared in London rather than in India). The British curry, essentially a hangover from the days of Empire (and subsequently embellished by immigration), is far more hot and spicy than the traditional North Indian variety, though Indians from the southern provinces 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. Consequently British students attending university and living away from home for the first time can often be seen with a copy of a basic cookery book for beginners which includes such 'recipes' as 'boiled egg'.

Take-Away Food

The rise of the industrial revolution was also paralled by the advent of take-away foods such as fish and chips, and steak and kidney pie with mashed potato. These were the staples of the UK take-away business for many years, though here too ethnic influences, particularly Indian and Chinese, have lead to the introduction of ethnic take-away foods. From the 1980s onwards, a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the area around Birmingham, gradually spreading to other parts of the country.

New Cuisine

The rise in popularity of celebrity chefs on television has fuelled an increase in the 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 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 from being an eatery of poor reputation to rivalling the best restaurants - very often they now are the best restaurants. 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 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.

Traditional Cuisine

Despite the fast-food reputation, traditional British cuisine has survived (largely in the countryside and amongst the upper classes).

The Sunday roast is perhaps the biggest culinary indication of a steadfastly traditional household. The Sunday dinner traditionally begins with a Yorkshire pudding (either as a first course or as part of the main meal), followed by a joint of meat and assorted vegetables. The more usual joints are beef, lamb or pork, and chicken is also popular. Since its wide-spread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey. Game meats such as venison are traditionally the domain of the higher classes. Game, while being a classic English preserve, 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, spotted dick and trifle. The traditional accompaniment is custard. The dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to generation. The pudding tradition reaches its height with the Christmas pudding.

At teatime, traditional British fare includes scones with butter and jam, as well as assorted biscuits and sandwiches. 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. A hand-made favourite is butterfly cake. Children learn the methods to bake such sweets during cookery lessons at school.

Tea remains the most common accompaniment to all family meals, and is consumed throughout the day. Coffee is much less common than in continental Europe. However, coffee is rising in popularity (and quality), while tea though still an essential part of British life is less ubiquitous than it was. In more formal contexts wine is generally served.

The full English breakfast (or "cooked breakfast") also remains a culinary classic. Somerset Maugham is quoted as saying "To eat well in England, you should have breakfast three times a day." Fortunately it need no longer be true. In any case relatively few people now eat the traditional breakfast.

Alcoholic drinks

Britons have developed alcoholic drinks like gin and whisky. For centuries, the British market was the main customer of sweet wines like sherry, Port wine and Madeira wine.

Vegetarianism

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. It is currently (2003) estimated that there are between 3 and 4 million vegetarians in the UK, one of the highest percentages in the western world. Around 7 million people claim to eat no red meat. Its now rare to find no vegetarian foods in a supermarket or on a restaurant menu.