cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/35679472
Nah, British are kings of pastries, pies and cakes. Also don’t underestimate British cheeses. Cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in the world, and where was it made? Britain. Then there’s stuff like Stilton, Wensleydale, and while Somerset Brie is really just a variant of Brie, it’s still really nice.
That’s not even digging into the various curries that gained their current forms in Britain, mainly by British Indians, who are just as British as any other.
Fat Americans out here standing in the world’s largest glass house hurling rocks with gay adandon.
Technically a lot of the classic curries are british food
Food in Scotland is great! I had great pies, roast pig, lamb, black pudding, haggis, cakes. It was all great. Hardly any veggies though, if you’re into that kind of thing.
British food is still made either like the Luftwaffe is flying overhead or we are celebrating the fact that the war is over and we can cook with butter and oil again. There’s nothing in-between.
I think the problem is that after the Second World War, Britain’s economy was so shot to hell that folks had to keep eating like the Luftwaffe was still blitzing London. That kept going on long enough to introduce generational trauma into British cuisine.
Rationing in the UK went on until 1954, nine years after the war ended.
Why, though? I mean it’s not like Britain had to rebuild anything right?
They quite literally did, Britain and France nearly merged their economies it was so bad. While the London blitz is the most well known part of the bombing campaign it was actually the end of it, early on the Germans were specifically bombing factories and agricultural infrastructure like say granaries.
Reminder Great Britain itself isn’t that big while still having a massive population, even while exploiting their colonies they were still massively hurting. Also converting their economy from a wartime one back to a civil one was slow as dick.
Makes sense.
We only finished repaying our WWII loans from the US and Canada in 2006
About 65,000 tonnes of munitions were dumped on Britain during WW2 by the Luftwaffe - they did more than break a few windows with all that.
To me, another be part of it is that the British seem to have an awful penchant for giving delicious things names that sound like Victorian euphemisms for something awful. Spotted dick and toad in the hole sound like they would be ways for Victorians to talk about their STIs, and I’m unsure what exactly Gentleman’s Relish would mean, but it strikes me as some sort of medieval form of punishment on the peasants.
Toad in the hole
My mom made these all the time when I was growing up, but she called them “Egg in a basket” 🥚 🧺. Sounds a lot nicer than “Toad in the hole”. 🐸 🕳️
I had grown up calling it that it would probably seem normal to me though.
That’s how traditions are born.
folks had to keep eating like the Luftwaffe was still blitzing London
To be more precise, they had to keep eating like the Kriegsmarine’s U-bootwaffe was still sinking the ships with the food.
Sounds like somebody never tried a warm plate of Scraggledy Numps, or a bowl of Thumps in a Bodice, or even a hot cup of Singeshammy Longerjohns in Tabbernickywammelty sauce.
I genuinely believe these are actual names of actual british foods.
Go back far enough, and you uncover dishes with wonderful names like Farts of Portingale.
well america has shit on a shingle
So called because the toast in military kitchens were nicknamed shingles, as in roofing tiles. Evocative of bad cooking, which I’m betting was rampant.
Honestly, shit on a shingle (s.o.s. appropriately) is better than it sounds, even when not referred to under that name. But it’s definitely a comfort food. It’s not good for you, it’s just creamy, beefy, and starch. Inoffensive, cheap, and easy to make in bulk. (Kinda want some now.)
I had a hot cup of Singeshammy Longerjohns in Tabbernickywammelty sauce once.
Never again! I prefer mine cold.
Ever tried some bubble and squeak?
Shepherd’s Pie (with beef, though, I only like lamb in gyros, and only then when it’s a blend with beef), minced meat pies, good chicken pot pie, and Yorkshire puddings are all great. Bangers and mash with the right sausage is great. Fish and Chips are generally great but the flavor and texture of the batter can vary significantly.
(trivia: a Shepard’s pie with beef is technically called a “cottage” pie!)
Good to know!
Yeah, I know what true shepherd’s pie is made of thanks to Denis Leary.
I had a homemade vegan shepard’s pie at a coworker’s house (she lived in the US, but from the UK) and it was one of the best dinners I’ve had in a long time.
If you ever make one, a good way to get the lentils or tvp tasting beefy is mixing some marmite and tamari sauce into it.
If you like Yorkshire pudding, try toad in the hole.
I made bangers and mash this evening, and put it into a large Yorkshire pud.
I don’t know if it would be named differently.
Yorkshire pudding is fine, but Pomeranian pudding is really superior.
Looked it up, I am intrigued.
Gyros like kebabs right? That’s where I normally prefer lamb too tbh.
no, I mean Greek gyros, in pita bread.
https://thebubblychef.com/kebab-vs-shawarma-vs-gyro/
Though perhaps you meant the Turkish doner kebabs
https://foodsguy.com/doner-vs-gyro/
It’s not really that I like lamb in a gyro, it’s that when it’s a blend of beef and lamb I can’t really taste the lamb. I just really don’t like lamb meat. I’ll take a fully beef gyro over a blended meat any day.
British Food is awesome. It’s not very colorful or ultra complex but it’s the kinda food that warms the soul.
- A good Sunday Roast with yorkshire pudding, lamb, roasted potatoes, peas, and gravy
- Fish and Chips served with a good curry or mushy peas
- Fresh warm scones with clotted cream and jam
- A proper fry up with a cup of tea
- Beef Wellington
- Pie Mash
- Meat pies
- Bridies
- Scotch Eggs
- Minemeat Pies
- Spotted Dick (Yeah yeah)
- Treacle Tart
- Banoffee Pie
There are few things that bring me more joy than popping into a Greggs on a cold rainy morning for an overheated cup of generic tea and a sausage roll.
Some other great British dishes:
- Tikka Masala
- Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie
- Sticky Toffee Pudding
- Cornish Pasty
- Crumpets
- CUSTARD
Tikka Masala ok.
🙄
Every one of these are top dishes
Love Shepherd’s Pie
Still? Greggs is a rip off now and there are far too many of them. 16 in the damn centre of Manchester.
My mom dated a Englishman when I was a kid and he made us “Yorkshire Pudding” that shit was excellent.
The best 'Fish and Chips" are made at this little seaside rstaurant in Oregon and made with Salmon. They must have ran out of chips because I got French Fries instead. Was still excellent though.
Ba dum tiss!
Best Fish n’ Chips Ive had was at a small pub near the old harbor in Reyknavik, arguing with two brits about toy internet spaceships, where the fish was alive that morning.
Euro food is the best, even the simple things, its just better.
Euro food is the best, even the simple things, its just better.
I certainly wouldn’t want to limit myself to “Euro” food exclusively. It’s good, but so is Mexican, Argentinian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese etc. I love how diverse food culture is.
I mostly am refering to food quality, no matter the quisine. When ever I fly back to the US from abroad, it takes a few days for everything to stop tasting like plastic, or having something off about it.
Its quite sad…
When you fly back to the US from abroad it takes a few days for everything to stop tasting like plastic? So you like food that tastes of plastic? I’m not sure what you are trying to say.
Just so none of us have to do a web search. What is spotted dick and why is it called that?
Dick refers to pudding.
“Dick” is an archaic way of writing dough. It can also be called spotted dog
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I once had a conversation with my boss who was well-travelled. He said the secret to Europe is to eat in the Catholic countries. If you must spend time within a Protestant country, look around for a Catholic enclave within it. Not only will the food be superior, but people will be falling over each other to make sure you are well fed.
I looked at him incredulously. How can you say that? It’s such a sweeping generalization! And then I went to Europe…
I don’t know… my experience is that in Muslim communities they wont let you leave until your stomach explodes… then they offer you coffee and sweets to go with.
That’s good to know! Actually, now that I think of it, my wife and I visited the one and only mosque in our home town during a public event in a show of solidarity after it got vandalized. And I have to say, it was an absolute food fest in there!
Chicken Tikka Masala. Nuff said.
British-Asians truly improved British cuisine. Tikka Masala is next level!
Nah, too much cream. Here in Australia it’s like every curry is masala, even if it traditionally wouldn’t be.
Ewww.
Tastes vary. But gimme a toad in the hole, or many other Brit dishes and I’m there.
I’ll take both, though maybe not at the same time
Fuck Reddit and Fuck Spez.
It’s ok, we all think American food is shit too.
why
Their bread is sweet, their chocolate tastes like vomit, and everything has high fructose corn syrup in it
On the other hand, real Texas bbq is amazing
Yeah mass produced garbage is garbage, but there’s good food outside of that. 3-4 distinct bbq styles all great in their own right. Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. NY pizza, Detroit Pizza, Chicago Pizza and hot beef sandwiches. Biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, fried okra. Blackened seafood, crawfish boils, jambalaya, beignets. Where I’m at, smoked fish, wild rice, and pasties.
Are you saying that the popular outside image of the cuisine might be inaccurate then?
Yes. If you avoid the mass marketed junk food and chain restaurants, you can find some delicious and unique cuisine almost anywhere.
I would add “Tex Mex” among the list of good American food, along with “Chinese Food”.
By Chinese food of course I mean the food Chinese Americans and immigrants serve in the U.S. From what I understand it’s not really authentic Chinese food, but I’ll be damned if it isn’t tasty. I think it counts.
Mostly a stereotype perpetuated by cheap or hastily found dining places.
When you get fish and chips from a good place that handles fresh catches, there is considerable flavour, yet buy from the fast food place in the middle of a high street and you’ll get a soggy representation from the frozen cod.
Same situation with a good roast, or a cottage/shepherds pie, or pie and mash that isn’t just a casserole with a hat, etc.Honestly I’ve stepped foot in 39 US States so far, and it’s a similar thing there. I just think the “British food bad” thing has stuck as humour, there’s plenty of theories about it I won’t get into but it’s just a thing I suppose.
I think you’ve unintentionally reinforced how bad British food is.
In any other country, I don’t need to go looking for gourmet chefs and fine dining luxury ingredients for the food to taste good. In most countries I’ve been to, I could step into a backstreet little “fast food” type restaurant and it still tastes good; whether that’s in Italy, Spain, Thailand, Singapore, Croatia, Austria, America, India, etc etc.
A gourmet chef with the finest ingredients can make anything taste good. And that’s what it takes to make British food taste good.
🤯
I find that hard to believe, since I would go to India sometimes twice per year when younger (for over a decade).
In 2005 we were told to be cautious of I think cabbage containing dishes, because it was making many people sick. It was also common for milk to be sold highly pasteurised and in blue bags within the city.I’ve also had questionable and not good food from those little backstreet fast food places whether in Atlanta, Minnesota, Arkansas, and I even had a rather average Chinese dish from near Santa Monica (which I didn’t rate well).
There’s a good chance you were in the right area for good food, but that also exists here (example: Camden Town, which has been a ‘Foodie’ destination for a while now), or the plethora of food festivals all around London.
I apologise if I gave the impression that they’re hard to find: they’re really not.I think safety is orthogonal to how good the average food in an area is.
The taste of their food and beauty of their women made the British the greatest sailors on Earth.
