Others Nations' opinion on typical UK palate
Discussion
We've come a long way with food in a very short time. I'm pleased that as a nation we seem to be, on the whole, embracing tradition and reinvigorating it with tastes and textures from other countries.
What really ticks me off is when I speak to people from other countries who still believe we eat meat and two veg and fish and chips and that anything with a bit of spice, flavour or tang will render us unconscious foaming at the mouth.
The French think we are culinary imbeciles, Italians laugh at us for using butter, the Chinese think we want sweet and sour reconstituted chicken in sugar syrup and the Indians think it's acceptable to serve us frozen onion bhajis at any given opportunity.
Fight back, fellow Brits, we have culinary prowess to match the best of them out there. It's our lack of food-related ego that stops us from shouting back and telling them that our Lancashire Hot Pot is superb, our pork bellies are the crispiest and most savoury roasts of all time, that our produce is better than much of theirs!
Let us stand up to this nonsense and push our food in to their faces and one day they may just realise we are more than just 'rost boeufs'.
What really ticks me off is when I speak to people from other countries who still believe we eat meat and two veg and fish and chips and that anything with a bit of spice, flavour or tang will render us unconscious foaming at the mouth.
The French think we are culinary imbeciles, Italians laugh at us for using butter, the Chinese think we want sweet and sour reconstituted chicken in sugar syrup and the Indians think it's acceptable to serve us frozen onion bhajis at any given opportunity.
Fight back, fellow Brits, we have culinary prowess to match the best of them out there. It's our lack of food-related ego that stops us from shouting back and telling them that our Lancashire Hot Pot is superb, our pork bellies are the crispiest and most savoury roasts of all time, that our produce is better than much of theirs!
Let us stand up to this nonsense and push our food in to their faces and one day they may just realise we are more than just 'rost boeufs'.
Pferdestarke said:
that Lancashire Hot Pot is superb
that it is 
I agree, but at the end of the day, what is there classed as english food apart from meat and veg, pie's, and stuff like that.
Now as other people have been called a 'foodie' on here, I would class myself as one aswell, as I LOVE my food asmuch if not more than the next man here, but english food is not that complicated now is it?
compaired to someting like a 'Pappardelle with frazzled prosciutto and asparagus' a lanc hot pot is quite easy and simple.
but I would like to be proved wrong though
Urban_Ninja said:
Pferdestarke said:
that Lancashire Hot Pot is superb
that it is I agree, but at the end of the day, what is there classed as english food apart from meat and veg, pie's, and stuff like that.
Now as other people have been called a 'foodie' on here, I would class myself as one aswell, as I LOVE my food asmuch if not more than the next man here, but english food is not that complicated now is it?
compaired to someting like a 'Pappardelle with frazzled prosciutto and asparagus' a lanc hot pot is quite easy and simple.
but I would like to be proved wrong though
The basis of great English food is perfect ingredients cooked simply, ie roast pheasant and game chips.
French arrogance about their food is generally paired with a wholesale ignorance of ours.
Italian food is probably the best cuisine overall, though they cling to some 'rules' a little too strictly. e.g. fish and cheese is generally a
, but onion and garlic together isn't the end of the world. Anyway, I don't think the Italians look down on British food in quite the same way.
That said, it is hard to define any country's cuisine, so we get stuck with Roast Beef and murdered vegetables as if that is all we cook, the Italians clearly only eat pizza and pasta, and the French get garlic and B.O. Plus ça change...
Italian food is probably the best cuisine overall, though they cling to some 'rules' a little too strictly. e.g. fish and cheese is generally a
, but onion and garlic together isn't the end of the world. Anyway, I don't think the Italians look down on British food in quite the same way.That said, it is hard to define any country's cuisine, so we get stuck with Roast Beef and murdered vegetables as if that is all we cook, the Italians clearly only eat pizza and pasta, and the French get garlic and B.O. Plus ça change...
Edited by grumbledoak on Sunday 29th March 16:18
grumbledoak said:
That said, it is hard to define any country's cuisine, so we get stuck with Roast Beef and murdered vegetables as if that is all we cook, the Italians clearly only eat pizza and pasta, and the French get garlic and B.O. Plus ça change...
You forgot to mention that Belgians only eat chips and mayo 
What you have to remember is that our cuisine has evolved through the fads and fashions imported with our varying aristocracy over the centuries.
The latest "traditional English" rendition is a shadow of the pre-Mad Germanising of it a few hundred years back. Prior to the induction of loopy George, we used herbs, spices, many aromatics that would make many people's eyes water now.
I once searched out some traditional recipes for Roast Beef, and found one pre-1700 which used cardamoms, chilli peppers, and other strong flavours. And lots of garlic.
George came along and banned anything with taste from his court, which the filtered down through society.
Our love for traditional English fish and chips, that most staple JEWISH fast food, which came to us via the Dutch.
Traditional Christmas Turkey. What? Try Goose! (or Peacock for the well heeled)
The list goes on.
The latest "traditional English" rendition is a shadow of the pre-Mad Germanising of it a few hundred years back. Prior to the induction of loopy George, we used herbs, spices, many aromatics that would make many people's eyes water now.
I once searched out some traditional recipes for Roast Beef, and found one pre-1700 which used cardamoms, chilli peppers, and other strong flavours. And lots of garlic.
George came along and banned anything with taste from his court, which the filtered down through society.
Our love for traditional English fish and chips, that most staple JEWISH fast food, which came to us via the Dutch.
Traditional Christmas Turkey. What? Try Goose! (or Peacock for the well heeled)
The list goes on.
grumbledoak said:
Of course. And how could we omit 'Ze Djermans', who only eat wurst with sauerkraut.
The Krauts have a very interesting variety of food compared with those of us in the British Isles. The selection of meats alone is astounding, with many different cheeses, pickles, breads and noodles, all prepared in a variety of ways. Bier und Wein!
Indeed. Their cuisine has many tasty renditions of scnitzel (which is really an Austrian dish).
I just love stuff like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine
Which is only really an approximation. The comment about garlic being frowned upon comes from those days when the House of Hanover ruled much of Europe (including us). We had the short straw with loopy George, who probably over-did the frowning!!
What we need to say is "what is traditional ENGLISH" food.
Is it:
Venison
Horse
Game (feathered variety)
Rat (a-la Baldrick)
Or...
If you take what's on the typical pub menu - then it's Curry, Chilli, Steak & Chips, Lasagne, and a bit of fish. Washed down with either an ale that was originally destined for export (IPA), or a b
disation of something developed in Plsen.
Our palate is, in effect a mongrel!
I just love stuff like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_cuisine
Which is only really an approximation. The comment about garlic being frowned upon comes from those days when the House of Hanover ruled much of Europe (including us). We had the short straw with loopy George, who probably over-did the frowning!!
What we need to say is "what is traditional ENGLISH" food.
Is it:
Venison
Horse
Game (feathered variety)
Rat (a-la Baldrick)
Or...
If you take what's on the typical pub menu - then it's Curry, Chilli, Steak & Chips, Lasagne, and a bit of fish. Washed down with either an ale that was originally destined for export (IPA), or a b
disation of something developed in Plsen.Our palate is, in effect a mongrel!
We are so multi cultural now that we embrace virtually every nations cuisine as nothing out of the ordinary for our palate. Indian, Chinese, Italian and Mexican are virtually part of the diet, and virtually any cuisine, no matter how obscure, is attainable in any given town.
Yes, things like fish and chips, roast beef dinner with yorkshire puds et al are typically British foodstuffs, but I definately think we are spoilt for choice, unlike some countries who are still stuck in a rut of odd delicacies and a serious lack of international choice.
Yes, things like fish and chips, roast beef dinner with yorkshire puds et al are typically British foodstuffs, but I definately think we are spoilt for choice, unlike some countries who are still stuck in a rut of odd delicacies and a serious lack of international choice.
shirt said:
interesting to see the comments on german food. despite what the world thinks of british cuisine, we can still look down on the crap the germans eat. truly terrible.
You must be delusional. German food puts English "cuisine" in the shade! A huge variety, and better Bier and Wein of course!I miss going down to the village Backerei and getting really decent bread. Amazing stuff!
shirt said:
interesting to see the comments on german food. despite what the world thinks of british cuisine, we can still look down on the crap the germans eat. truly terrible.
Typical ignorant British comment really, just as bad as those this thread is criticising. Germany has great food, and more Michelin starred restaurants than the UK, in particular 3-starred restaurants.And have you ever seen the cooking shops that are full of German utensils and cooking equipment?
my comment was made as i have just returned from 4 days in berlin and didn't have a decent german meal in that time, even in restaurants recommended to us by locals.
maybe i didn't look hard enough [stayed mainly in e.berlin], but in every other country i've visited i have been able to find fantastic local cuisine very easily. i would have thought the cuisine would be similar to other central european countries and was looking forward to it, only to be somewhat disappointed.
agree on the beer & wine, but thats not food.
maybe i didn't look hard enough [stayed mainly in e.berlin], but in every other country i've visited i have been able to find fantastic local cuisine very easily. i would have thought the cuisine would be similar to other central european countries and was looking forward to it, only to be somewhat disappointed.
agree on the beer & wine, but thats not food.
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