British food stereotype?

[zimtheawesome]

?Heaven is where the Germans are the auto mechanics, the French are the cooks, the English are the comedians, the Italians are the lovers, and the Swiss are in overall charge. Hell is where the French are the auto mechanics, the Germans are the comedians, the English are the cooks, the Swiss are the lovers, and the Italians are in overall charge.?

 

[Rock 'n' Soul]

The first time I had curry was in England. And, I have to say, it was pretty good.

 

[Wicky_42]

What then does England call what we call "biscuits", fluffy rolls of bread? Thanks if you can answer.

'Rolls'. >.<

Or baps, or buns, or cobs, or, in some places, muffin, although most of us think of small cakes for that last one.

I'm sure there's more words around the place, but these cropped to mind.

As to British food, I like to think that our colonial and European history have set us up with a wonderful variety of foods that we enjoy as a nation, but I fear far too many families don't bother cooking well. Personally I love sausage and mash, shepherds pie, any type of curry or stir-fry, and seasonal roasts. Though I do enjoy good food generally

 

[ntw3001]

A friend of mine once said (with a completely straight face and no sense of irony) that Indian food was the iconic dish of England.

That's often said because Chicken Tikka Masala is by far the most popular food in this country. And in any case, imperial India had a massive effect on British cuisine. In those days, curry was apparently eaten a lot more frequently than it is now (like, as part of every meal in most parts of society). And the dishes in question weren't generally just lifted from Indian cuisine, they were devised usually by Indian cooks to cater for British taste and used spices that had been dried and ferried across the ocean rather than fresh ones. It was made fashionable by Queen Victoria, who is said to have gobbled it down like nobody's business.

So yeah, due to the British Empire, Indian food is a major influence on British food, but... well, an aspect of culture isn't made any less valid by the fact it has a cause (tea is another import made popular by imperial interests in the Far East, and its position as a part of British culture is pretty unarguable). It's fair to say that a country's cuisine may be a fusion of that of neighbouring countries, and while India scarcely neighbours Britain, the cultural exchange may be more significant than that between Britain and other European nations. Food culture in Britain would probably be most profoundly affected because it's not a strong part of our national identity.

 

[molester jester]

Tea and crumpets for England, haggis and porridge for Scotland, and Millers and Tennants for Ireland.

Tennents is a Scottish thing
Guinness is the Irish stereotypical drink

I don't drink and I'm not Irish, so I had to guess.

It's ok man they both taste like shit anyway

 

[Bob Hoss]

It's the Simpsons. The joke they run with the English is that they are all victorian era cockney stereotypes. Eels are probably got through some plays like Oliver Twist perhaps, they were a reasonably usual food then. And the pie? Just an extension of the same joke.

I'm pretty sure eels were eaten in London when people still thought it was all right to go fishing in the Thames...

Thought? It was. No pollution back then.

Victorian era? Industrial revolution?

I think it took a little while for it to sink in, as it were.

Actually, the Thames was being used as a pubilc sewer even before the Tudors, I believe. I'm fairly certain the last time that river was safe was before they built Hadrian's wall.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Being British (and thoroughly bored with being in Britain) I'll throw my two cents in:

Haggis is delicious.

Roast dinners are awesome (except roast beef, I'll stick to pork and chicken thanks, unless the beef is sliced thin) because of the gravy and mashed totties ('taters).

Scottish salmon is crap, I'll take French salmon any day.

I dislike Spotted Dick because of the raisins, if Spotted Dick has no raisins then I'm thinking of something else, and have ignored Spotted Dick for years unintentionally.

Black Pudding has no excuse for being that damn dry.

Battered sausages from Glasgow are the best sausages in the world.

Guinness needs to be in your baby bottle to ever develop a liking for the stuff.

Tennants is piss-water.

Crumpets are eggy pancakes and disgusting, while pancakes are nice.

Your cookies are really our biscuits (especially ginger snaps), and your biscuits are really our rolls.

Tea is drunk throughout Britain, but only the really backwards upper classes have a set 'tea time'.

Yorkshire pudding are always good.

There are parts of Edinburgh that are completely devoid of chip shops, I walked around all night and never found one of the fucking things, then played in a Yugioh tournament the next day and got 3rd place with no sleep, go me!

Cornish pasties from Cornwall are lovely, but they can't do a battered sausage to save their lives.

I would have more but I think I've made my point.

 

[Stabby Joe]

Most Fish and Chips batter the basics, its only a notorious few (mainly in Scotland) that batter odd things like chocolate but it seems to be more of a novelty than actually part of the diet.

 

[thylasos]

Toad in the hole, roast dinners, proper pies (savoury ones, that is to say), any derivation of Yorkshire pudding, chips and beans from the chippy after a night out, ale (cool, not cold, not warm), non-dry curries (the massala having been invented following a customer in a Glasgow restaurant asking for some "gravy" for their curry. Whether that story in particular is apocryphal or not, generally it's the creamier curries that're British fusion dishes.), cauliflower cheese, the English cheeses, cornish pasties, shepherd's pie, cottage pie, kedgeree, crumpets, marmite, h.p. sauce... I don't think I need go on. Some of the best English food, right there.

 

[thylasos]

Most Fish and Chips batter the basics, its only a notorious few (mainly in Scotland) that batter odd things like chocolate but it seems to be more of a novelty than actually part of the diet.

Indeed. Not a myth though. Deep fried mars-bars, curly-wurlies, and even pizza exist.

 

[PurpleLeafRave]

i never got fish & chips.

why would you mix them?

You have no idea how wierd it is for somebody from England to read that. Seeing as it's our most popular dish besides roast dinner, and we have it all the time.
Because it's tasty?

 

[Keepitclean]

Well in Scotland it's Haggis, and England Fish'n'Chips although the chippy is popular all over Britain

Fish'n'Chips is the greatest meal ever invented that went worldwide

 

[Smudge91]

I've heard of jelly eels which i don't know of a single person who likes jellied eels eww.
The sterotype is normally, victoria sponge, cucumber sandwhiches, tea, curry, strawberrys and cream. All very upper class stuff

 

[Smudge91]

It's the Simpsons. The joke they run with the English is that they are all victorian era cockney stereotypes. Eels are probably got through some plays like Oliver Twist perhaps, they were a reasonably usual food then. And the pie? Just an extension of the same joke.

I'm pretty sure eels were eaten in London when people still thought it was all right to go fishing in the Thames...

Thought? It was. No pollution back then.

Victorian era? Industrial revolution?

even before the victorian times i would not have like to have drank out the thames and gone fishing in there.
edit: apologies for the double post

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

Now I know theres many British stereotypes and know where they original came from same for stereotypes for many other countries, but I'm confused over the bad UK food one. One example on the Simpsons with the "eel pie" gag really confuses me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some odd dishes out there but they're hardly mass produced.

The Simpsons make me sick sometimes when it comes to thier intellect of other countries, I mean, sometimes it almost looked like they really believed Australia is like in that episode when they go to aussie.

 

[dui29aghgb]

Fish and chips from Britan are much better than the meat+cheese+grains food from Mexico... (All of it)

 

[Mr Wednesday]

It's a historical relic from the war. Point nearly came when Britain starved. Rationing put a dent in the cooking tradition. Scrimping and saving is not really something that encourages good cooking.

British cuisine has been slow to recover, but it has, in my opinion.

 

[Dys]

Ok i know this is a huge stereotype but i just realized i dont even really know what one is. So please, someone explain wtf is a crumpet.

Oh man, you poor bastard, you've not lived Best thing ever with bacon/eggs for breakfast.

OT, meh, english food isn't particularly standout. I'm Australian and I'm fairly sure our generic foods are straight copies of british foods (meat pies being particularly popular, as well as fish'n'chips etc).

 

[Stabby Joe]

Now I know theres many British stereotypes and know where they original came from same for stereotypes for many other countries, but I'm confused over the bad UK food one. One example on the Simpsons with the "eel pie" gag really confuses me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are some odd dishes out there but they're hardly mass produced.

The Simpsons make me sick sometimes when it comes to thier intellect of other countries, I mean, sometimes it almost looked like they really believed Australia is like in that episode when they go to aussie.

The British find that episode more funny than in the US since the UK and Australia have a thing going on where they like to rip into each others cultures. Haha, good fun to!