FOOD AND DRINKS!

Hello again!

In the past year we have tasted very different good food and drinks. Britain is very famous for its food and drink tradition, and today I`m going to talk about that, enjoy!

Most people think of British food as a blend of kitchens from all over the world, and that`s true. Many people got their first experience from Indian food or kebabs in London. Even the tradition baked potatoes can be stuffed with Tikka Chicken masala. The reason why, is because India was a British Colony until the independence in 1947. After the Second World War, the British were more than happy to invite former colonial inhabitants to rebuild Britain. As a result, Britain has restaurant or dishes from practically every place in the world.

Even tough, many dishes and restaurant in Britain are from another country, they also have some specialty. Most people experience when it comes to British dishes are pubs, a pint and a ploughman`s lunch or a kidney pie, or English breakfast at a hotel. The most typical foods eaten in Britain include the sandwich, fish and chips and English breakfast.

Since everyone is dreaming about English breakfast on a British hotel, of course did we have to taste English breakfast. A weekend in the winter took we the bus to London and slept on a hotel one night. Our expectations to the food were huge, and we were very exited to taste. The food looked great, but I think it was too heavy in the early morning. But I can at least brag, because I have tasted a really English breakfast at a Hotel in London.

An English Breakfast is usually consisting of bacon, sausages, eggs, often served with a variety of side dishes and a beverage such as coffee or tea.

An English breakfast:

 

Sandwich is another typical food in Britain and of course did we taste sandwiches as well. The sandwich originates from John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). The Sandwich has developed a lot from the 1700s. Now you can buy a Sandwich ready made in plastic containers at Marks and Spencer, at restaurants and take – aways or you can prepare it at home. You can make or buy a lot of different sandwiches and I think my favorite is a sandwich with ham and vegetables.

Sandwich:

 

The original British fast food is fish and chips. The dish has been very popular among the working classes since the last part of the 19th century, because the dish was cheap and easily available. The two most important or the only ingredients in the dish are fish and potatoes. The fish is fried in batter or breadcrumbs and served with deep fried chipped potatoes. Traditionally, the fish and chips were wrapped up in newspapers. However, health authorities gradually banned newspapers as wrapping since it might lead to lead poisoning.

Fish and chips:

In Britain, pubs are very popular, and you find pubs everywhere, no matter how small the village is. In fact there are 57 000 of them. Pubs are no longer a typical male area, they are also popular for family outings, like pub lunches. A pub is a meeting place and a social centre for the local community where people meet to discuss political problems and local affairs, and to share good laugh. A lot of the pubs offer big screen sports and entertainment, like a weekly pub quiz. The food served in pubs is often called pub grub and is affordable and not too complicated. Depending on the time of day, they often offer Ploughman’s Lunch, soup of the day, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, battered cod with chips and peas and steak and kidney pie. It is in the Pub you will discover the soul of Britain.

Red Lion Pub:

 

 

 

Tea is a known Britain tradition too. Tea is a very special treat to prepare for your family and friends. This tradition is said to been stared around 1849 by Duchess Anna Maria, who entertained her friends in the blue drawing Room at Woburn abbey. Tea is usual taken between 3 and 5 o`clock. This tradition is still kept up in all the fine hotels in Britain and in little tearooms all around the country. In Britain, the drinking of tea is so varied that is quite hard to generalise, but usually it is served with milk and sometimes with lemon. Since I have milk allergy, I have little sugar and sometimes lemon in my tea. I love tea, so I think, when I was in England, that I was drinking tea almost every day, either to breakfast or at a cafe to lunch.

Tea with some accessories:

As I told you earlier, we have tasted a lot of different food and drinks in the past year. Something was very good, while other things don’t taste as good as I though and hope. One thing that I really loved was the tea. I love tea and I think the different types of English tea were absolutely fantastic. I also think that some of the sandwiches were really good, like for example sandwich with ham and vegetables. One thing that I didn`t like was English breakfast, it was to heavy on the morning. Fish and chips was okay. 

I hope you have learned more about food and drinks in England.
BYE;)

 

Sources:

-         Haugen, Hellevi m.fl. (2009), Targets, H. Aschehoug & CO

-         Huseby, Eli (no date), read 18.03.14
http://ndla.no/en/node/54166?fag=42&meny=2055

-         Smith, Paul, (12.04.13), read 18.03.14

http://www.localnomad.com/en/blog/2013/04/12/10-traditional-british-dishes-and-where-to-taste-them-in-london/