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Original poster

To think traditional English food is overrated?

412 replies

ThatJoyousCyanReader · 01/04/2025 20:50

I’ve always heard people say English food is bland or uncreative, and to be honest, I kind of see their point. Apart from a good roast dinner or fish and chips, what actually stands out? AIBU to think that other cuisines just do it better?

OP posts:
springbringshope · 19/04/2025 21:26

Heronwatcher · 19/04/2025 11:11

YABVVU
English cheeses (good Stilton, Shropshire blue, aged cheddar) are sublime.
Ploughman’s lunches with half a pint in the summer are one of life’s simple pleasures.
English pickles and chutneys.
Cream/ afternoon teas are amazing (a delicate egg and cress sandwich with good well made tea from a bone china cup would be my last meal).
Crumpets.
Also some of the puddings/ traditional cakes can’t be beaten, home made Victoria sandwich/ coffee cake, mince pies, hot cross buns, simnel cake, nowhere does them better.
I think you’ve not had a decent home cook make these things for you, that’s the problem.

Egg and cress sandwich literally sums up English food.
Bland and boring. Not delicate or subtle. Just bland and boring. Cress ffs. What’s the point if that? It’s lower than parsley in the scale of pointless herbs

RampantIvy · 19/04/2025 11:58

IVFmumoftwo · 19/04/2025 11:44

This is about English food not Welsh.

True, but I was inspired by the teisen lap recipe and was not disappointed.

IVFmumoftwo · 19/04/2025 11:44

This is about English food not Welsh.

Heronwatcher · 19/04/2025 11:11

YABVVU
English cheeses (good Stilton, Shropshire blue, aged cheddar) are sublime.
Ploughman’s lunches with half a pint in the summer are one of life’s simple pleasures.
English pickles and chutneys.
Cream/ afternoon teas are amazing (a delicate egg and cress sandwich with good well made tea from a bone china cup would be my last meal).
Crumpets.
Also some of the puddings/ traditional cakes can’t be beaten, home made Victoria sandwich/ coffee cake, mince pies, hot cross buns, simnel cake, nowhere does them better.
I think you’ve not had a decent home cook make these things for you, that’s the problem.

KnittedFerret · 19/04/2025 11:01

Teisen lap cake recipe | Visit Wales

Cawl is soup, not leek soup, but it's often used as an abbreviation for cawl cennin (leek soup), and that might be a stew with meat in it or regular leek and potato soup.

Just in case someone orders cawl and doesn't get the 'tourist board' version.
Bara brith (pron. barrah breeth) is another one where you might be disappointed - the real thing is delicious but any loaf shaped fruit cake might be served.

It's Welsh food not English food.

Purplebunnie · 18/04/2025 23:43

RampantIvy · 18/04/2025 13:00

@KimberleyClark Just made this teisen lap and it is delicious.

Thank you for the recommendation.

@Purplebunnie DD made a simplified version of this about:blank Yotam Ottolenghi asparagus recipe the other day, and it was delicious.

Edited
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I've googled their recipes and they look delicious and will certainly be trying them

RampantIvy · 18/04/2025 13:00

KimberleyClark · 02/04/2025 10:38

In Wales we have

the best lamb in the world
great beef (Welsh black cattle)
fabulous range of cheeses
Glamorgan sausages (made with cheese and herbs)
cawl - leek broth with beef or lamb
Bara brith
Welsh cakes
teisen lap (moist cake)

@KimberleyClark Just made this teisen lap and it is delicious.

Thank you for the recommendation.

@Purplebunnie DD made a simplified version of this about:blank Yotam Ottolenghi asparagus recipe the other day, and it was delicious.

Purplebunnie · 08/04/2025 11:16

Had my first asparagus yesterday with hollandaise sauce. It was gorgeous

SapporoBaby · 05/04/2025 07:34

We have some fabulous desserts!

Astrak · 05/04/2025 06:53

Completely off the point, but when I read the post about macaroons I remembered my maternal grandmother telling me about two sisters who lived in our village: they could only afford one set of false teeth between them. There was a do on at the Methodist Chapel: sister 1 went first and came back a while later, handing the teeth over to sister 2. Sister did a rummage round them with her tongue and said "Mmmm - macaroons! I must hurry!

LivingDeadGirlUK · 05/04/2025 06:36

Didimum · 01/04/2025 21:14

Traditional British food is not the way it is due to intention of it being great cuisine. It is the way it is due to the enormous impact of our wartime history.

Doesn’t make it any better, of course, but there are reasons beyond the British being shit at food.

Climate too, if you wanted to eat seasonal and British then there are a good few months of turnips and potatoes and not much else!

RampantIvy · 05/04/2025 06:23

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/04/2025 22:21

And that stuff watercress!

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And radishes and strong onions.

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 04/04/2025 22:21

RampantIvy · 04/04/2025 08:37

And horseradish is even blander 😁

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And that stuff watercress!

LyndzB · 04/04/2025 20:09

Definitely not overrated as everyone slags it off. I’d get very bored of it if that’s all I had. yet I’d get bored of pizza and pasta too. The great thing about living here is the different cuisines you have access to! Probably because English food isn’t all that great (although some is).

RampantIvy · 04/04/2025 18:21

and we have good food standards

And better animal welfare standards than many other countries.

Eze · 04/04/2025 18:01

The British have some cracking cuisine and we have good food standards unlike in America where they add chemicals banned in Europe for health reasons, add copious amounts of sugar to everything, wash chicken in chlorine, cheese in an aerosol and so on.

Personally I feel if the Americans decide to go civil war on Trump for his tariff nonsense they should add their food industry to the revamp list while they’re at it.

I’m fine with the British cuisine.

KnittedFerret · 04/04/2025 08:45

Might as well eat soap.

RampantIvy · 04/04/2025 08:37

CarefulN0w · 04/04/2025 08:03

Mustard. That well known bland, tasteless, beige condiment. Grin

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And horseradish is even blander 😁

CarefulN0w · 04/04/2025 08:03

KnittedFerret · 03/04/2025 22:45

@CarefulN0w ,all bland, tasteless and beige.Smile

Mustard. That well known bland, tasteless, beige condiment. Grin

Anonym00se · 04/04/2025 06:59

springbringshope · 03/04/2025 16:11

You think the vast majority of English households are enjoying the best quality meats? And organic vegetables?
haaahaaaaaaaaaaaa

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Who said that? You did. I don’t eat organic veg, but I still love the taste of vegetables.

If you’re talking about ‘majorities’ I’d imagine they’re mostly eating UPFs - ready meals, frozen freezer food, pizza or takeaways. None of which are typically English cuisine so it’s a bit of a moot point.

TempestTost · 04/04/2025 00:19

BigDahliaFan · 03/04/2025 11:20

There are some lovely ingredients in Britain - but I do prefer the way food is presented in some other countries - Turkey is lots of vegetables and great bread, Japanese food has pickles, soups, fresh veg - I love Scandinavian food with fruit and herbs...

British food can be incredible - but it mostly isn't really.

Lots of Scandinavians eat some boring bland stuff on an everyday basis as well. Or some weird odd fish pastes. Not everyone's cup of tea for sure.

KnittedFerret · 03/04/2025 22:45

@CarefulN0w ,all bland, tasteless and beige.Smile

CarefulN0w · 03/04/2025 22:30

So many bland & boring foodstuffs, ham & mustard, beef & horseradish, garlicky lamb with anchovies, kedgeree, Parkin, treacle tart, Bakewell tart, salmon, new potatoes, asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, 3,000 varieties of apples, Jacket potatoes, mature chedder, Stilton, pickled onions, sausage rolls, chutneys…

WinterFoxes · 03/04/2025 22:28

It can be bland but doesn't have to be. I use loads of fresh herbs, garlic and spices in trad English dishes.

But I think our pies, cottage pies, hot pots, sausages, roasts and pot roasts, soups etc are all delicious if well made. So are fruit crumbles, fools, steamed puddings etc.

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