What’s your attitude/view of English Food?

[Ladywinesalot]

Thread about a thread, now taken down.

Many cultures around the World cook their family meals at home from scratch. (Whatever it be)

There is now an opinion that most food in the western world is unhealthy and junk food based, and that this junk food is primarily fed to children and one of the reasons for the increase in children’s obesity.

Even though my dc’s school say or are meant to provide healthy food they will still serve a hotdog (with veggie option) or a slice of pepperoni pizza.

But I don’t think this is typical of English food, this is junk food but for some reason given to children in school and is claimed as a ‘well balanced diet’.

I think proper English food is roast dinners, stews, casserole.

When and how did English food turn into junk food and be accepted for our children as a balanced diet?

Is it the availability of ready meals? They're not a 'thing' where I live (Cyprus) but there's definitely an obesity problem here due to 24 hour bakeries on every corner - the healthy Mediterranean diet doesn't always apply!

When I lived in south east Asia where literally no one is fat, there was still a huge amount of available convenience food.
I think our attitude to portion sizes and snacking, in SE Asia there wasn’t “kids food” and “adults food” everyone ate the same, so there werent kids growing up eating beige shite.

There are always programmes on television showing British chefs going on food tours abroad. I'd love to see a television show where foreign chefs do a food tour of Britain. It would be great to see an outside perspective.

English food has always been beige and bland. We have a colder climate so in the past only really had access to root vegetables hence our obsession with potatoes and carrots. Lots still haven’t moved on from the veg and meat diet or they’ve replaced home cooked veg and meat with ready meals and freezer foods.

I think British food is glorious and very much under-valued.

Amazing puddings (I tried a decent spotted dick last year at a restauarant and it was incredible).

proper roasts with lovely gravy, the large variety of fish meals. Good food, great variety and freshly cooked.

Casseroles are lovely. I also like the older style of cooking with fruit- so pork with apples for example.

I do not think British cooking is inherently unhealthy (although I might make an exception for the full English breakfast).

@Thatisnotwhatisaid

English food has always been beige and bland. We have a colder climate so in the past only really had access to root vegetables hence our obsession with potatoes and carrots. Lots still haven’t moved on from the veg and meat diet or they’ve replaced home cooked veg and meat with ready meals and freezer foods.

That's definitely not true. If you look at medieval recipes, they're loaded with spices and strong flavours - and not just for the rich, either.

I think very long working hours don't help with cooking good food.

I think the problem with traditional foods like stews and roast dinners are that they take ages to cook. So if everyone is working, or of you can't afford to run the cooker for hours, then they just aren't practical for everyday. Fresh local food isn't accessible to lots of people - farming is geared towards industrial scale supply rather than feeding a community.

Pizza, burgers, hot dogs and chips seem to be eaten pretty regularly. They were treat foods where I grew up - southern Mediterranean country. Treat foods as in twice a month or so.

'Cooked from scratch' is true in the case of stews or casseroles, but for example I don't consider a Sunday roast to be elaborate food. Maybe the gravy and at a push, meat and potatoes because you need to add the fat and all of that. Same goes for accompanying veg with other meals. Sticking some frozen broccoli and peas in boiling water, or cutting some parsnips and chucking them in the oven isn't cooking per se. It's preparing veg, nothing fancier than that.

From the outside, British food is seen as boring. Very traditional British food can definitely be a bit bland and I personally miss the variety of using different types of oil for example. Butter seems to go with everything. I cannot stand butter in a sandwich, it makes it all soggy. Where is the olive oil for taste? Veg, pasta, rice is always overcooked and very easy to chew. They never have texture. Not a lot of veg is eaten raw, it always seems to be cooked in some form.

However, when you actually spend some time in the UK and try a variety of foods, you discover it can be great. I love a good pub meal. Full English should not be allowed to exist, it's too delicious. What is great about the UK is how much international cuisine has been adopted into everyone's diets. Indian, Thai, Mexican, Chinese... There is so much variety.

What I cannot stand is when people say they're cooking a certain foreign dish that has nothing to do with the original recipe, and they insist on calling it by its proper name. No, paella doesn't have chorizo and peas in it! The word paella shouldn't be on the packaging. People add some strange things to their tacos. Long list of etceteras. I wouldn't call baked salmon and mash, fish and chips (slight exaggeration but you get the idea).

I personally find it funny how people seem to eat almost nothing all day long and then have huge, elaborate (except for the veg!), fatty dinners. There is kids food and adult food. We all eat together in my home country, no kids menus at restaurants. Everyone eats the same food, kids are capable of joining in and don't need mac and cheese or chips off their own menu.

There is lots of pudding involved and not enough salad and fruit. I might have taken too easily to this one, but I hope I can revert back to healthier habits before my kids start thinking so much sugar is normal

I love English dinners such as roasts, fish and veg, puddings such as sticky toffee pudding, bakewell tarts, cooked breakfasts. I am british asian and we mainly eat vegetables/lentils and chapatis. I really love English food, very hearty and filling. It is meat centred but the inclusion of vegetables is so tasty.

Best puddings in the world (in my humble opinion). I think we invented steamed pudding... Who could say no to steamed jam pudding with custard? Or steamed golden syrup pudding? Then we have baked beans on toast, lovely roasts, sausages and mash and gravy and peas, faggots... Yummy!!!!

Oh yes and ready meals! I actually love them because I hate cooking, but they're a rarity where I come from. That's definitely not a negative, just a difference! Might have to do with pace of life and timings of the meals?

Dinner is 5/6/7pm in the UK especially with young kids. We have dinner after 9pm, when everyone has done their homework and activities, and there is plenty of time to cook together and eat before a very late 10-11pm bedtime (which just doesn't exist in the UK!).

Its an interesting thing - food culture is very different from when i was young. I think its supernakets. I am just about old enough to remember shopping being butcher, baker, green grocer and fishmonger. Food being much more seasonal and more variety of cuts. I dont think it was bland and beige, although winter stews can be a bit brown. The big supermarket arrived in my town when i was about 8 or 9. Then the seasons dissappeared and there was more variety in terms of world flavours eg pasta which i didnt eat til i was 15. But less variety on meat cuts. My supermarket doesnt have woodpigeon or rabbit in it

@EileenGC with the late bedtimes on the continent, what do people do about waking up early? Besides DS waking me, my work alarm goes off at 6.15 so I'd be dead if I slept at 11!

It's available byes but we only have junk like nuggets or oven type things as a treat, most cooked from scratch so it's the individual not the country!

@yawnyOwl siesta!!

Been a while, but in the Med shops shut for a chunk of the afternoon - too hot anyway. Evening meal is a lovely 9pm when it is cool, the locals will eat even later. And still be up for early doors.

I love English food, don't see it as ridiculously unhealthy. I think it's snacking & largely down to sedentary lifestyles.

Exactly, downtime after lunch. Even if you don’t sleep the siesta, there is definitely a break so you recharge energies. People also have shorter commutes and a standard office day starts at 9 so no reason why you’d wake up before 7.30am. From May to September it’s also too hot to sleep before 10-11pm, and why would you want your kids waking you up at 6am on a weekend? If they’re used to sleeping 10pm-8am, you can actually get a semi-decent lie in at the weekend.

British food made well can be amongst the best. French people on average eat more sugar & calories than UK, twice as much animal fat, and yet obesity rates are about a third of those in the UK. in the UK. The difference is that much less of the diet is ultra processed food made in a factory.

Fortunately I love it because it's all I eat. No Indian, Chinese, pasta, rice +++++++++++

My Grandparents eat what I see as traditional British food- stews, pies, roasts, fish dinners and in the summer there are lots of salad items, ploughman's plates etc. It's not inherently unhealthy and includes all the components of a healthy diet.

I'm in the US now and cannot believe the crap they feed to kids in schools under the guise of it being a balanced diet. It makes the crap they serve in British schools look gourmet!

@EileenGC

Pizza, burgers, hot dogs and chips seem to be eaten pretty regularly. They were treat foods where I grew up - southern Mediterranean country. Treat foods as in twice a month or so.

'Cooked from scratch' is true in the case of stews or casseroles, but for example I don't consider a Sunday roast to be elaborate food. Maybe the gravy and at a push, meat and potatoes because you need to add the fat and all of that. Same goes for accompanying veg with other meals. Sticking some frozen broccoli and peas in boiling water, or cutting some parsnips and chucking them in the oven isn't cooking per se. It's preparing veg, nothing fancier than that.

From the outside, British food is seen as boring. Very traditional British food can definitely be a bit bland and I personally miss the variety of using different types of oil for example. Butter seems to go with everything. I cannot stand butter in a sandwich, it makes it all soggy. Where is the olive oil for taste? Veg, pasta, rice is always overcooked and very easy to chew. They never have texture. Not a lot of veg is eaten raw, it always seems to be cooked in some form.

However, when you actually spend some time in the UK and try a variety of foods, you discover it can be great. I love a good pub meal. Full English should not be allowed to exist, it's too delicious. What is great about the UK is how much international cuisine has been adopted into everyone's diets. Indian, Thai, Mexican, Chinese... There is so much variety.

What I cannot stand is when people say they're cooking a certain foreign dish that has nothing to do with the original recipe, and they insist on calling it by its proper name. No, paella doesn't have chorizo and peas in it! The word paella shouldn't be on the packaging. People add some strange things to their tacos. Long list of etceteras. I wouldn't call baked salmon and mash, fish and chips (slight exaggeration but you get the idea).

I personally find it funny how people seem to eat almost nothing all day long and then have huge, elaborate (except for the veg!), fatty dinners. There is kids food and adult food. We all eat together in my home country, no kids menus at restaurants. Everyone eats the same food, kids are capable of joining in and don't need mac and cheese or chips off their own menu.

There is lots of pudding involved and not enough salad and fruit. I might have taken too easily to this one, but I hope I can revert back to healthier habits before my kids start thinking so much sugar is normal

You say that but when I have been to family parties in Madrid (including a wedding) I have been very shocked to see chicken nuggets and chips, pizza trotted out for the children while we all tucked into our Spanish fare Its clearly caught on! Another favourite of my SIL is fries, sausage and egg. As she said herself they don't have the same free time to cook as they used to generations ago so convenience food is growing in popularity. I'd say a lot of the convenience food is healthier to start with though. I used to love a 'tortilla francesa' in a bocadillo (bread roll).

@EsmaCannonball The newer episodes of Remarkable Places to Eat with Fred Sirieux have been set in the UK. He's lived here for a long time so his perspective will be different from someone who is just visiting but still worth a watch.

English food has always been beige and bland

Only said by someone who hasn’t eaten good English food or cooked from scratch using good quality local ingredients.

Roast dinners with freshly cooked vegetables
Casseroles and stews
Mince and dumplings
Bangers and mash with onion gravy
Toad in the hole
Yorkshire puddings
Fish and chips
A juicy steak with onion rings, chips and salad
Pies of all types
Smoked haddock fishcakes
Fish pie
Potted shrimps
Cornish pasties
Traditional afternoon tea
A well cooked English breakfast

Puddings and desserts – even the French acknowledge that we are better at puddings than they are
Cakes of all kinds

The meals are simple and relatively plain compared to a tasty stir fry or a delicious curry, but I think the simpler the meal the better the quality of the ingredients needs to be. There have been several TV programmes where TV chefs have travelled around Britain (not just England) meeting local producers and cooking local delicacies – James Martin, The Hairy Bikers, Nadiya Hussein, Mary Berry are just a few I can think of.

I am looking forward to the first of this season's English asparagus tomorrow.

@RampantIvy
That’s a great list and some of my fave dinners!
Very typical of meat 2 veg and potato dishes.
With hearty and healthy meals like that how has obesity increased so much?
And why are meals like hotdogs def to school children?

Is it snacking then? Takeaway culture?

I don’t buy into the working lots of hours means can’t eat healthy, the slow cooker is perfect of stews and casseroles.

Fed to school children