To think traditional English food is overrated?

[ThatJoyousCyanReader]

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?

It's a matter of taste, isn't it? I only like spicy or strongly flavoured food- mostly slop as someone called it above!😂 But I expect others won't like my food. I love the sweet plus salt plus sour flavours in Indian, Thai, Sri Lankan and Malaysian food. Even Italian is a bit bland for me.

I do love British desserts, but I eat less of them these days.

I disagree with that, I'd say British cooking leans more heavily on herbs than spices, although historically we have used spices for many hundreds of years, mace, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, can all be found in recipes from the Middle ages. Spices however were rare and expensive, whereas fresh herbs and aliums abound in the fields and hedgerows.

If it grows together, it goes together!

That is how I feel about some Italian food, just different shaped pasta but with very similar sauces

Lots of good English food as noted above. The strength of the UK though compared to other places in Europe is that in most major cities it is possible to get all kinds of food, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian, French etc. In other countries in Europe that variety is not there. Another good reason to live in the UK.

Although I'm here advocating for British food, I have to say, I like pretty much all the foods. One of my favourite things to do is travel and immense myself in local food culture.

But if you think all British food is rubbish, I would say you're not doing it right!

Why can't you state that you don't like spicy food or rice instead of saying that it is rubbish?

Saying that something is lazy slop is lazy. You simply don't like curry.

I love the different Asian cuisines, I also love good British food.

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)

I mean, I don't see how you can say it's overrated when we have an international reputation for terrible food. I don't know anyone in my social circle who raves about British food as the best. If anything its underrated - people from overseas typically expect it to be awful and are often pleasantly surprised that some of it is quite nice. But overall I think most people would agree that we have some lovely dishes but we don't have a particularly outstanding cuisine of our own. Our 'traditional' food is hearty, ribsticking fare for manual labourers who needed lots of calories to sustain them in a cool and damp climate. It also has simple and subtle flavours from herbs as that is what we can grow here. Personally I like British food but one of the things I love most about living in the UK and being British is our desire and willingness to try new things and bring international flavours into our daily eating.

I think we must have been separated at birth @BritishFoodFan

I agree with everything you say.

I remember watching a Jamie Oliver series many years ago where he travelled around Italy. The Italians were incredibly resistant to dishes that were not from their region let alone from other countries.

Off to Google teisen lap now.

I hate the trend of saying everything is "bland" without being full of spice chili. I feel people's taste buds have been numbed by all the heat that is disguising all the flavours and there's no going back.

British food was designed to cater to cold weather, filling up workers after long days in cold harsh conditions.
Obviously, shepherd's pie doesn't work so well in Thailand or Portugal.

I enjoy mild spice but don't tolerate heavy spice. I enjoy many cuisines but British food has its place.
On a cold winter's evening a good shepherd's pie is great.

I agree. I never eat traditional English food. I don't think many do anymore when you can have mediterreanen/ italian/ indian/chinese/ food.

I am now really craving asparagus on toast with a homemade hollandaise sauce

We lead the world in beautifully cooked food often with a budget in mind . Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding ,Steak and chips ,shepherds pie. mmm feel hungry now ,puddings galore .Sponge and custard ,apple crumble ,Rice pud Lemon meringue .Also cooked Breakfast .All to die for .

Teisen lap sounds delicious @KimberleyClark

I will definitely be making this.

I dont like fish and chips to greasy.
Alot of English foods are bland.
I dont eat chocolate either.

You sound like my dearly departed grandma, who refused to eat anything 'brown or black people' ate. You do realise the sushi you 'handle' is predominantly rice based?

Spice isnt necessarily chilli heat though. It's tamarind, cumin, coriander, cloves, ginger, mustard.... Just as there is no such thing as curry. It's a very reductionist term.

I accept that my taste buds have been numbed but that's what happens when you are brought up with spices from birth.

We are good at desserts. Apple crumble, Victoria sponge, Eton mess, trifle, there are hundreds of examples.

Everything else, not so much.

For examples of food with flavour that isn't spicy: Greek, Turkish, a lot of Middle Eastern outside India (think chickpeas, kidney beans, mint, spinach, stews).

I think you might be right @RampantIvy!

I do think it's just lazy thinking on all sides, I taught my children when they were tiny to never say food was horrible or disgusting, merely, 'not to their taste'. They've grown up with wide tastes anyway thankfully. I've had some pretty disgusting food from many different cuisines but that was entirely down to execution (and yes, I did eat it because when someone feeds you, you eat it!).

Re the spicing, French, Italian, Japanese (I could go on) use very little spice, and rely on local food traditions and ingredients treated well, Argentinian food uses very little spice, no-one goes on about how rubbish it is. I'm not sure why lack of spice is seen as a terrible British affliction...

It's a very strange attitude, I imagine it comes from the fact we have lost much of our connection to the land and food traditions in the UK, there's definitely been a resurgence of interest in the last 15/20 years, but I do think many home cooks have become de-skilled and people are not knowledgeable enough to really understand what British food is having been exposed to less than good examples (which, let's be honest, are not difficult to find!).

I would encourage the naysayers to open their minds though, they might be pleasantly surprised.

Mainly agree on the mains but I think British cakes and puddings are great.

My list of traditional British food is:
Breakfast - porridge, full English, poached egg on toast, kedgeree, kippers
Lunch - salad, soup or sandwiches
Dinner - full Roast Dinner (Beef, Chicken, Lamb or Pork), Toad-in-the-hole with mash peas and gravy, Sausages with mash and onion gravy, Cottage pie, Shepherds pie, Lancashire Hotpot, Steak & Kidney pie, Steak & Mushroom pie, Chicken Leek & Ham pie, Beef stew with dumplings and Fish &Chips
Sides - buttery mashed potatoes with mustard, steamed seasonal vegetables, braised cabbage, cauliflower cheese, and coleslaw
Desserts - Apple/cherry pie, custard, Lemon meringue pie, Queen of puddings, Bread & Butter pudding, Sussex Pond pudding, Summer pudding, Chocolate self-saucing pudding, Baked Apples, Banana custard and split, Sticky toffee pudding, Poor Knights of Windsor pudding, Strawberry ice cream, Strawberries & cream, Eton Mess and Lemon tart

However, our “traditional” food as a nation has changed over the past 60 years, so I would say that the following have become very common in British households, too:
Breakfast - Muesli, Greek Yogurt with fruit and /or nuts, Avo-on-to, French toast with berries and maple syrup, Pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, chia pudding
Lunch - filled wraps (chicken, salad, Hummus), Pitta bread with dips, Caesar salad, Greek salad, Tuna salad Niçoise
Dinner - Pasta Bolognese, Lasagne, Pizza, BBQ, Chicken Katsu Curry, Pork Katsu Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Korma, pork or beef Bulgogi with Bao buns, Green and Red Thai Chicken Curry, Chicken Satay, Stir fry, Gumbo, Jambalaya, Enchiladas, Fajitas and Burritos
And yes, most are cooked from scratch except the specialist ingredients (I don’t make my own Thai Curry Paste or Korean marinade) and we eat all of these as a family throughout the year, along with some fusion meals that I make up as I go along!

Most of the foreign food available has been adapted for British tastes or doesn’t even exist in the actual cuisine. I love Italian food in Italy but what we get isn’t the same. So if I cook Italian food I tend to go for an Italian American recipe from someone like Debi Mazar rather than one of our cooks. Same can be said for many cuisines, better to cook at home from an authentic recipe.

Don’t get me started on Nando’s, truly bland food, oven chips, reheated chicken and spicy sauce. Daylight robbery.

There's certainly plenty of spice in British condiments, so I wouldn't say we're a spice averse nation.

Traditional British dishes with spice that I make include devilled kidneys, kedgeree, coronation chicken (made properly is a joy), spiced beef, I use blade mace in terrine, and nutmeg and cloves in bread sauce and white sauces, mulled punches with star anise and cinnamon, Christmas pudding and mince pies and stuffing all use spice, I could go on!

We may not have much chill heat in many of our dishes, but spice, certainly.

It was kind of my point though. I wish we'd see more of those dishes that didn't also include chili, as it just kills all the other flavours.
Mediterranean cuisine is probably my favourite, including some North African dishes. Ras el Hanout is maybe my favourite spice blend.

Why would you choose an Italian American recipe if you want authentic Italian food?