Why do Brits boil everything ?

[Lotc]

I’m European but not British. I have to say the way you guys cook (vegetables in particular) ie boiling everything) really isn’t for me. It just makes everything so bland even if you add butter and salt after. Carrots especially. Why not roast or lightly sautee in a pan with some olive oil? My husband boils everything. I’ve never seen anything like it. Why boil carrots? Same as ILs. The first time I met ILs we had poached chicken. It’s so weird to me. Is it a health thing?

"Why boil carrots? Same as ILs. "

To be fair, I never boil the ILs. Even when they might deserve it.

It is a bonkers thread though. If anyone wants to boil their food that’s surely up to them? And if someone cooks for you, be grateful! I always am.

How about a dedicated thread entitled ‘Why the UK is so utterly shit in every way, and every other country is better, and why do Brits do everything wrong?’

But that’s not cauliflower cheese !

A whole topic for it perhaps? 😉

My grandparents used to boil veg. I think they believed it was easier to digest and fats were scarce in the war and beyond I guess some people carried on with what they grew up with as they liked it?

YABU to think that because you don't like something, your friends shouldn't eat it.

If you don't like boiled peas, don't eat boiled peas 🤷‍♀️

I'm sure your friends aren't all feeding their kids something they all hate.

Perhaps you should educate them in your superior ways.

If you’ve never had a really nice one, that’s because whoever cooked it was clueless. And TBH restaurant roasts are never as good as homemade.

I roast cauliflower with salt and pepper before putting the cheese sauce on it and then back in the oven. More flavour than parboiling.

🤣

We don't. God knows where you got this idea from.

They’d make a hell of a mess on your toaster 😬

The OP’s husband does it so in her mind, every Brit does this, apparently….

Followed up by an account of how many people die trying to get from France (wonderful country, lovely people, plenty of food sautéed in garlic) to England (apparently shit country, horrible people, nasty boiled vegetables) !

Totally logical. 🤣

I might throw out a LTB, as we are on Mumsnet!

There’s a pub on Columbia Road in London that does the best roast I’ve ever tasted. I don’t know how they do it, rare roast beef, crunchy potatoes, cheesy leeks, all coming out as if they’ve just that second been cooked. A wander through the flower market on a Sunday morning then the best roast ever. Such a treat.

I’ve been puzzled before by French supermarket shelves full of tinned and jarred green beans and peas ? With aisles of lovely fresh vegetables. Or abundant markets.

Why do ALL Europeans cover everything in garlic and olive oil? there are other flavours you know.

It sounds like your DH is particularly keen on boiling food - there are plenty of us that don't do quite as much boiling.

It isn't standard to parboil everything.

Roast potatoes are much better parboiled though - soft and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside. Even better if they slightly fall apart too - more surface area = more crispy bits.

We get amazing organic veg and it tastes good however you cook it. Boiling/steaming is easier, quicker and cheaper for loads of veg, I do roast, saute or braise veg sometimes, but when it's just an accompaniment it's often more convenient to boil or steam things like cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, flat beans, runner beans, broad beans, peas, carrots, cabbage, sprouts, sweetcorn, swede...

the worst is a carvery

I didn’t know “Europeans” ate vegetables…. Every time I’ve eaten in “ Europe” I’ve just been served a plate of meat and potatoes.

When I lived in a Mediterranean country, I used to wonder why just about xeverything my neighbours cooked was swimming in oil.

I was once asked by one of them how come my roast potatoes were so nice.

She used to put hers, cold, not parboiled, in a pan with at least an inch of cold oil, before putting them in the oven. They ended up like oil wells, as a fellow Brit once put it (not in her hearing, I hasten to add.)

Re cauliflower cheese, BTW, which I make regularly, ditto ‘cauli-mac’- a hybrid of cauliflower and macaroni cheese - I simmer the cauliflower for a max of 3 minutes after it’s come to the boil - we like it al dente. And then drain very thoroughly and let it steam dry for a couple of minutes.

I simmer broccoli the same.

Yes, good idea!

And the marmalade would slide off onto the plate with a sigh of despair.