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?

Me too.

I'm also European and lived in the UK for donkey's years and I can't say I noticed.

I just let British people cook their food however they see fit, if they like something boiled, that's fine with me. I love British cuisine, no complaints. Fellow Europeans constantly moaning about 'Brits' doing this or the other differently in their own damn country on the other hand, pisses me off.

Simple answer is if you don't like it boiled, don't boil it. You are an adult, presumably, if you don't eat your veg no one will send you to your room without pudding. But you probably don't like thw pudding either.

You just put Europeans in a category as people who put people in categories 😄

We don’t. YABU.

Brit here and no we don’t! Yes, we boil some veg but we also steam, roast or air fry. As to boiling meat and fish. No way!
But I do think it may be a generation and/or a location thing! I remember first time I had a roast at my (Irish) MIL and there was this green sludge to one side of the plate. It was Brussels sprouts, boiled to an inch of their lives and mashed with butter 🤢. I like mine crisp and preferably with bacon.

This is weird in the 1950s my mum boiled everything but SEVENTY years ago !!:The only thing I boil is the kettle 😅

Vegetables are nicer boiled, why does everything have to have fat on it? There's nothing nicer than a crisply boiled Brussel sprout or carrot. It balances out all the fattiness of a roast.

If you were having sausages, mash and gravy you wouldn't want carrots or green beans cooked in fat. You'd want nice fresh boiled carrots or beans with a sprinkling of sea salt. Delicious.

I hate BS opening posts like this. The OP’s experience of the UK is clearly limited to a small family and a few friends, otherwise she wouldn’t have such a limited view and opinion. That’s like me saying why do all Italians only eat pasta or why do Germans eat sausage for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Total rubbish. Anyway, I don’t think it’s a genuine post.

*some

Same

Not everybody does, surely? I don't,

Boiled potatoes are a staple in a lot of cuisines.... And even in a lot of European countries 😉

You say you're European?? Where in Europe are boiled potatoes 'very unusual'?

I've lived in multiple European countries and visited many more. In ALL of them, boiled potatoes, in various offerings, were staple.

As for the boiling everything question, maybe 30 years ago as we didn't really have decent oils so didn't know better. Nowadays, I don't know anyone who boils veg. Maybe some parboiling for certain dishes.

It's the company you keep, not 'the British'.

This is an old fashioned thing, not common among Brits now. Having said that, I’d still boil potatoes before mashing or roasting.

But different cultures use different methods.

But people post this stuff on here all the time — huge generalisations about places, people, pastimes, ‘school mums’, female friendship groups, political party voter bases etc based on a very small sample size.

I mean, if I had a pound for every time someone started an ‘I don’t know why people think London is so great when I once went there and it was a grey, unfriendly fiesta of violent crime and someone bumped into me on the tube’, I’d be rich.

Who boils veg? I usually steam

I don’t disagree, what’s the But?

I am a Brit and don’t boil any veg. Normally all roasted, grilled or sautéd.
Don’t think we are all uncultured in the kitchen.

People seem to be getting more aggrieved and reactive about a generalisation based on a tiny sample size.

I only boil potatoes for mashing

How else do you make soup?

Tbf I am not keen on just boiled potatoes so I just mash them too.

My grandmother actually used a pressure cooker or Agar oven.

I prefer boiling them to other ways of cooking and it’s quick and easy.

If you overcook them of course they will be tasteless, soft and soggy and less nutritious.

I’m not a huge fan of roasted vegetables (nor streamed), so it’s just a personal preference.

Boiled new potatoes with salted butter are a treat, but I’d be very sad if I hadn’t had them since the 90s!

Why are Europeans so loud, obnoxious and intolerable?!!

😂