British cuisine

Once thought to be an oxymoron by the culinary minded, British cuisine once
had a reputation as being take-away food or the unfashionable meat and two veg.

In fact, there are several distinct types of cookery in the United Kingdom.
While some people may eat only one type of cuisine, many switch between them
during the course of the week.

Industrial-Era Foods

The Industrial Revolution that began in England in the 18th century is
responsible for the former poor reputation of British food. Unlike the
populations of most other contries, by the mid 19th century the majority of
the British population were working in city factories and living in very
poor housing. The new working classes had lost contact with the land and the
standards of cooking declined as a result.

In the home, food was indeed frequently reduced to "meat and two veg",
perhaps with stews and soups. The rationing of most foods during World War
II did little to assist the situation. However post war population
movements, foreign holidays and immigration to the UK lead to the increasing
absorbtion of influences from former colonies (e.g. India) and from Europe
(particularly France and Italy). Italian-American influence is now
ubiquitous and pasta or pizza make a significant contribution to many diets.

These trends are exemplified by the ubiquitous spaghetti bolognese (known
colloquially as Spag Bol) which has been a common family meal in Britain
since at least the 1960s. More recently chicken tikka masala and lemon
chicken, from Indian and Chinese origins respectively, have been modified to
suit British tastes. The British curry, essentially a hangover from the days
of Empire (and subsequently embellished by immigration), is far more hot and
spicy than the traditional Indian variety. The post-war introduction of
refrigeration, in parallel with the rise of the supermarket has lead to the
packaging of such foods into oven-ready meals which, often cooked by
microwave oven, have now replaced "meat and 2 veg" in many homes.
Consequently British students attending university and living away from home
for the first time can often be seen with a copy of a basic cookery book for
beginners which includes such 'recipes' as 'boiled egg'.

Take-Away Food

The rise of the industrial revolution was also paralled by the advent of
take-away foods such as fish and chips, and steak and kidney pie with mashed
potato. These were the staples of the UK take-away business for many years,
though here too ethnic influences, particularly Indian and Chineese, have
lead to the introduction of ethnic take-away foods. From the 1980s onwards,
a new variant on curry, the balti, began to become popular in the area
around Birmingham, gradually spreading to other parts of the country.

New Cuisine

The rise in popularity of celebrity chefs on television has fuelled an
increase in the awareness of good food and "New British" cuisine has shaken
off much of the stodgy "fish and chips" image. The best London restaurants
rival those anywhere in the world, in both quality and price and this
influence is starting to be felt in the rest of the country.

There has been a massive boom in restaurant numbers driven by a renewed
interest in quality food, possibly due to the availability of cheap foreign
travel. Organic produce is increasingly popular, especially following a
spate of farming crises, including BSE.

There has also been a quiet revolution in both quality and quantity of
places to dine out in Britain, in particular, the humble Public House has
been transformed in the last twenty or so years from being an eatery of poor
reputation to rivalling the best restaurants - very often they now are the
best restaurants. The term "Pub Grub", once derogatory, can now be a sign of
excellent value and quality dining. Some credit for this sea change has to
go to CAMRA, for helping to improve the quality of pubs and their products
in general, and some to the privatisation of breweries, which forced many
pubs to diversify into dining in order to survive as a business, as well as
a greater appreciation and demand among consumers.

Traditional Cuisine

Despite the fast-food reputation, traditional British cuisine was retained
(largely in the countryside and amongst the upper classes) and still thrives
in those households where oven-ready food has yet to bite.

The Sunday roast is perhaps the biggest culinary indication of a steadfastly
traditional household. The Sunday dinner traditionally begins with a
Yorkshire pudding (either as a first course or as part of the main meal),
followed by a joint of meat and assorted vegetables. The more usual joints
are probably beef, lamb or pork, although chicken is also popular. Game
meats such as venison are traditionally the domain of the higher classes.
Game, while being a classic English preserve, is not generally eaten in the
average household.

At home, the British have many original home-made desserts such as rhubarb
crumble, bread and butter pudding, spotted dick, trifle and custard. The
dishes are simple and traditional, with recipes passed on from generation to
generation.

At teatime, the British savour scones with jam, butter or marmalade, also
favouring biscuits and sandwiches. A unique sandwich filling is Marmite, a
savoury spread made from yeast extract, with a dark brown tar-like texture
and bitter taste. A hand-made favourite is butterfly cake. Children learn
the methods to bake these sweets during cookery lessons at school.

Of course the full English breakfast also remains a culinary classic popular
across very many households. Somerset Maugham is quoted as saying "To eat
well in England, you should have breakfast three times a day." Fortunately
it need no longer be true.

Vegetarianism

Since the end of World War II when their numbers were around 100,000,
increasing numbers of the British population have adopted vegetarianism,
especially since the BSE crisis of the 1990s. It is currently (2003)
estimated that there are between 3 and 4 million vegetarians in the UK, one
of the highest percentages in the western world. Around 7 million people
claim to eat no red meat. Its now rare to find no vegetarian foods in a
supermarket or on a restaurant menu.

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