British food?

[Arch]

Last year I was quite upset that France seemed to be going the same way, Pizza places everywhere and with the exception of a regional dish on the menu (in some cases, not all) what seemed to be a pretty generic menu.

One year when I went cycling in France with friends, we ended up in a town on Sunday where the hotel dining was a bit too pricy for us, so we went to look round town. Being a Sunday, a lot of places were closed. We ended up, 8 English people, eating Italian pizza in a takeaway apparently run by Turks. It was certainly international!

The rest of the time, we found great food wherever we went - although I suspect the very act of being on holiday lends flavour to the simplest picnic!

 

[gbb]

And despite my earlier defence of British food....I've just gone in the kitchen to try and sort some tea. Looked in the cupboard and came away disappointed. Truth is, we eat a reasonable amount of veg, but that means a meat and gravy type meal, which I dont fancy. Being a busy family of workers, wife included, means we do probably buy too much pre prepared food...and it is lacking.
Ive come away disappointed, but ultimately its my fault for a lack of imagination right now. Wife isnt well, so I'm trying to do it myself...and failing.

 

[Arch]

And despite my earlier defence of British food....I've just gone in the kitchen to try and sort some tea. Looked in the cupboard and came away disappointed. Truth is, we eat a reasonable amount of veg, but that means a meat and gravy type meal, which I dont fancy. Being a busy family of workers, wife included, means we do probably buy too much pre prepared food...and it is lacking.
Ive come away disappointed, but ultimately its my fault for a lack of imagination right now. Wife isnt well, so I'm trying to do it myself...and failing.

Pasta is your saviour! (Ok, ok, I know not British...) all sorts of veg can be stirfried and added to a tin of tomatoes.

Tell us what you have got, we'll sort you a meal!

 

[Arch]

[QUOTE 2615255, member: 1314"]My sister-in-law always carries a bottle of hot chilli sauce with her to liven food up, if it's too bland.[/quote]


My brother in law often makes up a little dish of chilli oil to have on his dinner. I think if I was my sister, I'd be a bit insulted. Her cooking is lovely, I think he's nuked his tastebuds too much. Still, I suppose he only adds it to his food.

 

[Primal Scream]

Some very basic British food can rival any cuisine for taste and enjoyment. I have eaten some very expensive meals and have not always been overly impressed.

Tonight I will be having quality (not 50 for a quid from Icebland) Pork and apple sausages with mashed potatoes and a whole heap of fried onions yum yum

 

[gbb]

Some very basic British food can rival any cuisine for taste and enjoyment. I have eaten some very expensive meals and have not always been overly impressed.

Tonight I will be having quality (not 50 for a quid from Icebland) Pork and apple sausages with mashed potatoes and a whole heap of fried onions yum yum

That reminds me...
Im not a great sausage eater...ooer...but do enjoy a proper more expensive sausage.
What the hell do Richmond think they're doing with their advert, portraying them as finest sausages (my words, interpretation TBF)... watching the advert, you'd think you could do no better. FFS, theyre supermarket quality, cheap, breadcrumb filled, bland uninspiring and unappealing. Ought to be a law against such adverts.

 

[Arch]

[QUOTE 2615272, member: 1314"]You can add chilli and still enjoy subtle flavours. Us chillie sauce club members at work, for example, all bring in homemade chilli sauces into work. What stands out in mine - according to the feedback - is the subtle infusion of the garlic, ginger and red onions offset by the fiery scotch bonnets, in the background of red birds eye chillies in a white vinegar.

It's a myth that chillie sauce "nukes" the tastebuds. It's the people who think black pepper is as spicy as things get I feel sorry for.[/quote]


I'm sure your chilli sauce is lovely. But if he's putting chilli sauce on everything, won't everything taste of chilli sauce? That's what I'm getting at. If I'd gone to the trouble of making something taste nice, I'd quite like the audience to taste it, not a condiment.

And yeah, I'm not keen on anything too hot, although I can cope with more than black pepper. I know I could acclimatise myself, but why go through a lot of pain (at both ends), when I can just choose to enjoy delicate flavours. Food doesn't have to be spicy or hot to be tasty.

 

[Hacienda71]

Brazilian food. Meat. Lots of meat. Every meal is like being at a barbecue.
Either that or rice and beans. Gets very repetitive very quickly.

I had been in Brazil for a couple of weeks and was getting thoroughly tired of rice and beans "feijao e arroz" so persuaded my Brazilian gf later to become wife, to come to an American diner with me for a steak and fries. 10 minutes after ordering a ribeye with fries and a side salad, the waiter sidled over to our table and asked in hushed tones if I would like rice and beans with that. Fortunately I only have to go over there once every couple of years.

 

[ColinJ]

My brother in law often makes up a little dish of chilli oil to have on his dinner. I think if I was my sister, I'd be a bit insulted. Her cooking is lovely, I think he's nuked his tastebuds too much. Still, I suppose he only adds it to his food.

I saw a documentary on the subject of tastebuds. Some people have very sensitive tastebuds, and some don't. In the programme, 2 young men were given very hot chillis to chew. They munched on them, and were nonchalant, saying "Yeah, that's pretty hot" but not bothered too much. A young woman took one bite and went red-faced, puffy-eyed, streaming nose, sweating ... It was a very dramatic contrast.

I'm like the young guys - I put 3 or 4 chopped chillis (including their seeds!) in my breakfast porridge and think that they just add a nice kick to it. Most people would probably take just one spoonful and spit it out.

My brother-in-law was up recently and he banned me using chillis, chilli powder or curry powder because he is like that young woman. He looks like he is about to have a heart attack when he tastes them. (He used to be less sensitive when he was younger, so perhaps he has developed an allergy to them?)

 

[swee'pea99]

Full English breakfast. Devon cream tea. Fish 'n chips.

Other than that, tho'...

It's a true & sad fact that we don't have the relationship with food that prevails on the Med...but then nor does anyone else. Most countries' food is incomparably more dull than ours, from Denmark (meat and potatoes, maybe a bit of cabbage) to New Zealand (English food circa 1954) without any of the benefits of our international input, from Raj leftovers (HP sauce, curry) to more recent arrivals (Thai, Turkish, Jamaican). Even the smallest town will have a half-decent curry-house - try finding that in, say, rural Estonia.

It could be better, but man, it could be a whole lot worse. And it's a helluva lost better than it used to be.

 

[Arch]

I'm like the young guys - I put 3 or 4 chopped chillis (including their seeds!) in my breakfast porridge

Why in the name of all that's holy would you do that?! I mean I like a certain amount of spice, and I can understand other people liking more than me, but in porridge??!!!?!

 

[jim55]

I put 3 or 4 chopped chillis (including their seeds!) in my breakfast porridge and think that they just add a nice kick to it. Most people would probably take just one spoonful and spit it out.

really ?chillis in porridge

 

[Hitchington]

Dismissing British cuisine as "bland and predictable" is a statement that is bland and predictable in itself.

Remember it was the British that invented the concept of marrying cake with custard, and for that we should be thanked as culinary saviours.

 

[lukesdad]

Spices are used to mask flavours not enhance them.

 

[gbb]

Having looked in the cupboard and failed to inspire myself, I went for the simplest of options...
Boiled some potatoes and mashed em. Added some cheese and fried onions, mixed, then undrr the grill with a topping of cheese, then a little pile of leeks on the side. No meat, just a tad of English mustard...fab. Loved it.

Does it have to be exotic to be really enjoyed....no, and it probably cost less than a quid...and all British to boot.