French vs British Cuisine

[Richard A Thackeray]

I'll admit I've not read all of this, but in one of his books, Stuart Maconie (the 6 Music presenter) hypothesised that the reason that French food has developed so much over the years, particularly in terms of sauces/'jus', is that the basic ingredients were so poor, that they required masking/'tarting up'

In contrast, British (English) food was of such high quality, that no such fripperies were needed


Personally speaking, I'd thank nobody for Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding, it rates somewhere below a 'grilled gecko' for me

 

[User482]

Yebbut, you've got to take most of those home and cook them.
Thailand just does such great street food you'd not need to bother

This is true, but I reckon Cambodian food is even better.

 

[hopless500]

This is true, but I reckon Cambodian food is even better.

I like that too. I have been trying to make some of it.

 

[gavroche]

I'll admit I've not read all of this, but in one of his books, Stuart Maconie (the 6 Music presenter) hypothesised that the reason that French food has developed so much over the years, particularly in terms of sauces/'jus', is that the basic ingredients were so poor, that they required masking/'tarting up'

In contrast, British (English) food was of such high quality, that no such fripperies were needed


Personally speaking, I'd thank nobody for Roast Beef & Yorkshire Pudding, it rates somewhere below a 'grilled gecko' for me

When it comes to quality, go to a French market in all sort of villages, all the local produce is quality with a capital Q and the choice is bewildering too.

 

[PK99]

When it comes to quality, go to a French market in all sort of villages, all the local produce is quality with a capital Q and the choice is bewildering too.

Diito, French supermarkets.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

I have just had a large bowl of ice-cream topped with miniature Rolos and Freddo the Frogs.

Lush.

 

[User482]

I like that too. I have been trying to make some of it.

I recommend the Rick Stein SE Asian cookery book - I usually make a quadruple quantity of the pastes and freeze them.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Did you have the healthy option or was it battered and fried?

Battered Freddo the Frogs are lovely

 

[PK99]

I recommend the Rick Stein SE Asian cookery book - I usually make a quadruple quantity of the pastes and freeze them.

his Indian one is good too...

 

[PK99]

[QUOTE 4059271, member: 259"]The programme was cringeworthingly awful at times, but this is not the first time someone's recommended the book.[/QUOTE]

Recipes are pretty close to authentic but with a British chef's eye... eg recommends Kashmiri chilies and chilli powder and are very red but mild, giving a good heat and loads of colour (I tend to beef it up with chiili flakes in the cooking process to get to my preferred heat.)

 

[Hover Fly]

I remember reading that it was Italian chefs working in French aristocratic homes that created much of what we now think of as French cuisine. No idea how true that is but it seems plausible to me.

Up to a point yes. But there has been lot happened in France since then. Marie-Antoine Careme (Cook of kings and king of cooks, as he was known) for instance invented most of the sauces still used today (even brown sauce and tomato ketchup owe something to his methods) in the 18th century. Then in the 19th and early 20th century Escoffier again revolutionized Careme's methods into the style of haute cuisine of grand hotels and restaurants (as opposed to the cuisine burgeoise of cafes and bistros and working-class food of various types), introducing such things as serving meals on plates in seperate course instead of all the food being on the table at once.
Don't forget that the cliche of Italian food, pasta, originally came from China.

 

[theclaud]

I had Arancini for my lunch yesterday, very nice they were too.

An Arancineria (I just made that up, but if it isn't a word, then it should be) just opened up a few hundred yards from my workplace.

 

[Aperitif]

An Arancineria (I just made that up, but if it isn't a word, then it should be) just opened up a few hundred yards from my workplace.

'Polski Delikatesy' - handy for the Tyskie-to-go, then? Sicilian restaurant with these as a 'speciality' in London closed recently, replaced by (just have to go and look out of the window because I cannot remember the name ) 'Beef & Brew' - serving craft meat and craftier beer at stupendous prices. Good English cuisine...

 

[theclaud]

'Polski Delikatesy' - handy for the Tyskie-to-go, then? Sicilian restaurant with these as a 'speciality' in London closed recently, replaced by (just have to go and look out of the window because I cannot remember the name ) 'Beef & Brew' - serving craft meat and craftier beer at stupendous prices. Good English cuisine...

At our new Welsh Sicilian you can get your Arancine (it seems to be feminine in Sicily, which is where they come from - arancina being 'little orange' as opposed to arancino being a kumquat) with chips, and even curry sauce! They draw the line at half-and-half.

 

[Markymark]

I like fusion cooking.