This month we explore Britain’s curious cuisine. What specialities are there? What dishes do British expatriates miss?
THE GREAT BRITISH BREAKFAST
Let’s begin with breakfast. How about a kipper? This is a smoked herring. It is cut from head to tail and preserved in salt and smoked. Legend tells us that the smoking process was invented accidentally by a fisherman when he dried his fish near a fire. The best place to try kippers is Craster, in Northumberland. Then there is black pudding, a speciality from Lancashire. This is made of pig’s blood, animal fat and spices. It’s often served with fried eggs, bacon and baked beans (white beans in a tomato sauce). It’s delicious!
LOVE HATE
The British love strong flavours. If you doubt this, then you must try Marmite – a black paste with a very strong taste. People either love it, or hate it. Marmite is a natural by-product from the process of beer production. British mothers give it to their children because it is full of vitamins. Legend says it is also a remedy for baldness, but this hasn’t been confirmed.
TEATIME
Four o’clock? It’s time for a traditional cream tea with scones, strawberry jam and clotted cream. What is a scone? Well, it’s harder than a cake, but softer than a biscuit. Scones are made of eggs, milk, butter and flour. Cut the scone in half, add a spoonful of jam and some clotted cream.
SUNDAY LUNCH
You can enjoy “Sunday Roast” in a traditional English pub. This is Britain’s favourite meal: roast beef served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. A Yorkshire pudding is not a dessert. It’s made of milk, eggs, flour and salt. And it is cooked in the fat of the meat. Originally, it was eaten as a first course. Don’t forget the gravy. This is a delicious meat sauce made with water, fat from the meat and Bisto. English housewives have used Bisto since 1908.
DESSERT
Let’s finish the meal with apple crumble and custard. That’s baked apples covered with a crunchy topping. The crumble is a mixture of flour, butter and brown sugar. This is covered with custard, a hot vanilla cream. Wonderful!
Make Your Own
Scones
Take 225g self-raising flour and a pinch of salt. Cut 75g of butter into small pieces and mix into the flour. Add 40g of sugar. Blend one egg with 2 tablespoons of milk and add to the flour. Separate into round scones about 2.5cm high. Place the scones on an oven tray. Bake in the oven at 220°C for 10-12 minutes.
Clotted Cream
Put a pan full of milk in the oven and cook at 80°C for an hour. Let the pan cool and then remove the thick cream from the surface. The best clotted cream comes from Devon and Cornwall.
Yorkshire Pudding
Put 180ml of milk in a mixing bowl. Add two eggs, 100g flour and a pinch of salt. Blend together. Pre-heat the oven to 220°C. Take a 4-hole baking tray and pour a little vegetable oil into each hole. Place the tray in the oven. When the oil is hot, remove the tray from the oven using oven gloves. Pour in the pudding mixture and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Britain’s Magical Powders: Bird’s Custard Powder and Bisto!
If you open a British expatriate’s suitcase, you will find tins of Bird’s Custard Powder and Bisto, the two magical ingredients of many English dishes.
Custard is a vanilla cream made with milk and Bird’s custard powder. Alfred Bird invented his custard powder in 1837. It’s unusual because it doesn’t contain egg. Bird created it for his wife: she was allergic to eggs.
Bisto was invented in 1908 by Messrs. Roberts & Patterson. Its unique combination of ingredients is still perfect after more than 100 years. It adds flavour, colour and density to gravy – the sauce served with meat in England.
