English cuisine has preserved and brought to our days many traditional dishes. They are based on meat, fish, vegetables, cereals. It is characterized by fairly conservative cooking with little or no use of sauces and hot spices. Seasonings for dishes are usually used only after their preparation in the form of a variety of hot, sour and other spices, which, as a rule, are served in bottles.
The cuisine of Foggy Albion is characterized by a wide variety of cold appetizers, the most popular of which are sandwiches, especially traditional triangular ones. Soups are rarely served here. The most “English” first courses are mashed soups and broths.
Almost all types of meat are present in English cuisine – beef, veal, lamb, pork. This is the only country where the fried bull thigh has been elevated to the rank of food for aristocrats. The meat is baked whole with blood or cut into steaks and fried in a pan. As a rule, it is not fried until fully cooked. Meat dishes are served with gravy, pickles, baked vegetables (usually potatoes) and various sauces, most often tomato. Mint sauce is also common, which is a well-infused mixture of finely chopped mint leaves, water, sugar, and wine vinegar. Favorite national dishes are roast beef and steak. Real roast beef is juicy and pink inside, and topped with a crispy crust. Leg of lamb, pork pies, kidney pate and tenderloins are also famous.
An important place in the diet of the British is occupied by fish – cod, smoked herring. Kakan and salmon are especially tasty. From seafood, the British prefer lobster and squid.
The most popular traditional British dishes are puddings, potato casseroles with ground beef, lamb or fish, and roasts. Puddings have become a hallmark of the UK. There are two types of them: meat, cereals and vegetables, which are served as a second course, and sweet, served for dessert. Some traditional dishes are served only on holidays. Among them, the most popular Christmas plumpuding. It is prepared from bacon, bread crumbs, flour, raisins, sugar, eggs and various spices. Before serving, this pudding is doused with rum, set on fire and put on the table flaming. Traditional festive dishes are also stuffed turkey with a vegetable side dish, cross buns for Easter, potatoes with sausages for Guy Fawkes Day.
Of the drinks, tea is the most widely used. The British drink it up to 6 times a day, and each time has its own type of tea and its own tea drinking traditions. Tea is served with milk and sweets. English pastries are known all over the world. Cupcakes, biscuits, cookies and saffron buns are especially good.
Of the alcoholic beverages in the UK, beer is most commonly consumed – black ale and porter, draft beer is especially valued. The British also drink whiskey, gin, rum and port.
An integral part of the English national cuisine is Scottish cuisine. Basically, they are not much different from each other. A popular national dish among the Scots is liquid oatmeal – porridge. It is usually served for breakfast. There are many ways to make porridge, passed down from generation to generation. Puddings are very common among the Scots, especially black (blood) and white – from a mixture of oatmeal, lard and onions. There is a special sweet scotch pudding that is made around the holidays. It is prepared as follows: oatmeal is poured into a boiling mixture of honey and water, when the mixture thickens, it is diluted with cream. Like the British, the favorite drink of the Scots is tea; whiskey is the most popular of intoxicating drinks.
However, the Scots eat more different cereals than the British, moreover, in the form of cereals. For breakfast, for example, sweetened wheat porridge with milk and dracheny from various cereals are very often prepared.
The Scots more than the British eat soups, mainly cereals and meat with potatoes, cabbage, fish soups. The national Scottish dish is lamb or veal offal, boiled with oatmeal and heavily seasoned with onions and peppers. Scottish national roast recipes with a side dish of potatoes and fresh peas are varied. A festive dish is considered traditional – chicken or goose stuffed with chopped offal and oatmeal.
Among the countless English pubs, restaurants and restaurants, not to mention the variety of brasseries, chippies, sandwich cafes and bars, it is sometimes difficult to make a choice. Sandwich cafes and bars offer a hearty breakfast, which usually consists of scrambled eggs, toast, light snacks, tea or cappuccino coffee. These establishments are open from early morning until noon. Pubs, chippies, and brasseries open at 11 am and stay open until 10:30 pm – 11:00 pm.
In chippies, you can eat more thoroughly. Here you can eat fish and potatoes fried in sizzling oil, grilled chicken, sausages and pies.
The brassery is the best place to hold a business meeting, while the pub has everything from sandwiches and beer to a three-course meal with dessert, and it’s not expensive at all.
In London, there is ample opportunity to try dishes of other cuisines, among which the most common are Indian, Chinese, African and Middle Eastern. This city is one of the gastronomic capitals of the world – about 14,000 restaurants operate here.
