English food

I have wondered for some time if I should write a little about some of the better and lesser known English dishes.

Fish and Chips:

Well, as found all over the world, but never bettered, or battered, in England. For the proper experience, fish and chips should only be eaten in towns that are fishing ports, so that the fish is sure to be fresh. When the fish is cut open, it should be pure white, not grey. Also, when cooked properly and drained, the fish is steamed inside the batter, revealing freshly cooked fish inside its crispy batter.

Fish and chips can be served with garden peas (or mushy peas), but always lashings of salt and malt vinegar should be used, and applied when freshly cooked so you get the vinegary vavour rising from the chips.

Ideally, should be eaten from days old newspapers sitting on the promenade of a seaside resort, fighting off the attention of seagulls.

Toad in the Hole

Toad in the hole cobines two of the greats of British cuisine: Yorkshire pudding and sausages. Yorkshire Puddings, Yorkshires or Yorkies, can either be made in a bun tin as individual puddings, or in a large pan, in which case the sides rise up like waves of a tsunami and go very crisy, while the rest is soft and tasty, and if the tray the meat was cooked in is used, you get the meaty flavour too. In times past, the "batter pudding", was cooked in a tray below the meat being turned on a spit, although cooking methods have changed, our love for Yorkshires remain undimmed. The addition of sausages in the batter result in the bangers being encased in cooked batter once cooked, and to the delight of children and adults. For best results, sausage meat rather than sausages should be used, hand rolled in flour, so they go crispy too.

Spotted Dick

Fnar fnar. Spotted Dick is a pudding of sponge, sometimes suet pudding, with currents added. The currents being the spots. Once a traditonal desert, or "afters", served in working class households and for school dinners, is accompanied by custard, made with Birds custard powder, not with cream, eggs and vanilla pods. Also see treacle puddings.

Beans on Toast

Much maligned by others aroud the world. A staple of Saturday tea time meals. Two slices of toasted white bread and a spoonful of tinned baked beans on top. Our baked beans are bland compared to American BBQ or Boston beans, the haricot beans sit in a thin tomato sauce, but is something we are used to. Can be served with cheese to create cheesy beans to lift it even higher.

Bangers and Mash

Simply sausages and mash. Usually served with baked beans on the side. My Grandfather used no butter in his mash and hand rolled sausages from sausage meat, then cut the bangers up in small pieces and mix in the mash to create a mess. But a tasty mess. These days we add either horseradish sauce or Canadian salted herb to the buttery mash for a strong flavour kick. Always make more mash than you need so the leftovers can be fried the next day.

Bread and butter pudding

As the name suggests, consists of bread and butter, but also eggy milk, sultanas and sometimes spices too, to spice it up. Buttered stale bread line a pie tin, then build up in layers adding sugar and sultanas before puring on the eggy milk, and baking until the top is crispy. Served with cream or custard.

Crumble

Fruit based pudding, with apples, apple and blackcurrent, rhubarb, then a mix of flour, butter and sugar on top, but left unmixed into pastry, cooked until golden brown and also served with cream or custard.

Bubble and sqeak

Leftover potatoes and vegetables from a roast dinner, mashed together then fried. Usually as a side to a larger fried breakfast, instead of hash browns or fried potatoes. Much nicer than it sounds.

Roast dinner

Aka Sunday dinner. Roast beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey, servied with Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes, vegetables, stuffing, gravy (made with juices from roasted meat). Is nothing like it, brings entire families together, any lefotver can be graved through the day or following days, or make any number of meals with the leftovers.

Beef pudding

As the name suggests, a beef pudding, made with chunks of beef (an onion) in a gravy, then placed in a suet pastry pudding and either boiled, steamed or roasted. Sure suet is 100% animal fat, but is glorious. Once in a while. Bacon butties As the same suggests, bacon sandwich. Bacon should be smoked, with fat cooked so its all crispy, in sliced white bread heavily buttered so that the hot bacon melts it son coats your hands. Great hangover cure. Fried breakfast AKA English breakfast, Ulster fry, etc. A great start to the day, should have bacon, sausages and after that, to your taste. Can also include: fried bread, baked beans, fried (or scrambled) eggs, tomatoes (grlled fresh or tinned), mushrooms, bubble, hash browns, black pudding, white pudding. The list goes on. servied with a big pot of tea and toast.

Bread and dripping

Beloved by my Grandmother. Bread and dripping is, simply, sliced white bread and the fat and jely left at the bottom of the roasting tin. Looked as disgusting as it sounds.

Pie and mash

Pie and mash is best known as a staple food of London's east end, though actual pie and mash restaurants are now few and far between. The pie is minced beef and potato and usualy accompanied by a parsley sauce called liquor. The mash is served with little butter, so is "dry". Also sold at pie and mash shops are jellied ells, that is eels cooked in gelatine. And I'll leave that culinary crime there.

Camp Coffee

Not actual coffee! Came in a jar and made from chocry extract, was a syrup, sweet and disgusting. Drank by my Grandparents. And me, for a while. Names of meals.

Breakfast. Simple enough.

Midday meal: either lunch or dinner. At school the ladies who worked in the kitchen were dinner ladies, not lunch ladies.

Evening meal: dinner or tea. No set rule, mostly use dinner now, but those who use the word dinner at lunchtime would say tea for the evening meal.

Supper: something to be eaten just before bedtime, usually on a tray placed on your lap when watching TV on the sofa.