England is a country that takes pride in its history and heritage in various fields, including a kitchen that is full of unexpected and tasty dishes collected from different parts of the world. Despite such diversity, the British managed to preserve traditional national dishes in their original form, thanks to their legendary conservatism.
English cuisine rules, traditional dishes
Breakfast is the basis of the daily ration of the British, as it serves them as an energy charge for the whole day. Unlike France, where in the morning the croissant is swallowed in a swift manner, washing it with black coffee while on the move, the thorough Englishmen prefer more hearty foods for breakfast, which they probably took from seafarers.
The British are not in a hurry during breakfast and, with a set-up, eat porridge from oatmeal, cream and condensed milk called "porridge".They can also choose as a morning meal cornflakes, in other words "cornflakes", and drink them with a delicious fruit juice. Then follows scrambled eggs and bacon and appetizing white bread with sweet jam. Often, as an alternative, they can give preference to sausages or hot smoked fish.
Lovers of meat, too, are not deprived of attention. They like the dishes of English cuisine, since the main emphasis in them is focused on the high quality of cooking lamb and beef. One of the most famous dishes of the island empire is roast beef - a piece of beef meat baked in the oven, often it is cooked on the grill or stew.
Very typical for the British food is not from roast, but from cooked meat, which are often combined with vegetables. Foreigners can be invited to try a dish of salt-cooked cabbage with leek. Does not sound appetizing, does it not? In order to make this food tastier, the English use a variety of sauces, which are chosen according to their own taste.
The next section of the culinary menu in England are cheeses that have a peculiar taste and, of course, sweet! The most common desserts are creams, which are very much appreciated not only among the Anglo-Saxons, but also outside the United Kingdom. And the famous caramel pudding has long been considered a world culinary masterpiece.
Other countries such as Scotland and Ireland also make their contribution to English national cuisine. They invented an oatmeal cake and a complex dish called "hegis", which is prepared from a mutton scab. At the same time, Ireland is famous for home-made dishes, in particular potato pancakes, referred to as "boksti" and "kolkannonom", prepared from Savoy cabbage, ham and milk.
Condiments and drinks in the English cuisine
One of the main differences between the cooking of Britain and the cooking of Central Europe is seasoning. Flavor nuances of dishes Englishmen strengthen sauces, including molasses from fodder molasses, malt vinegar and even brown cane sugar.
And, of course, do not forget about the national drink of England - tea, which became a favorite already in the seventeenth century. It is believed that he received incredible popularity thanks to such a miraculous effect, like stress relief. Although initially tea helped to improve the unpleasant taste of swamp water.
With bad taste of local water, not only tea struggled, but also beer, which here is not quite the same as foreigners imagine. For example, a dark beer, commonly known as the Hynes, is mistakenly considered to be similar in taste to the Pilsner beer, although this is not the case. The taste qualities of the light beer of the English also do not correspond to those to which most Europeans are accustomed.
The British aristocracy has always been well versed in wine and willingly used it in its diet. Most often, French wine is preferred here, as well as port and sherry. Cognac dominates the quality of strong alcoholic beverages, despite the fact that today the largest fans of cognac products are residents of the United States.
It turns out that before the appearance of this type of alcohol in the territory of the states, it was Britain that occupied the first place in its consumption. Whiskey from Ireland and Scotland is most in demand in producing countries, and the famous gin has gained wide popularity only in the last century.