• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • Pearl Sutton
stewards:
  • paul wheaton
  • Tereza Okava
  • Andrés Bernal
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • Jeremy VanGelder
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden

What is Your Favorite British Cuisine?

 
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
What is Your Favorite British Cuisine?

Well-known traditional British dishes include full breakfast, fish and chips, the Christmas dinner,[3] the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, and bangers and mash.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_cuisine



Source - Bangers and Mash  


British cuisine has many regional varieties within the broader categories of English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine and Northern Irish cuisine. Each has developed its own regional or local dishes, many of which are geographically indicated foods such as Cornish pasties, the Yorkshire pudding, Cumberland Sausage, Arbroath Smokie, and Welsh cakes.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_cuisine



Source - Welsh Pies      




Source - Cornish Miners' Pasties      




Source - Scotch Eggs      


What is your favorite British Food?

 
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
600
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
That pasty recipe you linked is terrible! totally and utterly wrong. you would be strung up in the Cornwall for calling that a Cornish pasty. Cornish pasties contain Beef (skirt mainly) not mice  potato, swede, salt and pepper placed into pastry raw and then cooked. no herbs no carrot and most certainly no cream of mushroom soup "shudder"
The official rules on them are  (Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) )

   They have to be made in Cornwall.
   They can only contain beef, potato, Swede (rutabaga), onion, salt and pepper.  No other meat, no other vegetables, no other seasonings allowed.
   The ingredients must be raw when the pasties are assembled and then slowly baked to produce the traditional Cornish pasty flavor and texture.
   The edges of the pasties must be sealed by crimping them in traditional Cornish fashion.

I'm quite prepared to let the first slip and the last in acceptable to change as well, but the middle two are sacrosanct!
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Skandi, so sweet of you to point that out. I labeled it the way the source named it.

What would you call that picture?

Would you post a picture of what it really would look like for me? Or all the ones I got wrong?

I have never been to England or the United Kingdom so how would I know? I have never even eaten any of those foods or seen them in person.

Hey, I am just trying to help Henry with his contest.

This post was not about the food it was about winning PIE, apples and prizes.
 
Skandi Rogers
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
600
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Anne Miller wrote:Skandi, so sweet of you to point that out. I labeled it the way the source named it.

What would you call that picture?

Would you post a picture of what it really would look like for me? Or all the ones I got wrong?

I have never been to England or the United Kingdom so how would I know? I have never even eaten any of those foods or seen them in person.

Hey, I am just trying to help Henry with his contest.

This post was not about the food it was about winning PIE, apples and prizes.



I can see it's not your recipe! The pasty also looks ok at first glance, it was the fact it had carrot in it that made me click the link and look at the recipe. I don't know of any British food that uses tinned soup (other than soup!) I think that's a very American thing to do.
See the pasty below looks nearly identical.


 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
All apples and the PIE has been given!  Henry's contest is still going as far as I know.  I thought long and hard about how to pick the winner of the piece of PIE.  I thought about using the way we pick promotion winners, an apple poll, or asking members to pick their favorite.  In the end I decided to pick the TOPIC with the most replies.  So we have a winner! This topic was the winner of the piece of PIE:  https://permies.com/t/148274/Bicycle-riding-UK-Ireland

 
Posts: 92
Location: Surrey United Kingdom
29
forest garden chicken bee
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Skandi Rogers wrote:That pasty recipe you linked is terrible! totally and utterly wrong. you would be strung up in the Cornwall for calling that a Cornish pasty. Cornish pasties contain Beef (skirt mainly) not mice  potato, swede, salt and pepper placed into pastry raw and then cooked. no herbs no carrot and most certainly no cream of mushroom soup "shudder"
The official rules on them are  (Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) )

   They have to be made in Cornwall.
   They can only contain beef, potato, Swede (rutabaga), onion, salt and pepper.  No other meat, no other vegetables, no other seasonings allowed.
   The ingredients must be raw when the pasties are assembled and then slowly baked to produce the traditional Cornish pasty flavor and texture.
   The edges of the pasties must be sealed by crimping them in traditional Cornish fashion.

I'm quite prepared to let the first slip and the last in acceptable to change as well, but the middle two are sacrosanct!



im happy to hear how its suposed to be madeim quite fond of what they sell as cornish pasties here in south africa much like what you describe but with carot instead of swede (we dont grow swedes here) but on a trip to the uk last year i was rushing and missed breakfast so grabed a "cornish" pastie at the train station in london, it was probably 50% filled with leeks now im fin with leeks in soup ect but it was altogether too much in my pastie and ended up having to throw half of it away so glad to hear that this is not the norm in the uk.
 
master steward
Posts: 7606
Location: southern Illinois, USA
2803
goat cat dog chicken composting toilet food preservation pig solar wood heat homestead composting
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I am a little late to the party, but I am in love with Scones.
 
steward and tree herder
Posts: 10709
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
5091
5
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I suspect British cuisine is a misnomer!
We tend to be very good at 'comfort food': puddings in particular, but filling and stodgy food in general.
Some I particularly like:

source
Stornaway black pudding. I'm not sure what they do to make it so good, but it's got a lovely soft texture that will spoil you for any other...

source
Pork pies. I used to really like the jelly bit in them, but as long as they're not too heavy on the pastry.

source
My husband's favourite "toad in the hole" which I hope everyone knows does not involve toads but sausages in a Yorkshire pudding type batter.

And don't forget steamed puddings......

source
Yes this is spotted dick!
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Nancy, those all sound really yummy.

I have long heard of the "Toad in a hole" here in the US, it is a breakfast food, not anything like the British Toad in a Hole.

Here is how to fix the American Toad in a Hole:

https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/toad-in-the-hole/
 
Skandi Rogers
pollinator
Posts: 2339
Location: Denmark 57N
600
fungi foraging trees cooking food preservation
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Funnily enough the things I buy from the UK include black pudding, (and white and fruit) Normally Bury as that's the one they sell. Haggis, branstons pickle, malt vinegar, marmite, birds custard powder, mixed spice...
I make my own pork pies and leave out the jelly, horrible stuff! Also sausage rolls, so good.

The thing I miss most? Sausages, British sausages are wonderful and you cannot get anything close here. All sausages have cured pork in them not fresh and are just not the same. I've gotten pretty good at making my own!

I had the parents in law round last month, for fish and chips followed by sticky toffee pudding (STEAMED not baked!) very nice but not exactly a balanced diet.
 
pollinator
Posts: 2712
Location: RRV of da Nort, USA
811
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
How could this thread have gotten so long without mention of "beans on toast"?  Fortunately, there are many recipes on the internet for it, but had a gal from Norwich tell me to include Worchestershire sauce in the recipe or it just would not be the same! :-)    I gotta think the 'bean burrito' in the States with its origins south of the border is an equivalent.....and I admit to liking refried beans as a toast spread with additional adornments.
BeansOnToast.JPG
Beans-On-Toast
 
pollinator
Posts: 2916
Location: Zone 5 Wyoming
519
kids duck forest garden chicken pig bee greening the desert homestead
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Share some of your tried and true recipes ya'll. We are doing all things UK based this month and I could use some recipes from people in the know.
 
steward & manure connoisseur
Posts: 4493
Location: South of Capricorn
2467
dog rabbit urban cooking writing homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
bangers and mash is in our regular meal rotation. Good stuff.
I like onion gravy, and I always recommend this recipe to people who want to learn how to make a good, flexible gravy (i`m amazed how often people tell me they're buying gravy mix or [gasp] gravy IN A CAN. To each his own, I guess, but you can have good gravy ready in 15 min using pantry ingredients...)
https://www.recipetineats.com/bangers-and-mash-sausage-with-onion-gravy/#wprm-recipe-container-24991
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Tereza, thanks for that link.

I think I may try the Sausage Bake that Nagi linked to from that recipe.

I have a freezer full of Venison Jalepano Link sausage that we don't like so maybe that is a recipe that we will like it in as I need to use it up.

Since I need recipe suggestions I am looking at her other recipes.
 
Tereza Okava
steward & manure connoisseur
Posts: 4493
Location: South of Capricorn
2467
dog rabbit urban cooking writing homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Anne Miller wrote:
I have a freezer full of Venison Jalepano Link sausage that we don't like so maybe that is a recipe that we will like it in as I need to use it up.


Another suggestion (though not particularly British) is to make curry ketchup and then currywurst. I could get my family to eat shoes if they have that ketchup on it.
 
pollinator
Posts: 1195
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
525
6
urban books building solar rocket stoves ungarbage
  • Likes 5
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Umm... Hello? Fish and Chips!! (and malt vinegar, or my new favorite pairing, sour beer!)

Scotch eggs are good too.
 
pollinator
Posts: 99
Location: Yorkshire, UK 🇬🇧 (Zone 8A, I think)
58
cat urban ungarbage
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Not much of a fan of British cuisine, despite being English. That being said tho:

Beans on toast - eat that quite a lot
Sausages & mash - mash has to be buttery, sausages have to be decent (Asda do lovely maple bacon flavour ones. Caramelised onion also good).
Chicken roast dinner. My bf makes it with fried stuffing (omg it’s amazing), mash, fried asparagus and steamed green beans.
 
gardener
Posts: 1876
Location: Japan, zone 9a/b, annual rainfall 2550mm, avg temp 1.5-32 C
956
2
kids home care trees cooking bike woodworking ungarbage
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
As an ignorant outsider I might be way off on this, but...

Isn't the best British cuisine supposed to be Indian cuisine?

Maybe that's just for the tongue in cheek.
 
Heather Gardener
pollinator
Posts: 99
Location: Yorkshire, UK 🇬🇧 (Zone 8A, I think)
58
cat urban ungarbage
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

L. Johnson wrote:As an ignorant outsider I might be way off on this, but...

Isn't the best British cuisine supposed to be Indian cuisine?

Maybe that's just for the tongue in cheek.



Omg I love a good Indian 😋 Totally valid point lol 😂 Birmingham and Bradford especially are famed for their excellent Indian restaurants.
 
Posts: 2
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Full English Breakfast- bacon, sausages, eggs, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, and toast.
 
pioneer
Posts: 138
Location: West Yorkshire, England, UK
9
fungi building rocket stoves
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Heather Gardener wrote: Birmingham and Bradford especially are famed for their excellent Indian restaurants.



Don't forget the Curry Mile in Manchester!
Scuttlebutt is that Chicken Tikka Marsala came about by East India Company Officer asking for good old English gravy.  "Turnabout is fair play", just ask Sunak.
 
Posts: 502
Location: West Midlands UK (zone 8b) Rainfall 26"
140
  • Likes 6
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I would like to submit Grasmere Gingerbread which is made by a bakery in Grasmere to a supposedly secret recipe and famed the world over.  I do have a book with a recipe in which says:
6oz wholewheat flour
2oz porridge oats
half teaspoon bicarb
half teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teasp ginger
6oz margarine (I would use butter)
6oz brown sugar

This is pressed down in an 11x7 inch tin and baked at gas mark 3 for 30 minutes.  I accidentally got even closer to the taste of the real thing when I ran out of ginger and put some cinnamon in as well.

And then there is rhubarb crumble.  There was a famous area of Yorkshire called the rhubarb triangle where they grew huge quantities of it in dark sheds in the early 20th century and sent it down to London on trains.  It is a common crop on allotments (another very British tradition) and John Seymour in my copy of Self Sufficiency extolls its virtues for the making of home brewed wine.  Also good for chutney and jam. So maybe I am straying from the original ask of "British cuisine" but it's a very British ingredient, despite originating in Siberia!  Rhubarb crumble is quite simple, you part-bake the rhubarb in a casserole with a little sugar if it's not a sweet variety, and then top it with butter and flour rubbed together and sugar stirred in and bake again.  Can add oats or a little cinnamon to the crumble mix.
 
pollinator
Posts: 672
Location: South West France
258
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Lancashire hot pot
Irish stew
Eccles cakes
Treacle tart
Kedgeree
Coronation chicken
Bubble and squeak
Welsh rarebit

But my favourite is surely the English breakfast or curried baked beans on toast for a quick meal!
 
Steward of piddlers
Posts: 5964
Location: Upstate NY, Zone 5, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
2743
monies home care dog fungi trees chicken food preservation cooking building composting homestead
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I don't know much about British cuisine but I appreciate fish and chips!

Haddock is my prefered fish in this preparation but I know there are a few similar fish that can get the job done.
 
Nancy Reading
steward and tree herder
Posts: 10709
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
5091
5
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Timothy Norton wrote:I don't know much about British cuisine but I appreciate fish and chips!

Haddock is my prefered fish in this preparation but I know there are a few similar fish that can get the job done.



Haddock or cod are the preferred options in our house depending on what is considered 'sustainable' at the time...

Not forgetting the difference between US 'chips' and UK 'chips' (which are not the same thing as 'fries')
The daring gourmet seems to have a pretty good recipe if you fancy cooking your own UK style fish and chips. One secret is in the double frying of the chips....Ideally they should be wrapped in newspaper after adding salt and vinegar, put in the footwell of the car, and driven round the block before eating!
 
Anne Miller
steward
Posts: 17449
Location: USDA Zone 8a
4460
dog hunting food preservation cooking bee greening the desert
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I went to that website that Nancy posted.  

I would like to know are those UK Chips or US chips?

I don't see a difference in the way I cook french fries ...

I cant remember the name of the restaurant chain that we used to buy fish and chips at though the fish looked like what was picture on that website.

We had a bottle of Malt Vinegar for years to use with fish and french fries.
 
Nancy Reading
steward and tree herder
Posts: 10709
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year
5091
5
transportation dog forest garden foraging trees books food preservation woodworking wood heat rocket stoves ungarbage
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Anne Miller wrote:I would like to know are those UK Chips or US chips?

I don't see a difference in the way I cook french fries ...


Oh maybe they are the same then? I always think of fries as those crunchy sticks you get in burger fast food places.
 
pioneer
Posts: 240
47
cat trees urban
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I would say the "chip shop chips" I've grown up with in England tend to be fatter, and not quite so crisp, as the French fries I've had mostly in New England. Chip shops often used to cook in fat from cattle, and cook battered fish etc. in the same fat. But these days, they are often cooking chips in vegetable oil such as rapeseed oil, in a separate fryer from battered meats.
 
Ac Baker
pioneer
Posts: 240
47
cat trees urban
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My favourite dish, is my late Mum's blackberry and apple crumble.  Bramley apples from my grandparents tree, stacks of bramble berries we've picked as a family, just a tiny bit of soft brown sugar in the fruit.  These days I sub vegetable oil for the butter she'd rub into the wheat flour, then more soft brown sugar and rolled oats to make the topping. (Didn't have a camera phone back in those days, so never took a picture). Yum!
 
Ac Baker
pioneer
Posts: 240
47
cat trees urban
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
My favourite cuisine that is now part of the culture of these isles is definitely from the sub-continent.  

We make split chickpea and red lentil daal every week for our lunches. Spiced with whole garam masala we buy in big bags from one of the local shops owned and run by people of South Asian heritage, here in the West Midlands of England.  Tarka of red & white onions, garlic, ginger and chilli (some of which latter we grow on our sunniest windowsill) with home-grown broad beans this month, plus other veg we grow or buy e.g. purple potatoes, carrots, red peppers, aubergines (brinjal or eggplant), and stacks of tomatoes.  Served with garlic and coriander naan or cauliflower paratha flat breads or brown basmati rice, yum!

(Also no photos, never thought of taking one before!).

ETA: Hodmedod, a company based in East England (named in a local dialect, meaning 'little hedgehog'), have brought locally grown chickpeas and lentils to market.  I've not yet got a good crop of chickpeas myself.
 
master gardener
Posts: 4652
Location: Carlton County, Minnesota, USA: 3b; Dfb; sandy loam; in the woods
2395
7
forest garden trees chicken food preservation cooking fiber arts woodworking homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I do love Cornish pasties (adapted to our vegetarian kitchen) but if I'm picking a favorite bit of British cuisine, I'm going with a pint of Porter.
 
out to pasture
Posts: 12795
Location: Portugal
3794
goat dog duck forest garden books wofati bee solar rocket stoves greening the desert
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Cawl!  

In Wales it just means soup, but mostly people think of the classic lamb cawl, with leeks and whatever root vegetables you could lay your hands on. Especially swede!



And another favourite of mine is cawl cennin, or leek soup. Leeks being Wales' national vegetable.



And then a slice of buttered bara brith, which translates as 'spotty bread'



I doubt they are Welsh, but every time I used to go and pay my rent, mamgu would always give me a slice of bara brith and raspberry bun, though she would call them cacen twll, or 'hole cakes'



If we went to Swansea, it was almost compulsory to go to the market and get a dose of laverbread.



And then there's the quintessential faggots, chips and mushy peas. Smothered in gravy, naturally. And served in some grotesque polystyrene thing that that's going to make your insides congeal before you even take a bite...



Edit to add a little video of a 'Full Welsh' breakfast, complete with laverbread and cockles.

 
Forget Steve. Look at this tiny ad:
Learn Permaculture through a little hard work
https://wheaton-labs.com/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic