Origins Of Some Of Britain's Most Popular Foodstuffs

  

Found below is the history of some of Britain's most popular and historic foodstuffs. 

FISH AND CHIPS.

Fish & Chips is considered to be Britain's most iconic foodstuff. So popular is this British staple that Britain even has shops - the chippy -  set aside solely for the buying of this delicacy.

Obviously being an island nation one would expect Britain to have a fish dish as it's most popular foodstuff, but strangely, the British do not really eat that much fish.

The big pull of fish and chips is the chips, which can be served with anything not just fish.Chips are also easy to cook, so making them at home is not a problem, even growing the potatoes to make the chips can be done at home too, so it's easy to see how they caught on, particularly during the war years when food was hard to come by.

Ironically Britain's favourite dish is actually of Jewish / Belgium origins, with chips having been a staple of the Belgium people since the late sixteen hundreds and the fried fish in batter actually being a Jewish recipe.

Like most things in Britain, the fish and chip shop became popular after the onset of the railways, when fish was able to be transported from Britsh coastal towns inland.

The first fish and chip shop was opened in Oldham, Lancashire by Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin who wanted to reproduce his favourite Jewish fish dish into the Britsh culture.  

Well he certainly did that! 

ROAST BEEF AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING.

So popular in Britain is this dish that their French neighbours even call them after it, Rosbif.

The roast beef has obviously been around for millenia as roasting meat in an oven or over an open fire is an age old tradition, but the Yorkshire Pudding, the traditional accompaniment to roast beef, was not introduced until the mid 1700's.

As it's name suggests it's origins are in Yorkshire and it uses a traditional pancake recipe that is baked in the oven instead of being fried.

These two foodstuffs when eaten together result in the traditional British Sunday Dinner or Sunday roast and is traditionally eaten, as it's name suggests, on Sundays. 

GRAVY.

It has been said that the British only have one sauce and that they pour it on everything. Well that’s true, they have and they do.

Astonishingly gravy has been around since 3000 BC, when evidence of it was found in Egyptian cuisine. It was also enjoyed by the ancient Greeks and was most probably brought to England by the Romans.

Of course Britain does indeed have other sauces, but none of them have caught on quite like the thick, brown, greasy sauce known as gravy, which is quite unlike any gravy  found in other world cuisines. 

CUSTARD.

I told you Britain had other sauces and this is one of them, custard, otherwise known as Creme Anglais by the rest of the world, and a British staple and component of many tried and tested British desserts and savoury dishes.

The custard recipe dates back to the middle ages, when it was made from eggs and milk, although these days the British tend to use ready made shop brought mixes.

Custard is traditionally of  European origins although the foodstuff  it’self is definitely English. 

FULL ENGLISH.

The full English is the name attributed to the British breakfast, known the world over and craved by every Briton on the planet where ever he may be. The thing about this once working man's breakfast is that it is addictive, hence the reason so many emporiums abroad specifically sell it for the English tourist or traveller.

Two hundred years ago nearly every British home had a pig and some chickens, which is how the working man's breakfast came to have so many pork items - sausage, bacon, black pudding - and of course eggs in it's makeup.The full fat breakfast was considered a healthy and nutritious start to the day for a man that would spend upwards of twelve hours a day working on the land,  digging roads or working in coal mines.

The British novelist Somerset Maughan (1874 - 1965) once said of the Full English that the only way to eat well in England is to eat the English breakfast three times a day, giving the breakfast it’s new title of the All Day Breakfast. The meal is also known as a Fry Up, as most of the meal’s foodstuffs were fried.

The full English looks disgusting, will kill you if eaten to extremes and the British wouldn't change it for the world.  

SANDWICH

Of course bread is the oldest food staple in the world and is eaten by every culture, but it was actually 17th century Europeans, probably the Dutch, who instigated the sandwich that we know today.

Before plates were commonplace stale bread was used as a platter with which to hold one's food and after the food was eaten the food soaked bread would be given to beggars or servants.

Also around this time English Inns began to sell cooked meat wrapped in bread to it's customers, as a form of packaging, and this led to a liking for the meat soaked bread.

This idea then led to the English working classes using the same method for carrying their mid day meal to work, leading to the sandwich becoming the most popular form of working man's lunch all over the world even to this day.

BEER.

One can’t write an article about British cuisine without mentioning the Great British accompaniment to everything, beer.

Beer has been around since 9,500 BC when it was widely drunk by the ancient Egyptians.

Around 3,000 BC beer was introduced into the Celtic culture by Germanic monks who made the beer with fruit, honey and exotic herbs and spices.

During the 16th century beer was sold to the working classes as a good source of nutrients and also became popular in the local inns and taverns for the same reason.

During the late 1700's when medical men began to realise most of the British water supply was polluted and led to many illnesses beer began to be drunk in vast quantities as it was a much safer alternative.

Today beer is hailed as the world’s third most popular drink after water and tea and comes in many different varieties. 

FOOD THAT THE BRITISH GAVE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.

Britain has introduced many of it’s traditional foodstuffs that the rest of the world has come to love. These foodstuffs include:

Afternoon tea.

Cheddar cheese.

Cornish pasties.

Jam tarts. 

Haggis

Porridge.

Scones.

Smoked kippers.

Strawberries and cream.

Toffee.

Victoria sponge cake. 

Wine gums.