English cuisine

English cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with England. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with wider British cuisine, largely due to the importation of ingredients and ideas from places such as North America,China, and India during the time of the British Empire and as a result of post-war immigration. In the Early Modern Period the food of England was historically characterised by its simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. This was in no small part influenced by England's Puritan flavour at the time, and resulted in a traditional cuisine which tended to veer from strong flavours, such as garlic, and an avoidance of complex sauces which were commonly associated withCatholic Continental political affiliations.It is possible the effects of this can still be seen in traditional cuisine. Traditional meals have ancient origins, such as bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, boiled vegetables and broths, and freshwater and saltwater fish. The 14th-century English cookbook, the Forme of Cury, contains recipes for these, and dates from the royal court of Richard II. In the second half of the 18th century Rev. Gilbert White, in The Natural History of Selborne made note of the increased consumption of vegetables by ordinary country people in the south of England, to which, he noted, potatoes had only been added during the reign of George III: "Green-stalls in cities now support multitudes in comfortable state, while gardeners get fortunes. Every decent labourer also has his garden, which is half his support; and common farmers provide plenty of beans, peas, and greens, for theirhinds to eat with their bacon." Other meals, such as fish and chips, which were once urban street food eaten from newspaper with salt and malt vinegar, and pies and sausages with mashed potatoes, onions, and gravy, are now matched in popularity by curries from India and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on Chinese and Thai cuisine. Italian cuisine and French cuisine are also now widely adapted. Britain was also quick to adopt the innovation offast food from the United States, and continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world while at the same time rediscovering its roots insustainable rural agriculture.

Traditional cuisine
The Sunday roast
The Sunday roast was once the most common feature of English cooking. The Sunday dinner traditionally includes roast potatoes (or boiled or mashed potatoes) accompanying a roasted joint of meat such as roast beef, lamb, pork, or a

roast chicken and assorted other vegetables, themselves generally boiled and served with a gravy. Sauces and jellies are chosen depending on the type of meat: horseradish for beef, mint sauce or mint or redcurrant jelly for lamb, apple sauce for pork, and bread sauce for turkey. Yorkshire puddingnormally accompanies beef (although it was originally served first as a "filler"), sage and onion stuffing pork, and usually parsley stuffing chicken; gravy is now often served as an accompaniment to the main course. The practice of serving a roast dinner on a Sunday is related to the elaborate preparation required, and to the housewife's practice of performing the weekly wash on a Monday, when the cold remains of the roast made an easily assembled meal. Sunday was once the only rest day after a six-day working week; it was also a demonstration that the household was prosperous enough to afford the cost of a better than normal meal. An elaborate version of roast dinner is traditionally eaten at Christmas, with almost every detail rigidly specified by tradition. Since its widespread availability after World War II the most popular Christmas roast is turkey, superseding the goose of Dickens's time.] Before the period of cheap turkeys, roast chicken would be more common than goose although chicken was still a once a year treat until the 1950s, goose being unsuitable for small groups of diners. Game meats such as venison which were traditionally the domain of higher classes are occasionally also eaten by those wishing to experiment with a wider choice of foods, due to their promotion by celebrity chefs, although they are not usually eaten frequently in the average household, however rabbit and pigeon, whether poached or domestically reared, were once staple sources of protein for the working classes.

Bread
There is a wide variety of traditional breads in Great Britain, often baked in a rectangular tin. Round loaves are also produced, such as theNorth East England speciality called a stottie cake. A cottage loaf is made of two balls of dough, one on top of the other, to form a figure-of-eight shape. A cob is a small round loaf. There are many variations on bread rolls, such as baps, barms, breadcakes and so on. TheChorleywood process for mass-producing bread was developed in England in the 1960s before spreading worldwide. Mass producedsliced white bread brands such as Wonderloaf and Mother's Pride have been criticised on grounds of poor nutritional value and taste of the loaves produced[16]. Brown bread is seen as healthier by many, with popular brands including Allinson's and Hovis. Artisanal baking has also seen a resurgence since the 1970s. Rye bread is mostly eaten in the form of scandinavian-style crisp bread, such as that produced by Ryvita in Birmingham. Malt loaf is a dark, heavy and sweet bread. The popularity of Indian cuisine in Britain means that Indian breads such as naan are made and eaten there. Continental varieties, such as baguettes (also known as "French

sticks") and focaccia are also made. The consumption of bagelsis no longer restricted to the Jewish community. England can claim to have given the world the word "sandwich", although the eponymous John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich was not the first to add a filling to bread. English sandwiches are made with two slices of bread, or some kind of roll. Fillings such as pickled relishes and Gentleman's Relish could also be considered distinctively English. Common types of sandwich are roast beef, chicken salad, ham and mustard, cheese and pickle,BLT, egg mayonnaise, prawn mayonnaise, tuna, marmite and jam.[17] A dainty form of sandwich, cut into small squares, without crusts, and often filled with cucumber, are served at genteel gatherings, such as Royal Garden parties.[18] Robust sandwiches made from thick slices are called "doorsteps" and are often served in pubs.

Salted, smoked, pickles, preserves and condiments

Northern European countries generally have a tradition of salting, smoking, pickling and otherwise preserving foods. Kippers, bloaters, ham, and bacon are some of the varieties of preserved meat and fish known in England. Onions, cabbage and some other vegetables may be pickled. Meats other than pork are generally not cured. Pickles and preserves are given a twist by the influence of the British Empire. Thus, the repertoire includes chutney as well as Branston or "brown" pickle, piccalilli, pickled onionsand gherkins. Pickled eggs are traditionally sold in fish and chips shops and pickled walnuts are traditionally served with an English blue cheese such as Stilton[ or cooked in with beef. The Asian influence is also present in condiments such as tomato sauce (originally ketjap), Worcestershire sauce and "brown" sauce (such as HP). Because Britain is a beer-drinking nation, malt vinegar is commonly used. English mustard is strongly flavoured and bright yellow; served with meats and cooked with cheese; internationally noted for its pungency; and particularly associated with Colman's of Norwich. Pickles often accompany a selection of sliced, cold cooked meats, or "cold collation". This dish can claim to have some international influence, since it is known in French as an "assiette anglaise".