Colegiul Național “Ienăchiță Văcărescu”

English cuisine

Profesor coordonator,
Marcu Popescu Madalina

Târgoviște, 2013

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 Content

Ch. 1 Introduction.................................................................................2
Ch. 2 Ordinary English Cuisine............................................................3
Ch. 3 Festive English Cuisine...............................................................4
Ch. 4 Modern approach of English cuisine..........................................5
Ch. 5 Compares and contrasts between English and Romanian cuisine
and traditions.....................................................................................6
Ch. 5.1 Little history of Romanian cuisine........................................6
Ch. 5.2 Traditions for Christmas......................................................7
Ch. 5.3 Easter in Romania and England…………………………….8
Ch. 5.4 Saint Patrick’s day…………………………………………..9
Ch. 5.5 Shrove Tuesday- Pancake day……………………………..10
Ch. 6 Motivation………………………………………………..…...11
Ch. 7 Bibliography………………………………………………….12

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 Chapter I- Introduction

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 characterized by its
simplicity of approach and a reliance on the high quality of natural produce. 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, 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
their hinds 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 of fast food from the United States, and
continues to absorb culinary ideas from all over the world while at the same time
rediscovering its roots in sustainable rural agriculture.1

Chapter II- Ordinary English Cuisine

1
Wilson, C. Anne (June 2003). Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the 19th Century. Academy
Chicago Publishers. p. 273.

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English people eat some of the most diverse range of cuisines through the import of cuisine
via immigration from its former colonies and a change lasting from the early eighties that has
widened the cuisine most Britons are likely to eat as well as improving the standard of local
dishes. Traditional British cooking a few hundred years ago was widely admired, but it's
rapid and increased industrialization meant less people were working on the land and the
mass production of food led to a tendency and acceptance of lower quality food. From its
lowest point during the rationing of world war two the typical diet of British people consisted
meals typified by meat, vegetables and potatoes with little use of herbs and spices. On the
positive side there were always well made examples of local regional cuisines and nationally
the sweets, puddings and confections were always good. From the early eighties a change of
a national obsession and celebrity chefs widen the cuisines internationally and improved local
dishes.
Breakfast: British people will eat either a cereal breakfast as is common place in many
countries now and/or items such as toast and fruit conserves. If they are having a cooked
breakfast this will be made of fried eggs, back, link sausages served with beans/tomatoes and
additional extras such as mushrooms or black pudding - a blood sausage that is popular in
Scotland and the North of England.
Lunch: With the exception of Sundays, the lunch of most Britons is lighter than the evening
meal. Typically a salad or filled sandwiches, baguettes or bagels will be eaten with other
items such as yoghurt, fruit and biscuits that come in many varieties. A traditional Sunday
lunch will consist of roast meet (traditionally Beef or Lamb) with Yorkshire pudding, gravy
and vegetables.
Main/late meal: Supper/Dinner/Tea: There is no consensus on the name of the later meal. If a
larger meal has already been eaten at lunch time a lighter evening meal may be called tea as it
is also commonly served with the drink tea. The meal may be called tea by many working
class people even if a main meal is served. If the meal is larger it is common for it to be
called Dinner and, less so, Supper - supper sometimes instead being defined as a light snack
close to going to bed.2

Chapter III- Festive English Cuisine

2
UK Food and Cooking- wiki.answers.com

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It is a widespread stereotype that the English "drop
everything" for a teatime meal in the mid-afternoon. This is
no longer the case in the workplace, and is rarer in the home
than it once was.
A formal teatime meal is now often an accompaniment to tourism,
particularly in Devon and Cornwall, where comestibles may include scones with jam and
clotted cream (together known as a cream tea).
There are also fairy cakes, simple small sponge cakes which can be iced or eaten plain.
Generally, however, the teatime meal has been replaced by snacking, or simply dispensed
with.
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 or roasted with the meat in its juices,
which are then used as or added to the gravy. Sauces and jellies are chosen depending on the
type of meat. Yorkshire pudding normally accompanies beef (although traditionally served in
Yorkshire, as a starter, from the days when meat was scarce so was 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.3
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 the 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

3
Holman, Tom (2008). A Yorkshire Miscellany. London: Frances Lincoln. p. 11

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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.

Chapter IV- Modern approach of English cuisine

English cuisine may suffer from a relatively poor international reputation when compared to
that of Italian cuisine or French cuisine. However, for many English people this perception
seems outdated, for the poor reputation of industrially produced urban food in the twentieth
century did not ever really represent the quality of food cooked in the home.
Traditional English food, with its emphasis on 'meat-and-two-veg' falls squarely into the
north European tradition extending from Northern Germany to the Low Countries and
Scandinavia, albeit with a French influence.
During the Middle Ages and Enlightenment, English cuisine enjoyed an excellent reputation;
its decline can be traced back to the move away from the land and increasing urbanization of
the populace during the Industrial Revolution. During this process Britain became a net
importer of food. British food suffered heavily from effects of rationing during two World
Wars, and the end of food rationing in 1954 was followed an increasing trend toward
industrialized mass production of food.
However, in Britain today there is a renewed interest in the culture of food, popularly led by
celebrity chefs who seek to raise the standard of food understanding in the UK. In 2005, 600
food critics writing for the British Restaurant magazine named 14 British restaurants among
the 50 best restaurants in the world, with the number one spot going to The Fat Duck in Bray,
Berkshire and its chef Heston Blumenthal. In particular, the global reach of London has
elevated it to the status of a leading centre of international cuisine.
Meanwhile the heavy promotion of gastronomy as a post-industrial economic solution has led
to a proliferation of very fine quality producers across the country.4

4
Travel Oxford and Cambridge, UK: Illustrated Guide and Maps

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 Chapter V- Compares and contrasts between English
and Romanian cuisine and traditions

1. Little history of Romanian cuisine

Romanian cuisine has been greatly influenced by Turkey, Germany, Greek and other
countries form which we have taken full meals or just spices and forms of cooking dishes.
For some dishes we have generic words to name them which date back since Ancient History
and Middle Ages.
The first book that compiles different recipes was written in 1841 by Mihail Kogălniceanu
and Costache Negruzzi. It was named “200 rețete cercate de bucate, prăjituri și alte treburi
gospodărești”(200 tried recipes, cookies and other house hold things).
Even if we have many meals taken from other places we have identifiable cuisine. For
example we have a big range of soups. For Romanians the soup is the main dish for lunch
and sometimes for dinner. Also representative for Romania is polenta which is a round
cornmeal mush made with corn and water. In the past it was replacing the bread that we eat
today, but polenta is stilll occasionally used. Romanians at festive meals are used to serving
cold appetizers consisting in: cheese, olives, spring onions, salami, boiled eggs, radishes.
Another popular dish are mici. These are spicy sausage-shaped meatballs made with pork,
beef and mutton, but also garlic and black pepper. Usually they are barbecued and eaten hot
with mustard.
Some other example are sarmale- cabbage or vine leaves stuffed with minced meat and rice.
This is a highly appreciated dish.
These were some of the most representative dishes in Romania. But I could not forget about
cozonac –the spongecake, which is a sweet bread made with floor, eggs, milk, nut, Turkish
delight, cinnamon and cocoa. Romanians also cook pancakes, which are usually served with
jam.
As a drink Romanians have the traditional pălincă. This is a plum brandy and it tastes
differently depending on the region in which it is made. It also can be made from apples,
apricots and other fruits that ferment.

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 2. Traditions for Christmas

Christmas is a Christian holiday which celebrates the birth of Jesus. The day for celebration
in both countries is 25th of December. People from all places prepare a traditional meal for
Christmas dinner.
In Romania on 20th of December there is a holiday named Ignat. On this day, people from
villages bring the sacrifice of a pig that they raised in order to ensure the wealth at the
Christmas meal. This is a tradition and there is a story which says that the night before Ignat’s
day the pigs dream that they are going to be sacrificed and because of this they stop eatting or
fattening. On that day, after the pig’s slaughter the women prepare the pig’s charity meal ,
which is a meal of fried pork served usually with polenta and maybe palincă. The rest of the
days until the Christmas day, people prepare all kind of dishes from pork. There are so many
traditional dishes, for example: sausages
prepared at home, jelly with pork and
sometimes with vegetables. Also there are
some other dishes with generic names like:
lebăr, tobă, caltaboș etc.
On Christmas Eve people go carolling and
they receive pretzels, candies and
tangerines that are going to decorate the
Christmas dinner table. Also people
decorate a fir tree underneath Santa Claus will put all the gifts.
Beside all of these kind of dishes prepared with pork, the Christmas day is a special occasion
for women to sweeten the meal with the traditional sponge
cakes, specially cooked for that day.
In England one week before Christmas people send cards to
their friends and family and also they decorate their houses and
the churches. The main dish prepared for Christmas is roast
turkey, usually served with potatoes, parsnips or other
vegetables. This dish is followed by Christmas pudding. This is
made with dried fruit, sweet and very little flour.

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Another tradition for Christmas in England is represented by Christmas Crackers that are
placed next to everyone plate on the table. These are filled with party crowns, a toy, gifts and
a Christmas joke written on a piece of paper. Also people go carolling and decorate a fir tree
on Christmas Eve.
We can see clearly that there are similarities between both countries’ traditions. They both
have a traditional meal for Christmas dinner, also people go carolling in England as well as in
Romania and they decorate trees both expecting Santa Claus with his presents.

3. Easter in Romania and England

Easter is a Christian holiday that celebrates the

resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Romania this year Easter is celebrated on 5th
of May. Romania has its traditions regarding
Easter. People usually eat baked lamb and a dish
called drob also prepared with lamb. As a dessert
Romanians cook pască which is a cake made of
dough filled with sweet cheese and raisins. Also
spongecake is cooked for Easter as a dessert. On Saturday people boil eggs and paint them in
different colors. They usually use red color signifying the pain that Jesus has felt and the
blood that was lost during the crucifixion.
On the other hand, in England the Easter has
been celebrated on 31st of March. As well as
Romanians, English people have their
traditions. Firstly, I will refer to what food they
prepare for Easter. As well as Romanians,
English people prefer to eat roast lamb
prepared with fresh herbs. For dessert there are
two cakes that cannot miss anybody’s table.
The first one is called Simnel Cake and it
signifies the end of Lent/Fast, the period of 40
days which comes before Easter. For Christians, Lent is a period of fasting and repentance. It

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culminates in a feast of seasonal and symbolic foods. The Simnel Cake is full of fruits, spices
and marzipan, all forbidden during the period of Lent.
The other one represented in the picture bellow and is called
Hot Cross Buns it has a cross on it. To Christians, the cross
symbolizes the crucifixion and this is traditionally eaten warm
with butter on Good Friday. Also in England people use to
paint eggs and the parents prepare for their children games
like egg hunting.
As well as for Christmas, we can see that between both countries there are similarities and
that the differences consist in what people prefer to eat and how are the dishes prepared.

4. Saint Patrick’s day

Saint Patrick is known as the Apostle of Ireland and the

day for celebration is 17th of March. Even if St.
Patrick’s day is a holiday for Irish people it is also
celebrated around the world. I am going to write about
this holiday celebrated in London.
Firstly on this day, people wear green clothes even if
originally the holiday was associated with blue. The
green color has become the official one because of the
second name of Ireland The Emerald Isle.
On this day people drink a lot of beer and there are
some recipes that they prefer to cook. The main dish is
Corned Beef and Cabbage and to this dish we add
others like Vegetable Shepherd's Pie, Corned-Beef-
and-Cabbage Pizza, Black-and-Tan Pork With Spicy Ale Slaw and other desserts. The most
cooked dessert is represented by Chocolate Stout Cupcakes. This cupcakes are decorated with
little green clovers, because St. Patrick is represented in some of the biblical paintings with a
clover in one of the hands.

5.Shrove Tuesday- Pancake day

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Shrove Tuesday the day preceding Ash
Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove
Tuesday is determined by Easter; its date
changes annually. This holiday is known
also as Pancake day or Pancake Tuesday,
because people eat all kind of pancakes
on this day. Pancakes are associated with
the day preceding Lent because they were
a way to use up rich foods such as eggs,
milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent.
To celebrate this holiday people organize
competitions like: eating contests, running with a
pan, turning pancakes etc. Some of this contest
date back since 12th century.
The contest represented in the picture is the most
famous pancake race. The contestants,
traditionally women, carry a frying pan and race
to over a 415 yard course to the finishing line.
The rules are strict: contestants have to turn their
pancake at both the start and the finish, also have
to wear an apron and a scarf. Traditionally, when men want to participate, they must dress up
as a housewife (usually an apron and a bandanna).

After this festive day, Ash Wednesday comes.

This is the first day of the Easter Lent and people
go to church for a special service where the priest
makes a cross with ash on the forehead of
everyone. This marks the beginning of the 40 days
of Lent until Easter.

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 Chapter VI- Motivation

The reason that made me choose this theme for my professional certificate is the fact that I
am a gourmand. Even if I am a skinny person I like to try recipes, mostly
cakes and I thought that this would be a great opportunity for me
to find out more about English cuisine and so I did.
Also I liked the idea of comparing the traditions between my
country and England. I would like to try some of their
traditional dishes like Christmas pudding or Simnel cake.
I dream about going to London to celebrate St. Patrick’s day
and also I would like to participate to one of the Pancake day contests. In our country we
don’t have Pancake day but we do celebrate St. Patrick’s day in some pubs.
I am a big fan of holidays. Every year when Easter comes I like painting the eggs and also I
like preparing a cake for my family. For Christmas I like decorating the house and the fir tree
while listening carols. When I was little I used to go carolling early in Eve’s morning.
Usually I came back with my bag full of pretzels and candies and even if my nose was frozen
I was very happy.
I think that it would be nice if both countries would promote the other one’s traditions. In my
opinion we did it in a small percentage but I don’t believe that English people know much
about our traditions. It would be a good way to promote the countries and their traditions.

In conclusion, I am happy with the theme I have chosen because I had the chance to learn
more about other country’s cuisine, traditions for the big holidays.

Chapter VII- Bibliography

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 Wilson, C. Anne (June 2003). Food and Drink in Britain: From the Stone Age to the
19th Century
 UK Food and Cooking- wiki.answers.com
 Holman, Tom (2008). A Yorkshire Miscellany. London: Frances Lincoln
 Travel Oxford and Cambridge, UK: Illustrated Guide and Maps
 Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/xmas/index.html
http://www.ciaoromania.co.uk/traditions-romania.html

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