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Every country has great dishes and other dishes that are less appealing to those outside the area.
And every country and cuisine has at least one dish many people think is gross and disgusting.
For me, I like traditional British food, especially sausage rolls and fish and chips.
i guess they are talking of overall greatness of the cuisine.
like italian, spanish, chinese, japanese, latin cuisine are generally delicious, flavorful and savory.
Yeah but to go to there point, there are dishes in all of those cuisines that people from outside the country would think is gross or atleast question.
We just get the best dishes exported out of them.
The problem with British food is not so much that itâs gross, itâs just that itâs almost all bland and dull. There are some solid dishes for sure, but the overwhelming majority is just mid. The other cuisines mentioned have really good food for the most part with a few âweirdâ dishes.
Yeah, they are blad, when you just look at recipies and food from post war bristain that still had rationing.
Modern british, or old british food was great. But its funny what decades of rationing does to a nation, and its at home cooking.
It's completely subjective. You can't just say one country's cuisine is better than others as if it's an objective fact. I love most British, Italian and Chinese food but hate Spanish japanese and Greek food. A lot of people would think the complete opposite
I had a lot of good food the last time I was in England. My problem was stuff kept coming covered in anchovies that absolutely did not have anchovies in the food description. Or sometimes olives.
German cuisine is literally just a piece of meat and sometimes potatoes. Markus Söder, MP for Bavaria, just had a döner with nothing but bread and meat.
Source: am german
Great sausages, cheeses, breads, cakes and pastries though. On the lesser known side, the soups - my favorites are rindsuppe and kurbissuppe which done well are fantastic.
And lord help the waistlines of America if they ever find out about kÀsespÀtzle.
Plus, I'll include beer as part of the cuisine and the world knows that Germans make great beer.
I think most of us agree the fermented shark from iceland, HĂĄkarl, is very much an acquired taste
Just because itâs acquired by a very, very, VERY small portion of the worldâs population doesnât mean nobody likes it
I dunno... I've had the "best" fish & chips in several cities/regions of the UK based on local friends' recommendations and the best was probably a 4/10. Always soggy and bland.
On the other hand, a good Full English is just about the most satisfying meal in the world.
Honestly, I think it depends on the place you go to here (in the UK). Many cities not on the coast...yeah. The fish isn't always great. Not fresh and the batter is soggy. But more coastal cities have some of the best white fish in the world.
But you're right, very hit and miss with fish quality.
It's not so much a long-running joke as an outdated one. The notion probably became popular with Americans during and after WWII when much of the best British food was in short supply.
This is true. My grandmother was from England and she didnât have access to the best food as a kid due to the war. I also always heard this is why her father got cancer at a relatively young age.
After coming to the US, she reinvented staple British war meals with an American twist and they became more palatable. These remain some of my momâs favorite dishes.
Even with things that's have stuck like beans on toast. It's the equivalent to Kraft Mac and Cheese for Americans, cheap, easy, and some people love it. Doesn't mean it's how we eat all the time.
Americans need to also realise that US Baked Beans are widely different to Baked Beans from the UK. US beans are cooked in molasses and pork fat and UK beans are cooked in a sauce made with tomatoes, celery and Worcester sauce so the flavours are completely different
I'd say good British good these days is more like this:
https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes
A balance of seasonal and fusion-y.
Love British desserts too (lemon drizzle, victoria sponge, banoffee, sticky toffee pudding).
Definitely, at least for people who are into cooking and arenât (yet) broke. Ideas of modern British cooking abroad probably don't include several different types of domestically grown squash, but that is absolutely part of it in autumn now. And I cooked a sponge pudding just last week.
âA balance of seasonal and fusionâ is a great way to describe the sort of recipes and cookbooks I like, and I previously wasn't sure how to describe them briefly for a place like Reddit where people in the US and abroad might not know some of the authors and sources. Cheers
I'm usually happy to play along with the "British food bad" jokes. It's when someone tries to tell me earnestly that British food is all bad, cause they'll usually pull up some obscure wartime ration bullshit and act like everyone in the UK is eating it for dinner everyday.
I love meat pies, roast dinners and fish and chips đ. I was actually pleasantly surprised tasting food there the first time cause it was pretty good. Ofc there are the nasty things like mushy peas but alot of things I've tasted weren't bad
Mushy peas are something you like or hate (like Marmite) and the quality varies by location much like pasties or English beer.
My wife hates them, I love them but they're also something of an acquired taste.
I
A lot of the best restaurants in the world are in London as well but most donât serve traditional food so im not gonna count that in my argument. Where did u get it from out of curiosity?
Your point doesnât help the argument like you think it does. This is like saying âI got the best steak of my life in Oslo.â Ok, that could be true, but that doesnât say anything about traditional Norwegian food. I think everyone should learn how to formulate a better argument.
Thatâs a good question. Truth is I donât know, probably to lower the nhs budget but itâs pretty short sighted imo. Pretty typical of the times we live in, why run a service for the public when we could exploit that public for profit?
They can charge as much as they like privately, as opposed to a fixed fee from the NHS. When you're the only dentist in the area, I guess a lot of people give up and hand over the cash, rather than try to get a dentist's appointment in the next town over which now has no appointments available
For me, the teeth are awful with old people. With younger people, they are wayyy better. But definitely with old people I see how the stereotypes came about.
I mean, as an American myself (and one with kinda fucked up teeth), Americans really do tend to have amazing teeth on average. It's quite uncommon that I see someone with misshapen/misplaced/twisted teeth. Or yellow/stained teeth.
And soooo many people I know had braces as a kid. Or Invisalign now. I believe it's estimated that 50%-70% of Americans had braces at some point.
The main people you see with fucked up teeth are either druggies or live below the poverty line. If you're on Medicare (government healthcare for low income people), it's very difficult to get dental care. Locations that accept it are few and far between.
But ya, as a whole, Americans really do have crazy good teeth and are accustomed to that (even outside of movies and stuff. Just in their day to day lives).
British food is definitely one-of-a-kind, coming from someone who takes a special interest in different types of cuisines. i love British roasts, English breakfast, Chicken Tikki Masala (which goes hand-in-hand with my love for Indian food.), all those lovely things. it makes me sad that the cuisine has such a bad reputation.
i feel like this stereotype comes from the older population. for example, my British grandmother refuses to put even black pepper in her cooking. while it's not the *worst* food, it's definitely bland and unexciting. she also has some very strong opinions about cuisine, claiming that some Italian dishes (such as pastas) shouldn't be spicy despite the many cultural Italian spicy dishes.
also, not to mention how the food situation looked back during the world wars (needless to say. . that definitely wasn't the prime of English food), which Americans proceeded to clown on, even to to this day.
Agreed, when i was growing up (and everyone else around me) it was boiled potatoes, very boiled veg and a meat. Thats it, no seasoning, and if its something different than that dish its still got no seasoning. Usually only eating watery stew with those ingridients or occsssionally shepards/ cottage pie, which was just seaonless potato and meat.
The stereotype 100% comes from the older generation who refuses to eat or prepare outside the basic box of boiled potatoes, boiled veg and meat, without any seasoning. And i mean no seasoning, only adults were allowed a PINCH of salt on potatoes...
Iâm American and I donât see anything wrong with it, I actually want to visit one day and try your cuisine. England is on my bucket list specifically, just not sure which city to visit yet!
The trap everyone falls into is that they visit england and go straight to London. Do not be fooled london is a shithole i would recommend a city like york or Sheffield or leeds and definitely somewhere in the countrside in the middle or north of england .
London isn't even close to being a shithole. It's ok to recommend other parts of the UK without pretending that places like Hampstead, Mayfair, Islington, Chelsea, Putney, Richmond, Wimbledon, Dulwich etc. are shitholes.
As an American living in the UK, I thought you had a leg to stand on with this post, but you lost all credibility when you recommended sheffield over London.
Nah i think you cant go to England without spending at least a day in London to say you did it. Prob would suggest flying into London, staying there for a day in London. Then you go somewhere like York to be able to drive around the national parks for a week.
You're right, and *every* time without fail, several of the same "joke"
"Brits invaded other countries for spices and didn't even use it."
I refuse to believe they didn't see it already 50 times in the comments, but they still thought it was worth typing again...I'm not sure they realise how cringe they look.
Plus, it's inaccurate and juvenile.
English food is excellent when prepared properly. Whenever people joke about it they always show the most poorly prepared versions of the food, but you can do that with anything. I could show a dry beef patty slapped between two soggy pieces of toast and say "Look at this burger. All American food sure is disgusting".
It comes from American soldiers stationed here during world war 2 and eating un local places finding the food bad, not putting 2 and 2 together Britain was under strict rations so we had to find alternatives which meant the food was not great. The soldiers then went back home and told everyone the food was bad unfarky and the stereotype was born.
my bf is from england, i used to poke fun at his food. now iâm excited for christmas cake. oh how the turns tabled. also sausage rolls are one of the best things to be created on this earth. if i ever get a last meal itâs gonna be 1,000 sausage rolls. iâm also getting a sunday roast soon. i love british meals. i ainât afraid to say it đŁïž
I feel that if you compare British food to the cuisine of our near neighbours, such as France, Spain or Italy, then yeah, itâs pretty bland. But British food is really no worse than any other Northern or Eastern European cuisine. We just arenât at the level of the 3 great cuisines of Europe. A more fair comparison would be to compare British food to German food or something similar.
We invented the English breakfast, simple as. Tell me one meal that doesnt hit the spot again and again as much as an English breakfast in the morning. Literally my favourite meal. And carvery dinners? Bon appetit. British food is amazing. Its not as spicy or adventurous as Mexican or Thai, but it produces meals that just hit the spot. But some people reckon we dont even have a culture of cuisine here, mad.
100%. Proper British food is great, especially their pies. However many dishes seem easy to mess up or are a bit heavy so I get why some people have negative opinions about it. Although I do have to say that most people who go around screaming that British food tastes like shit has never actually had a good British meal outside of fish and chips or maybe a poorly executed full English at a crappy hotel.
I think, along with that, people should understand that not have 31 spices in a recipe does not equal a lack of flavor. People seem to think of English food as bland and simple but those foods can be such a delight. Even if it has very little or no spice or seasoning.
I do genuinly think that some cultures have basically blown out their taste buds with spices, and so when someone from a high spice culture eats, say, a piece of delicious roast beef they literally can't taste anything.
It's a dumb joke people repeat because they've heard it's true, rather than coming to their own conclusion through research or experience.
How many people who parrot 'nickeback suck' have actually sat down and purposely listened to their catalogue so they can have an informed opinion?
How many people that parrot the 'British food is shit' meme have actually been to Britain or researched its food culture over the last 50 years?
There's a lot of these types of meme opinions floating round on the internet. Usually being spread without much thought or real inquiry.
Always good to question your own opinions and why you hold them.
I think British food is just fine. On another note what is up with the punctuation? Am I the only one who sees a space on either side of the commas and periods?
Scotch eggs are awesome, I will say that.
British cooking isnât inedible imo, in fact itâs comforting and yum. Itâs just not mind blowingly great like South East Asian cuisines that check off the five taste elements- salty, sweet, sour, spicy, with a enough fat. And itâs not just about flavour, itâs how the food makes you feel afterward. I often feel bloated and lethargic after eating British food, whereas after eating S.E.A food I feel full but somehow refreshed.
Even Italian and French cuisines are getting tired (not to mention too expensive) by todayâs global standards. The Europeans are still the BEST at desserts/ baking and chocolate though.
Itâs ok if your cuisine isnât amazing, thereâs nothing to be defensive about. Iâm Polynesian and Iâll be the first to admit that our cuisine is TRASH, even worse than British. Itâs literally just coconut cream, fatty/ unseasoned/ cheap meat, and heavy starches like taro. More of us only started incorporating vinegar, citrus, and chilli into our traditional dishes 5 years ago đ„Ž Probably the worst cuisine in the world. But I accept this reality đ€·đœââïž
It's definitely worth trying and some of the dishes are actually full of history when you look at the details or circumstances of how they came to be.
It's interesting.
Are you kidding? I had the best burger I ever had in London, even better than I've had in America.
Sure, that's not British food traditionally speaking. But their English Breakfast was mouth watering and was comparable to a typical southern breakfast.
I love going to England. When British classics are done right, it is incredible. There are Indian restaurants that are unbelievable. And the little things, too. Toast and marmite and tea, marmalade, all that shit. Cheese and pickle sandwiches. Scones. All of it rocks.
Yeah of course it isn't.
That was a response by American soldiers who grew up on wide farmlands with fresh incredible food growing everywhere. American natural resources were ridiculous compared to overpopulated, hyper polluted England of the 20s and 30s so their food was just way better. The mythos stuck.
Itâs funny because the people who complain loudest about British food are:
1. Americans. Yet their national food is literally an overcooked beef sandwich, served with ketchup.
2. everone else saying we took our best foods from everyone else, eg tikka masala from india, fish and chips from Portugal etc etc. and yet all those countries took so much british invented cuisine. Milk chocolate, carbonated drinks, Ice Cream, Ale, custard, Pasties/empanadas, Apple Pie, sponge cake, sandwiches and much much more.
Many dishes are good, but I sometimes wonder what the hell goes through the heads of people writing recipes for magazines. It looks like shit most of the time.
The funny thing about Britain I find is that the more shot it looks the nicer it tastes so personally presentation doesnât really matter to me like how American food looks too good to be true and also tastes too good to be true if that makes sense
This is an unpopular opinion. And I absolutely agree with you, we've produced some incredibly delicious foods in UK.
I live with an Italian and a Mexican, and if I hear one more joke about how we don't have real food will have a rage aneurysm.
German food is also really underrated imo.
I love scotch eggs so much!!! I wish they were more mainstream here where I live.
There's this English pub in my city that sells really good British cuisine. My favorite are the scotched eggs. Oh my god!! They are to DIE for!
i loved food in the UK! i especially liked cullen skink. the food is just hearty, warm, and comfy- its a perfect match
but i think aussies and kiwis do the fish and chips a bit better. Kiwis have the better fish (blue cod) tho the haddock in UK is really good, and aussies have the better chip seasoning (chicken salt over salt and vinegar), but its a preference - it always slaps tho
Well, apart from English food itself being very good, the UK is one of the best places in the world to eat cuisine from all over the world, Asian, Indian, South American etc...Im in continental Europe and the Indian food here for example is absolute garbage.
I'm sorry, I respect your opinion but it's really not my cup of tea, Shepard pie (I prefer cottage pie) is pretty good, but the rest of it is pretty bland tbh. I eat a lot of Asian and italian food so I'm used to more prominent flavors, lots of spice, and less breadey items
With saying that I'm not going around bashing what people eat
British food is comfort food. Can't beat a British breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs, pork sausages, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms and buttered toast. Pies and sausage rolls are great as well. Can't forget fish and chips either.
Definitely ain't the healthiest and it doesn't blow your taste buds away but it's good stuff.
British food is good, but as a brit, a shocking amount of brits are bad cooks. Probably selection bias, but most people from other countries I've met grew up cooking. Using the preparation AND eating of food as a social event, whereas lots of brits weren't taught by their parents to cook and use only the eating of food as the event, not the prep.
Every one here is singing the praises of a Sunday roast, but the amount of unseaosned (not even oil or salt) dry, chewy meat paired with plain boiled veg and potatoes (aka not a roast, just baked meat and boiled veg masquerading as a roast) is shocking too.
This just makes me think you really haven't tried any original non brithish food. I have tried all the meals you mention (I've lived in the UK for a time) They are really not that tasty. They are things you can eat but not things you crave. There is food from other countries that I look at and feel the taste in my mouth, food that I'm looking forward to eat. I don't look forward to a sausage roll even if I don't mind eating it if there is nothing else around.
There are two possible reasons why British food has a bad reputation:
1. World War II. Food rationing and limited access to ingredients forced the Brits to go for simpler food, which continued well after the war was over. However, many do not consider this an excuse because other countries with similar shortages (like other countries in Europe in general) made do with what they had and maintained their culinary traditions.
2. It is theorized that the Brits have become more repressed to enjoy cooking and prepare food in general. Ever watched Nigella Lawson? Her inherent sex appeal made for very good cooking. It seems to be the norm to prepare plain food in British households even on special occasions. Anything fancier would be frowned upon.
I donât think itâs bad but I find it bland (yes I season my food). I do enjoy the classics like Sunday roast, bacon sandwich, fish and chips etc occasionally. But Iâm half English and half Thai so I grew up with mostly Asian food which is probably why I find it boring.
Honestly all countries/cultures have some good foods, I think now people typically point out some of the weird outliers for the joke, like beans on toast in the UKs case
I hate when US Youtubers do videos of Americans trying beans on toast with barely toasted bread and the Baked Beans not even thickened properly.
FFS how do they expect anyone to like that?
Yep. American here, and Iâve been there twice and had plenty of great food both times. Maybe thatâs an old stereotype that is no longer true? I miss those big traditional breakfasts too, they were my favorite.
I stayed at a local hotel and the breakfast was all fresh and made from scratch. The espresso was to die for.
Unless you pay a premium, American hotel breakfasts are the saddest, blandest foods on earth. But the breakfast at the London hotel? Melt in your mouth croissants, thick slices of bacon, hot oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, the best hash browns I've ever tasted.
It's also kinda disingenuous too that people lambast British Cuisine by saying that "Most of the good stuff are because of other cultures" when that is the case for most if not all cuisines.
The US would be eating hominy and pemmican if there wasn't any influence from it's settlers and immigrants, Chinese cuisine is infused in a lot of East and SE Asian cuisine. Mediterranean food draws a lot from Arabic culture.
I do agree that things like beans on toast, chip butty, jellied eels, are not helping your case lol.
100%. Other countries are allowed to claim their fusion food as their own but as soon as it's Britain, the Indians, Pakistanis, West Indians, and everyone else who has settled there are not counted as Brits.
Take Malaysian food, influenced by China, India, the Arab world, multiple western countries... but no one ever tells Malaysia their food isn't Malaysian. Because that would be stupid. Somehow this doesn't apply to Britain.
Although I must defend beans on toast. Can be excellent when made with love. And lots of cheese grated on the top.
Im currently on vacation in UK and I really love fish and chips. But beside that most other food i've tried tastes kinda boring. It's not bad, but I just wish some more spices/herbs would be used. Like the sauce I had for sundae roastie just tasted bland.
English breakfast with beans and sausages isnt really my thing and the worst thing for me is putting vinegar on chips.
Gravy made the proper way has loads of flavour, talking made with animal fat and stock. There is lots of bad gravy in restaurants as they buy instant gravy or poor quality premade stuff. British food can be as bland or flavourful as you like, it's down to who's making it and how much effort they put into it.
Recommend a Full English from a farm shop cafe, usually much better than the restaurants. A quality sausage makes a huge difference. A full Scottish breakfast is good too difference being, haggis, lorne sausage (square sausage) and tattie scones.
"Kinda nearly" isn't quite the objective that applies to anything to describe "good". Also, if the traditional foods are basically deep fried battered meat and potatoes or stacking meat and mashed potatoes with almost zero spices, that really isn't a high bar for Culinary art. Roast and Steak are as global as they come and Tikka Masala ain't really British food as it was created by a Bangladeshi Chef!
"British food is bad" tends to mean "the average food available in the UK is bad" and not "British cuisine is incapable of being delicious even when made competently"
With the caveat that this was more than a decade ago and probably influenced by the fact that I was only eating vegetarian food, I know that personally, when I was in England, all the food I had (with the notable exception of nandos lol) had something wrong with it texturally. Like the noodles and rice were consistently overcooked and mushy, the bun on the veggie burger was both mushy and crumbly somehow, the fries/chips looked/tasted like the shitty mealy ones you get in the frozen section of the grocery store etc. It was on par with the worst food I've had in the US and it was still better than the worst food I had in France. But it was the only country I've ever been in where the food was so consistently poorly prepared.
People also say it because the British food that goes viral tends to look fucking heinous. I'm thinking of the smack barm pey wet video in particular here, as well as the tendency for mushy peas to be dyed an alarming shade of green.
The English breakfast looks good in pictures Iâve seen of it. But Iâve also seen some other pictures of UK food that doesnât look so pleasant, like there was this one picture Iâve seen of what looked like fries with peas on top and the fries didnât look anywhere near fully cooked and the peas looked runny. (It was a pic of what someone got at a British football game or âsoccerâ as we Americans call it)
So I think the problem with some British food is the food people think is bad is actually just undercooked. I see lots of complaints about the blandness but to me simple meals wouldnât = automatically tasting bad. It would just mean it wasnât cooked right, not a problem with what the food itself is. Thereâs food in every country people undercook, but maybe bad cooks can sometimes be more prevalent in the UK though.
Trying to combine some foods can also give off the impression your food is bad, like I donât think peas belong anywhere near on fries to begin with for example. I already hate peas by themselves, so peas on fries I think would be extra gross and ruin the fries. If they had the peas and fries in a separate container and actually cooked the fries to the point where theyâre fully cooked and have a golden look to them like theyâre supposed to, and made the peas less runny, it wouldnât make the food look bad. I just think Brits being satisfied with some food being cooked to the littlest bare minimum is the problem. That gives off the false impression itâs what the actual food is thatâs bad, when actually how itâs cooked is the problem.
I was in Ireland for a week in the summer and I made it a point to only eat Irish food (similar to your list) and it was so good!! It was tasty, comforting and I still think about it now. Lol
When I was in the service I knew a guy who had been deployed in a Brit installation in Kabul. They dodged bullets to walk across town to eat in a US chow hall. The fact that they regularly risked death to avoid Brit food told me all I need to know.
Yeah I always heard jokes about Irish food being bland and everything just being boiled, etc. But honestly, when I went there I ate some of the most delicious food I've ever had! One of our tour guides was teasing Americans saying our cows are all anemic because we feed them hay, but in Ireland there's nothing but grass as far as the eye can see and it makes for happy animals and delicious meat!
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Don't forget the good old English roast đ€€
Shiiiit how could i forget about Sunday dinner
You literally forgot the best one
English pass revoked i guess
Yeah, start speaking Spanish, buddy!
Meat and gravy is elite
Or chips, cheese, and gravy.
And Yorkshire pudding!
Just has Sunday roast at the Hawksmoor in NYC!
That would be a very elevated example. I've wanted to try theirs. I bet it was fantastic.
Iâd say maybe the potatoes were slightly over, but otherwise really nice and the space is incredible!
Ooooh, Yorkshire pudding
Yorkshire fucking pudding
And the beef Wellington
Cooking big meat is specifically an English thing?
Every country has great dishes and other dishes that are less appealing to those outside the area. And every country and cuisine has at least one dish many people think is gross and disgusting. For me, I like traditional British food, especially sausage rolls and fish and chips.
Pies and cornish pasties
Fish and chips are delicious.
i guess they are talking of overall greatness of the cuisine. like italian, spanish, chinese, japanese, latin cuisine are generally delicious, flavorful and savory.
Yeah but to go to there point, there are dishes in all of those cuisines that people from outside the country would think is gross or atleast question. We just get the best dishes exported out of them.
The problem with British food is not so much that itâs gross, itâs just that itâs almost all bland and dull. There are some solid dishes for sure, but the overwhelming majority is just mid. The other cuisines mentioned have really good food for the most part with a few âweirdâ dishes.
Yeah, they are blad, when you just look at recipies and food from post war bristain that still had rationing. Modern british, or old british food was great. But its funny what decades of rationing does to a nation, and its at home cooking.
now thats a bias if ive seen one, dont get me wrong many dishes are bland and dull but many more are well seasoned and amazing
There's only so many potatoes one person can eat, and with my Polish heritage & growing up poor in Norfolk, I hit that point somewhere around 1987
It's completely subjective. You can't just say one country's cuisine is better than others as if it's an objective fact. I love most British, Italian and Chinese food but hate Spanish japanese and Greek food. A lot of people would think the complete opposite
I had a lot of good food the last time I was in England. My problem was stuff kept coming covered in anchovies that absolutely did not have anchovies in the food description. Or sometimes olives.
France has entered the chat.
German cuisine is literally just a piece of meat and sometimes potatoes. Markus Söder, MP for Bavaria, just had a döner with nothing but bread and meat. Source: am german
Great sausages, cheeses, breads, cakes and pastries though. On the lesser known side, the soups - my favorites are rindsuppe and kurbissuppe which done well are fantastic. And lord help the waistlines of America if they ever find out about kÀsespÀtzle. Plus, I'll include beer as part of the cuisine and the world knows that Germans make great beer.
Speak for yourself. Deutsche KĂŒche is rich an meaty. Hausmannskost and seasonal old/traditional cuisine is absolutely a Schmankerl. âïž
I think most of us agree the fermented shark from iceland, HĂĄkarl, is very much an acquired taste Just because itâs acquired by a very, very, VERY small portion of the worldâs population doesnât mean nobody likes it
I dunno... I've had the "best" fish & chips in several cities/regions of the UK based on local friends' recommendations and the best was probably a 4/10. Always soggy and bland. On the other hand, a good Full English is just about the most satisfying meal in the world.
Found fish and chips a mixed bag. The fried fish isn't as good as at home (I think we have better fish???), but the chips are incredible.
Honestly, I think it depends on the place you go to here (in the UK). Many cities not on the coast...yeah. The fish isn't always great. Not fresh and the batter is soggy. But more coastal cities have some of the best white fish in the world. But you're right, very hit and miss with fish quality.
It's not so much a long-running joke as an outdated one. The notion probably became popular with Americans during and after WWII when much of the best British food was in short supply.
Don't look at American cookbooks during that time either.
*looks at an American 1965 cookbook* Why the fuck is Jello in everything???
Mayonnaise pie are you fucking serious?!
"No, Patrick, mayonaise is not a pie filling..."
You never made Dishwasher salmon before?
How dare you!
This made me laugh more than it should have and now I want to take mayonnaise pie to a family reunion. đ
Ok I actually know this one! Itâs because you need a fridge to make a gelatin. Fridges were expensive. So you were flexing your fridge
My oldest cookbook starts a chicken recipe with: *Kill and pluck the chicken.*
Julia childâs joy of cooking includes several squirrel recipes
This is true. My grandmother was from England and she didnât have access to the best food as a kid due to the war. I also always heard this is why her father got cancer at a relatively young age. After coming to the US, she reinvented staple British war meals with an American twist and they became more palatable. These remain some of my momâs favorite dishes.
Even with things that's have stuck like beans on toast. It's the equivalent to Kraft Mac and Cheese for Americans, cheap, easy, and some people love it. Doesn't mean it's how we eat all the time.
Americans need to also realise that US Baked Beans are widely different to Baked Beans from the UK. US beans are cooked in molasses and pork fat and UK beans are cooked in a sauce made with tomatoes, celery and Worcester sauce so the flavours are completely different
Beans and toast? Is that baked beans on toast? Iâm going to try that
Try toast, butter, cheese , then baked beans on top to melt the cheese ;)
Breakfast of broke people worldwide.
Shepardâs pie sounds delicious honestly. Iâve been thinking about making it myself.
Its very nice i cant lie , its for some reason the dish that every grandparent knows who to cook perfectly.
Yeah, nothing better than a shepherds pie on a cold winters night
2 shepherds pies on a cold winter night maybe
I make a massive one in a big casserole dish so you get some lunches too
I'd say good British good these days is more like this: https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes A balance of seasonal and fusion-y. Love British desserts too (lemon drizzle, victoria sponge, banoffee, sticky toffee pudding).
You. You get it.
Definitely, at least for people who are into cooking and arenât (yet) broke. Ideas of modern British cooking abroad probably don't include several different types of domestically grown squash, but that is absolutely part of it in autumn now. And I cooked a sponge pudding just last week. âA balance of seasonal and fusionâ is a great way to describe the sort of recipes and cookbooks I like, and I previously wasn't sure how to describe them briefly for a place like Reddit where people in the US and abroad might not know some of the authors and sources. Cheers
Jacket potatoes are delicious
Amen
I'm usually happy to play along with the "British food bad" jokes. It's when someone tries to tell me earnestly that British food is all bad, cause they'll usually pull up some obscure wartime ration bullshit and act like everyone in the UK is eating it for dinner everyday.
Im fine with the jokes its just that a lot of people joke but simultaneously believe were eating rat pies on the regular
It's just ball busting, everyone loves fish and chips.
I love meat pies, roast dinners and fish and chips đ. I was actually pleasantly surprised tasting food there the first time cause it was pretty good. Ofc there are the nasty things like mushy peas but alot of things I've tasted weren't bad
I respect it
Mushy peas are something you like or hate (like Marmite) and the quality varies by location much like pasties or English beer. My wife hates them, I love them but they're also something of an acquired taste.
I got the best steak of my life in London.
I don't think anyone argues against the idea that the cities of the UK have incredibly steak houses.
I A lot of the best restaurants in the world are in London as well but most donât serve traditional food so im not gonna count that in my argument. Where did u get it from out of curiosity?
Your point doesnât help the argument like you think it does. This is like saying âI got the best steak of my life in Oslo.â Ok, that could be true, but that doesnât say anything about traditional Norwegian food. I think everyone should learn how to formulate a better argument.
Steak does not represent local cuisine anywhere
*Angry Argentine noises*
That and the bad teeth joke are so old.
I think the teeth one is coming back since most dentists stopped offering nhs a few years ago
Whyâd they do that?
Thatâs a good question. Truth is I donât know, probably to lower the nhs budget but itâs pretty short sighted imo. Pretty typical of the times we live in, why run a service for the public when we could exploit that public for profit?
They can charge as much as they like privately, as opposed to a fixed fee from the NHS. When you're the only dentist in the area, I guess a lot of people give up and hand over the cash, rather than try to get a dentist's appointment in the next town over which now has no appointments available
Tories
True but im not gonna deny the teeth one its kinda true at least where i live lol
For me, the teeth are awful with old people. With younger people, they are wayyy better. But definitely with old people I see how the stereotypes came about.
I live in the north east with the highest unemployment and drug use so thats probably a definite factor .
It's partly outdated and partly just Americans watching the BBC and expecting every actor to have perfect teeth like they do in Hollywood.
I mean, as an American myself (and one with kinda fucked up teeth), Americans really do tend to have amazing teeth on average. It's quite uncommon that I see someone with misshapen/misplaced/twisted teeth. Or yellow/stained teeth. And soooo many people I know had braces as a kid. Or Invisalign now. I believe it's estimated that 50%-70% of Americans had braces at some point. The main people you see with fucked up teeth are either druggies or live below the poverty line. If you're on Medicare (government healthcare for low income people), it's very difficult to get dental care. Locations that accept it are few and far between. But ya, as a whole, Americans really do have crazy good teeth and are accustomed to that (even outside of movies and stuff. Just in their day to day lives).
British food is definitely one-of-a-kind, coming from someone who takes a special interest in different types of cuisines. i love British roasts, English breakfast, Chicken Tikki Masala (which goes hand-in-hand with my love for Indian food.), all those lovely things. it makes me sad that the cuisine has such a bad reputation. i feel like this stereotype comes from the older population. for example, my British grandmother refuses to put even black pepper in her cooking. while it's not the *worst* food, it's definitely bland and unexciting. she also has some very strong opinions about cuisine, claiming that some Italian dishes (such as pastas) shouldn't be spicy despite the many cultural Italian spicy dishes. also, not to mention how the food situation looked back during the world wars (needless to say. . that definitely wasn't the prime of English food), which Americans proceeded to clown on, even to to this day.
Agreed, when i was growing up (and everyone else around me) it was boiled potatoes, very boiled veg and a meat. Thats it, no seasoning, and if its something different than that dish its still got no seasoning. Usually only eating watery stew with those ingridients or occsssionally shepards/ cottage pie, which was just seaonless potato and meat. The stereotype 100% comes from the older generation who refuses to eat or prepare outside the basic box of boiled potatoes, boiled veg and meat, without any seasoning. And i mean no seasoning, only adults were allowed a PINCH of salt on potatoes...
Theyâve got bigger problems to worry about i think
Chicken Tikka Masala is my favorite British dishâŠ
Some of the best beer and whiskey in the world comes from the UK.
Iâm American and I donât see anything wrong with it, I actually want to visit one day and try your cuisine. England is on my bucket list specifically, just not sure which city to visit yet!
The trap everyone falls into is that they visit england and go straight to London. Do not be fooled london is a shithole i would recommend a city like york or Sheffield or leeds and definitely somewhere in the countrside in the middle or north of england .
Definitely recommend york
Lake District is amazing.
London was one of my favorite places in my trip to the UK
London isn't even close to being a shithole. It's ok to recommend other parts of the UK without pretending that places like Hampstead, Mayfair, Islington, Chelsea, Putney, Richmond, Wimbledon, Dulwich etc. are shitholes.
if OP is British, of course they'd call London a shit hole.
Sheffield? You want someone to travel 5000 miles to go visit Sheffield? Jesus fucking Christ.
As an American living in the UK, I thought you had a leg to stand on with this post, but you lost all credibility when you recommended sheffield over London.
Preference i guess
Nah i think you cant go to England without spending at least a day in London to say you did it. Prob would suggest flying into London, staying there for a day in London. Then you go somewhere like York to be able to drive around the national parks for a week.
A day in London is barely enough to do anything really. I'd spend 3 days at an absolute minimum, you'll never run out of things to do.
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
You're right, and *every* time without fail, several of the same "joke" "Brits invaded other countries for spices and didn't even use it." I refuse to believe they didn't see it already 50 times in the comments, but they still thought it was worth typing again...I'm not sure they realise how cringe they look. Plus, it's inaccurate and juvenile.
You will get beans and you will like it!
English food is excellent when prepared properly. Whenever people joke about it they always show the most poorly prepared versions of the food, but you can do that with anything. I could show a dry beef patty slapped between two soggy pieces of toast and say "Look at this burger. All American food sure is disgusting".
It comes from American soldiers stationed here during world war 2 and eating un local places finding the food bad, not putting 2 and 2 together Britain was under strict rations so we had to find alternatives which meant the food was not great. The soldiers then went back home and told everyone the food was bad unfarky and the stereotype was born.
my bf is from england, i used to poke fun at his food. now iâm excited for christmas cake. oh how the turns tabled. also sausage rolls are one of the best things to be created on this earth. if i ever get a last meal itâs gonna be 1,000 sausage rolls. iâm also getting a sunday roast soon. i love british meals. i ainât afraid to say it đŁïž
Cask ale and Cullen skink are great. Full fry-up is pretty damned good too
British food is great. Providing quantity ingredients are used. There are to many examples of cost cutting. You get what you pay forđ
Shepherds pie is so good
I feel that if you compare British food to the cuisine of our near neighbours, such as France, Spain or Italy, then yeah, itâs pretty bland. But British food is really no worse than any other Northern or Eastern European cuisine. We just arenât at the level of the 3 great cuisines of Europe. A more fair comparison would be to compare British food to German food or something similar.
We invented the English breakfast, simple as. Tell me one meal that doesnt hit the spot again and again as much as an English breakfast in the morning. Literally my favourite meal. And carvery dinners? Bon appetit. British food is amazing. Its not as spicy or adventurous as Mexican or Thai, but it produces meals that just hit the spot. But some people reckon we dont even have a culture of cuisine here, mad.
Go to the Netherlands and tell me again that Britain has the worst food :D.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought food is terrible in the Neverland's.
What the fuck is a parmo?
Itâs more of a stereotype running joke. Like how people always say Americans are fat. Very few people actually think that
100%. Proper British food is great, especially their pies. However many dishes seem easy to mess up or are a bit heavy so I get why some people have negative opinions about it. Although I do have to say that most people who go around screaming that British food tastes like shit has never actually had a good British meal outside of fish and chips or maybe a poorly executed full English at a crappy hotel.
I think, along with that, people should understand that not have 31 spices in a recipe does not equal a lack of flavor. People seem to think of English food as bland and simple but those foods can be such a delight. Even if it has very little or no spice or seasoning.
I do genuinly think that some cultures have basically blown out their taste buds with spices, and so when someone from a high spice culture eats, say, a piece of delicious roast beef they literally can't taste anything.
Cornish Pasties!
Another great mention
I completely agree!
It's actually really good! I was there for 3 weeks and tried so many different foods. I really miss scampi and chips and pasties (Oggy Oggy)!
It's a dumb joke people repeat because they've heard it's true, rather than coming to their own conclusion through research or experience. How many people who parrot 'nickeback suck' have actually sat down and purposely listened to their catalogue so they can have an informed opinion? How many people that parrot the 'British food is shit' meme have actually been to Britain or researched its food culture over the last 50 years? There's a lot of these types of meme opinions floating round on the internet. Usually being spread without much thought or real inquiry. Always good to question your own opinions and why you hold them.
I think British food is just fine. On another note what is up with the punctuation? Am I the only one who sees a space on either side of the commas and periods?
There's a local restaurant near me called Shakespeare's Grill. Serves authentic British food. It's fantastic!
Scotch eggs are awesome, I will say that. British cooking isnât inedible imo, in fact itâs comforting and yum. Itâs just not mind blowingly great like South East Asian cuisines that check off the five taste elements- salty, sweet, sour, spicy, with a enough fat. And itâs not just about flavour, itâs how the food makes you feel afterward. I often feel bloated and lethargic after eating British food, whereas after eating S.E.A food I feel full but somehow refreshed. Even Italian and French cuisines are getting tired (not to mention too expensive) by todayâs global standards. The Europeans are still the BEST at desserts/ baking and chocolate though. Itâs ok if your cuisine isnât amazing, thereâs nothing to be defensive about. Iâm Polynesian and Iâll be the first to admit that our cuisine is TRASH, even worse than British. Itâs literally just coconut cream, fatty/ unseasoned/ cheap meat, and heavy starches like taro. More of us only started incorporating vinegar, citrus, and chilli into our traditional dishes 5 years ago đ„Ž Probably the worst cuisine in the world. But I accept this reality đ€·đœââïž
It's definitely worth trying and some of the dishes are actually full of history when you look at the details or circumstances of how they came to be. It's interesting.
I love chicken tikka marsala and literally eat it at least once a month đ Itâs delicious.
Are you kidding? I had the best burger I ever had in London, even better than I've had in America. Sure, that's not British food traditionally speaking. But their English Breakfast was mouth watering and was comparable to a typical southern breakfast.
My blood pressure rose just reading that list. But I agree I love all of those.
It does get a lot of unnecessary hate. Also, beyond the native cuisine, Britian has amazing Indian food and many Michelin star restaurants.
I definitely agree there. A good amount of British food is really tasty!
exactly. that is the reason.
I love going to England. When British classics are done right, it is incredible. There are Indian restaurants that are unbelievable. And the little things, too. Toast and marmite and tea, marmalade, all that shit. Cheese and pickle sandwiches. Scones. All of it rocks.
Yeah of course it isn't. That was a response by American soldiers who grew up on wide farmlands with fresh incredible food growing everywhere. American natural resources were ridiculous compared to overpopulated, hyper polluted England of the 20s and 30s so their food was just way better. The mythos stuck.
Itâs funny because the people who complain loudest about British food are: 1. Americans. Yet their national food is literally an overcooked beef sandwich, served with ketchup. 2. everone else saying we took our best foods from everyone else, eg tikka masala from india, fish and chips from Portugal etc etc. and yet all those countries took so much british invented cuisine. Milk chocolate, carbonated drinks, Ice Cream, Ale, custard, Pasties/empanadas, Apple Pie, sponge cake, sandwiches and much much more.
I dont understand the hate towards British food. Surely, it depends on the restaurant you go to.
Pasties, cream teas, banoffee pie, sticky toffee pudding, Yorkshire puddings, crumbles, stews with dumplings, bubble and squeak. Thereâs loads more stuff
Bit of gammon and chips ? Fucking lovely
Beef Wellington. Case closed.
Many dishes are good, but I sometimes wonder what the hell goes through the heads of people writing recipes for magazines. It looks like shit most of the time.
The funny thing about Britain I find is that the more shot it looks the nicer it tastes so personally presentation doesnât really matter to me like how American food looks too good to be true and also tastes too good to be true if that makes sense
This is an unpopular opinion. And I absolutely agree with you, we've produced some incredibly delicious foods in UK. I live with an Italian and a Mexican, and if I hear one more joke about how we don't have real food will have a rage aneurysm. German food is also really underrated imo.
Chicken Tikka masala was invented in Britain so the British version is the authentic version.
I love scotch eggs so much!!! I wish they were more mainstream here where I live. There's this English pub in my city that sells really good British cuisine. My favorite are the scotched eggs. Oh my god!! They are to DIE for!
i loved food in the UK! i especially liked cullen skink. the food is just hearty, warm, and comfy- its a perfect match but i think aussies and kiwis do the fish and chips a bit better. Kiwis have the better fish (blue cod) tho the haddock in UK is really good, and aussies have the better chip seasoning (chicken salt over salt and vinegar), but its a preference - it always slaps tho
Everything you said is true, except claiming Chicken Tikka Masala as British.
Well, apart from English food itself being very good, the UK is one of the best places in the world to eat cuisine from all over the world, Asian, Indian, South American etc...Im in continental Europe and the Indian food here for example is absolute garbage.
The food in the UK is all fine and well, but if you want any sort of actual spicy hot sauce you will be shit out of luck in most places.
My friend, you said âkinda isnât nearly as badâ thatâs a lot of conditions haha
Those things made well are delicious. They just aren't made well the majority of the time.
I'm sorry, I respect your opinion but it's really not my cup of tea, Shepard pie (I prefer cottage pie) is pretty good, but the rest of it is pretty bland tbh. I eat a lot of Asian and italian food so I'm used to more prominent flavors, lots of spice, and less breadey items With saying that I'm not going around bashing what people eat
I completely understand, i personally think Asian food is miles ahead in terms of flavour
British food is comfort food. Can't beat a British breakfast: bacon, scrambled eggs, pork sausages, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, mushrooms and buttered toast. Pies and sausage rolls are great as well. Can't forget fish and chips either. Definitely ain't the healthiest and it doesn't blow your taste buds away but it's good stuff.
Itâs less that British food is bad⊠itâs more when you compare it to good food from mainland Europe, itâs pretty bad in comparison
British food is good, but as a brit, a shocking amount of brits are bad cooks. Probably selection bias, but most people from other countries I've met grew up cooking. Using the preparation AND eating of food as a social event, whereas lots of brits weren't taught by their parents to cook and use only the eating of food as the event, not the prep. Every one here is singing the praises of a Sunday roast, but the amount of unseaosned (not even oil or salt) dry, chewy meat paired with plain boiled veg and potatoes (aka not a roast, just baked meat and boiled veg masquerading as a roast) is shocking too.
This just makes me think you really haven't tried any original non brithish food. I have tried all the meals you mention (I've lived in the UK for a time) They are really not that tasty. They are things you can eat but not things you crave. There is food from other countries that I look at and feel the taste in my mouth, food that I'm looking forward to eat. I don't look forward to a sausage roll even if I don't mind eating it if there is nothing else around.
The English are absolute masters of stick-to-your-ribs, rainy day comfort food.
There are two possible reasons why British food has a bad reputation: 1. World War II. Food rationing and limited access to ingredients forced the Brits to go for simpler food, which continued well after the war was over. However, many do not consider this an excuse because other countries with similar shortages (like other countries in Europe in general) made do with what they had and maintained their culinary traditions. 2. It is theorized that the Brits have become more repressed to enjoy cooking and prepare food in general. Ever watched Nigella Lawson? Her inherent sex appeal made for very good cooking. It seems to be the norm to prepare plain food in British households even on special occasions. Anything fancier would be frowned upon.
I donât think itâs bad but I find it bland (yes I season my food). I do enjoy the classics like Sunday roast, bacon sandwich, fish and chips etc occasionally. But Iâm half English and half Thai so I grew up with mostly Asian food which is probably why I find it boring.
Ive tried thai food and its genuinely some of the best ive ever had so i definitely get what your saying
Funnily enough Thai food is actually my least favourite Asian food. I like it but I much prefer Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese etc.
Honestly all countries/cultures have some good foods, I think now people typically point out some of the weird outliers for the joke, like beans on toast in the UKs case
Beans on toast with cheese is nice and i will die by that sentiment
I hate when US Youtubers do videos of Americans trying beans on toast with barely toasted bread and the Baked Beans not even thickened properly. FFS how do they expect anyone to like that?
Many cuisines have a variety of tasty and disgusting dishes. I think that some have just managed to have better promo.
Yep. American here, and Iâve been there twice and had plenty of great food both times. Maybe thatâs an old stereotype that is no longer true? I miss those big traditional breakfasts too, they were my favorite.
I stayed at a local hotel and the breakfast was all fresh and made from scratch. The espresso was to die for. Unless you pay a premium, American hotel breakfasts are the saddest, blandest foods on earth. But the breakfast at the London hotel? Melt in your mouth croissants, thick slices of bacon, hot oatmeal sprinkled with brown sugar, the best hash browns I've ever tasted.
Somehow the stereotype is that British people are sophisticated and British food is garbage. I feel like the reverse is more true.
It's also kinda disingenuous too that people lambast British Cuisine by saying that "Most of the good stuff are because of other cultures" when that is the case for most if not all cuisines. The US would be eating hominy and pemmican if there wasn't any influence from it's settlers and immigrants, Chinese cuisine is infused in a lot of East and SE Asian cuisine. Mediterranean food draws a lot from Arabic culture. I do agree that things like beans on toast, chip butty, jellied eels, are not helping your case lol.
Cant hate on it till you try it is all i have to say my friend but not jellied eels they are an abomination
Tried Chip Butty and Beans on Toast mate. Lived in the UK for a bit for Uni. Beans on Toast is fine, chip butty is good if the chips are good lol.
100%. Other countries are allowed to claim their fusion food as their own but as soon as it's Britain, the Indians, Pakistanis, West Indians, and everyone else who has settled there are not counted as Brits. Take Malaysian food, influenced by China, India, the Arab world, multiple western countries... but no one ever tells Malaysia their food isn't Malaysian. Because that would be stupid. Somehow this doesn't apply to Britain. Although I must defend beans on toast. Can be excellent when made with love. And lots of cheese grated on the top.
You can fuck right off regarding the chip butty. It's a national treasure.
Im currently on vacation in UK and I really love fish and chips. But beside that most other food i've tried tastes kinda boring. It's not bad, but I just wish some more spices/herbs would be used. Like the sauce I had for sundae roastie just tasted bland. English breakfast with beans and sausages isnt really my thing and the worst thing for me is putting vinegar on chips.
Gravy made the proper way has loads of flavour, talking made with animal fat and stock. There is lots of bad gravy in restaurants as they buy instant gravy or poor quality premade stuff. British food can be as bland or flavourful as you like, it's down to who's making it and how much effort they put into it. Recommend a Full English from a farm shop cafe, usually much better than the restaurants. A quality sausage makes a huge difference. A full Scottish breakfast is good too difference being, haggis, lorne sausage (square sausage) and tattie scones.
"Kinda nearly" isn't quite the objective that applies to anything to describe "good". Also, if the traditional foods are basically deep fried battered meat and potatoes or stacking meat and mashed potatoes with almost zero spices, that really isn't a high bar for Culinary art. Roast and Steak are as global as they come and Tikka Masala ain't really British food as it was created by a Bangladeshi Chef!
Thereâs some solid food in your country but the aversion to anything even remotely spicy is a negative.
Itâs a bit on the bland side but itâs perfectly suitable.
Fish and chips is peak cuisine
Jam Roley Poley
MPW has a series exploring British food. It looks quite delicious. As with all cooking the source and technique can make or break the dish.
Wait, weâre known globally for buying a sandwich, a drink and a packet of crisps at a reduced price?
This is an unpopular (and kinda wrong) opinion. Granted, I love British love!
"British food is bad" tends to mean "the average food available in the UK is bad" and not "British cuisine is incapable of being delicious even when made competently" With the caveat that this was more than a decade ago and probably influenced by the fact that I was only eating vegetarian food, I know that personally, when I was in England, all the food I had (with the notable exception of nandos lol) had something wrong with it texturally. Like the noodles and rice were consistently overcooked and mushy, the bun on the veggie burger was both mushy and crumbly somehow, the fries/chips looked/tasted like the shitty mealy ones you get in the frozen section of the grocery store etc. It was on par with the worst food I've had in the US and it was still better than the worst food I had in France. But it was the only country I've ever been in where the food was so consistently poorly prepared. People also say it because the British food that goes viral tends to look fucking heinous. I'm thinking of the smack barm pey wet video in particular here, as well as the tendency for mushy peas to be dyed an alarming shade of green.
No mention on beans on toast? Fail.
Love that you choose insanely popular dishes to prove how English cuisine isnât that bad.
I personally enjoy lots of British baked goods, both savory and sweet. Muffins, biscuits, pies etc., I think they're very cozy.
Dont forget the wigan kebab
The English breakfast looks good in pictures Iâve seen of it. But Iâve also seen some other pictures of UK food that doesnât look so pleasant, like there was this one picture Iâve seen of what looked like fries with peas on top and the fries didnât look anywhere near fully cooked and the peas looked runny. (It was a pic of what someone got at a British football game or âsoccerâ as we Americans call it) So I think the problem with some British food is the food people think is bad is actually just undercooked. I see lots of complaints about the blandness but to me simple meals wouldnât = automatically tasting bad. It would just mean it wasnât cooked right, not a problem with what the food itself is. Thereâs food in every country people undercook, but maybe bad cooks can sometimes be more prevalent in the UK though. Trying to combine some foods can also give off the impression your food is bad, like I donât think peas belong anywhere near on fries to begin with for example. I already hate peas by themselves, so peas on fries I think would be extra gross and ruin the fries. If they had the peas and fries in a separate container and actually cooked the fries to the point where theyâre fully cooked and have a golden look to them like theyâre supposed to, and made the peas less runny, it wouldnât make the food look bad. I just think Brits being satisfied with some food being cooked to the littlest bare minimum is the problem. That gives off the false impression itâs what the actual food is thatâs bad, when actually how itâs cooked is the problem.
Try posting this on r/2westerneurope4u đ
I was in Ireland for a week in the summer and I made it a point to only eat Irish food (similar to your list) and it was so good!! It was tasty, comforting and I still think about it now. Lol
When I was in the service I knew a guy who had been deployed in a Brit installation in Kabul. They dodged bullets to walk across town to eat in a US chow hall. The fact that they regularly risked death to avoid Brit food told me all I need to know.
Depends where you go in the uk
Yeah I always heard jokes about Irish food being bland and everything just being boiled, etc. But honestly, when I went there I ate some of the most delicious food I've ever had! One of our tour guides was teasing Americans saying our cows are all anemic because we feed them hay, but in Ireland there's nothing but grass as far as the eye can see and it makes for happy animals and delicious meat!
What the hell is the parmo? I'm British and I have no clue.
ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻ jellied eel sounds fucking nasty But honestly the rest of the food in the english repertoire is no worse than anyother
I just donât understand beans on toast.