About English food

English cuisine is the result of centuries of agriculture, trade, wars, hard times and a delight in using seasonal, regional produce. The English like to boast that in cheese-making alone, they give the French a run for their money when it comes to variety.

Yorkshire pudding.

Many small towns and regions boast their own sausages, ie the beloved "banger", named from the sausages made during the ration period after World War I, when the content of sausages included so much fat that, when heated, the sausage skin burst.

The English are very good at combining cheap, simple ingredients to maximise flavours and make a little go a long way, but sophisticated flavours are also very much part of English food. With Roman influences and England’s own vast empires; the English used herbs and spices from all over the world (rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, pepper and mustard seed are favourites).

"Meat and three veg" originated in the UK, with dishes like classic roast beef, beef wellington, steak and kidney pie, jugged hare and many more. Many quintessential English dishes often make good use of secondary cuts of meat, such as brawn, shanks and pig's ears or trotters. Dishes made with leftover meat are adored – bubble and squeak and shepherd’s pie are just a couple of examples.

"Nursery food" or "comfort food" is much loved by the English and puddings are a highlight. The term "pudding" includes a vast range of dishes and products that have little to nothing in common. The oldest type of pudding, coming from the French word "boudin" is pudding in skins, most famously black pudding – England’s blood sausage that's a component of the hearty English breakfast. Puddings boiled in cloth proved easier to boiling in skin, such as Christmas pudding which still adorns many festive tables. The tradition of dripping pan pudding is kept alive by the Yorkshire pudding, although modern Yorkshire pud is baked in the oven rather than with the batter sitting in a toss-pan under the spit of roasting meat.

In England, no meal is complete without dessert, often a bread and butter pudding is key. It’s a delicious winter warmer with the added virtue of being cheap to make, and in this "waste-not-want-not" culture, it’s a handy use of stale bread. Chilled berry puddings like the vibrant summer pudding are a variation on a similar theme – again relying on stale bread to soak up the tart and sweet flavours of the fresh berry juices and coulis.

 

View our English recipe collection here.