The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Coffee Lounge => Topic started by: OhLaLa on May 22, 2013, 10:13:34 am
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I'm doing a talk at a French school about English food and taking some samples in with me for the kids to try.
I need a few more ideas of food which is typically English, and that I can take in for them to taste. Needs to be stuff that I can prepare beforehand or that doesn't need any preparation.
I've got a few things on the list.
Anything you can think of?
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Sausages? You could do cocktail sausages on sticks.
Cheese - the French don't think anyone else can make cheese.
How about scones and jam or savoury scones
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Cheese - the French don't think anyone else can make cheese.
Actually - they are learning these days - the British keep beating them in all sorts of cheese competitions... ;)
But cheese is a good idea, if you have decent stuff available. Bog standard cheddar probably won't do.
The first food I made for German friends and that was greeted with - this can't be British, it tastes great! - was trifle.
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Cheddar is on the list. Sausages is a good idea, will add those on. Thanks.
(Marmite is on the list too, and Salad Cream).
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A few ideas: Pickled eggs and onions, picalilli, bakewell tart, chelsea buns, eccles cakes, scones, clotted cream, cornish pasties, marmite, crumpets, summer pudding.
Some travel better than others!
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Some lovely salad stuff so they see we don't eat stodgy overcooked food any more - if we ever did. I've no idea what the French eat these days, try to take things which are not just British variants of French produce.
It would be great though to show how cosmopolitan our diet is these days.
You must take curry - very British :yum:
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Steak and Kidney Pie, Shephards Pie, Apple Pie, Pork Pie (whops loads of pies) Something with Rhubarb in and what about Trifle?
Whops...sorry had a very low carb moment...just after putting that I had some cake and then the computor went funny so I turned it off......maybe something less stodgy then?
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marmalade and proper bacon - can't get either in France!
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What about an English or British breakfast with all the trimmings then...yummmm
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Pork pies, rice pudding, English mustard freshly made with water a minute before tasting, (surprised a few Germans with that one) they are just about speaking to me now. Trebor extra strong mints , ( they nearly choked my brother-in law) A cream tea if you can get the ingredients. :thumbsup:
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if you are having cheese - then pineapple is a must. jelly and icecream ? :roflanim:
cornish pasty, and scones and cream and strawberries.
england grows the best spinach and watercress. rhubarb dipped in sugar :yum:
jam roly poly, cucumber sandwiches?
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Needs to be stuff that I can prepare beforehand or that doesn't need any preparation.
Just wanted to remind of this... A lot of the suggestions may be your favourite food, but I don't think it would be possible to cook a full English breakfast in that school, for example!
I am reading this with interest. As a BF (bloody foreigner) who's lived in the UK for more than a third of her life, most of the stuff I can sincerely say I have still not got used to. Or - I might eat it, depending on how it's been cooked even enjoy it, but couldn't wholeheartedly recommend it to encourage foreigners to eat more of British food. Especially all those pies and pasties... Yeah, it's convenience food, might even taste quite nice, but in the end it's mostly stodge. Carbohydrates, basically without any flavour... And most cakes and sweets far, far too sweet. Again, no flavour apart from sugar. And every single item on the menu with chips..... Argh!!! Now that really puts any foreigner off their food. (I remember how aghast some students were when they were offered lasagne with chips on the ferry over... And I won't even mention deep fried pizza. Oh, now I have. ;D )
(Sorry! There's not much German food I would be eager to introduce to other countries, either, if that makes up for my rant.)
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Ina, sorry, I did read but I went off into a carb rant as I was hungry but its food I like, although not a pie or chip fan, I do love new potatoes or any potatoes in fact. When I worked in Leicester the most popular British food amongst the asian population was Trifle and fish and chips (not together),funny as I so like curry and that IS a typical British dish!!! Of course you cannot pre prep Fish and chips but little trifles would be great and an afternoon tea is my fave with scones, cream, fresh home made jam, ham and nice cheese sarnies and maybe some egg and cress ones...with a cup of British tea Yum
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Ina, sorry, I did read but I went off into a carb rant as I was hungry but its food I like, although not a pie or chip fan, I do love new potatoes or any potatoes in fact. When I worked in Leicester the most popular British food amongst the asian population was Trifle and fish and chips (not together),funny as I so like curry and that IS a typical British dish!!!
Definitely a favourite dish! Typical for "The Empire" and its influence on British food, anyway. :D (I love curry, too...)
But it always depends on how it's cooked. Bakewell tart, for example, I love. But I have had really dismal examples of it, too... No almonds in the topping - only artificial flavour; thick, flavourless pastry - yuk! The Newton Dee bakery (those in and around Aberdeen might know it) makes the most fabulous stuff, though: thin pastry made with butter, topping mostly almonds with not too much sugar - delicious!
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Thanks so much for all your input. Appreciate some of the suggestions are yummy treats but have to take into account that I am unable to cook or heat up any foodstuffs once there. Can't really offer the kids some of the more hot/spicy suggestions, bless 'em, and anything gooey or sticky is also out of the question due to the kids touching everything gooey and then everything in the classroom (I've made that mistake before).
So, the list is done, the shopping is on order, and the visit arranged. Will let you know how it goes.
:wave:
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Don't forget to give them cups of proper English tea.
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We had our french electricians son stay with us here in the UK..... the lad loved the full english breakfast
and as you know we call them frogs, they call us roast beef ..so why not take in a good roast beef dinner.. :thumbsup:
not to mention..the lad also loved a real DEVON pasty :excited:
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OhLaLa - I hope that the talk goes well. Bit of a challenge .
some good suggestions above but what strikes me is just how cosmopolitan the UK diet is compared to the French. They may consume more pizza than any other country but little else in the way of foreign food.
Can you let us know what the school children thought of your examples?
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Funny when you start to think of traditional foods that most of the stuff I eat is not actualy traditional...although curry was adapted for our British pallet and now a typical food.
There is a lot of food snobbery and to be frank, I do not understand that, there are foods that I do not like but are very popular, a lot of our guests come home with some big kebabs, goodness knows whats in the meat but they love them, my motto if you like it then its good, goes for wine too!!
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Just to update, the talk went really well. It was fun and the kids were very good about trying all the 'foreign food'.
Least liked - Marmite (on little toasts), Bakewell Tart.
Best liked - Salad Cream (with Iceberg Lettuce), Milk Chocolate Biscuits (UK brand).
:thumbsup:
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:wave: Marmite is one of those things that some people hate, I love it!! I love most things though :pig:
Glad it went well.....funny how different food is in UK now to what it was say 40 years ago..... :thumbsup:
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:wave: Marmite is one of those things that some people hate, I love it!!.
Yes, I was explaining to the kids about the advert for it (love it or hate it). A few liked it but overall the verdict was 'Je déteste'. They all found it funny watching each others 'first taste of Marmite' faces. They got to sniff a giant empty Marmite jar too. All good fun.
:thumbsup:
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Bit like Brussel sprouts, apparently to some people, due to genetics, some find the taste horrid and some nice, I love Brussels too!
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I'm surprised they didn't like Bakewell tart, though. Usually sweet stuff is easiest to "sell" to kids.
Marmite took me a few years to get used to. I would eat it now - but I don't go out of my way to do so!
But salad cream - yuk. Just chemicals.
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I love good salad cream too...hay if you like it you like it...my husband only likes Mayo but like I said...I like most things...except burgers...cheap burgers....
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I love good salad cream too...hay if you like it you like it...my husband only likes Mayo but like I said...I like most things...except burgers...cheap burgers....
I always say, you have to be born British to like salad cream and Tunnock's teacakes! ;D
(I'm obviously wrong...)
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:excited: Tunnock's teacakes :excited: they make me sick.....I eat too many of them thats why :innocent:
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salad cream and carrot sticks mmmm
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Yorkshire puddings! Hot or cold, with gravy or (did I really used to eat these?) golden syrup :yum: :yum:
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Yorkshire puddings! Hot or cold, with gravy or (did I really used to eat these?) golden syrup :yum: :yum:
Well, Yorkshire puds are really only pancakes in a slightly different shape... So yeah, why not with golden syrup!
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Yorkshire puddings! Hot or cold, with gravy or (did I really used to eat these?) golden syrup :yum: :yum:
Or with crunchy peanut butter! :yum: Haven't managed to convince Rosemary of their virtues yet though...
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How about different flavours of crisps, ie prawn cocktail, cheese and onion, Worcester sauce etc. Im fed up with the boring French flavours. You cant get Wheat crunchies or Skips over here either. All the above are easy to pass round and kids will love to try them. Deffo pork pie with various pickles and brown sauce!!!Pickled onions are a must as previously said, an perhaps some individual fruit jellies done in plastic cups.
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I remember my mum asking if I wanted my yorkshire with my dinner or with syrup, I always had it with Syrup, hardly ever make Yorkshire puds now....but I do make dumplings :innocent: :innocent: :innocent:
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I remember my mum asking if I wanted my yorkshire with my dinner or with syrup, I always had it with Syrup, hardly ever make Yorkshire puds now....but I do make dumplings :innocent: :innocent: :innocent:
That's what we did at home. When I was first married I made a batch of Y Puds and put some to one side. OH asked what they were for...when I poured syrup on them he looked :o :o horrified - well his family are from York :innocent: :innocent:
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How about different flavours of crisps, ie prawn cocktail, cheese and onion, Worcester sauce etc.
A lot of those flavours aren't around in other countries because the artificial additives are banned.
(Added to say that these days there are a lot more natural flavours around - but I think it's now simply tradition that there aren't that many flavours available. I don't like them, either. Well, some cheese and onion are ok... ;D )
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Yorkshire puddings! Hot or cold, with gravy or (did I really used to eat these?) golden syrup :yum: :yum:
Or with crunchy peanut butter! :yum: Haven't managed to convince Rosemary of their virtues yet though...
I quite fancy that. Do you have them hot or cold, Dan?
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Yorkshire puddings! Hot or cold, with gravy or (did I really used to eat these?) golden syrup :yum: :yum:
Or with crunchy peanut butter! :yum: Haven't managed to convince Rosemary of their virtues yet though...
I quite fancy that. Do you have them hot or cold, Dan?
Cold, nice with PB&J too. :thumbsup:
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Coming from just up the road from Bakewell - I have to say that we call it a Pudding, not a tart!!!
I have to admit to loving savoury pies - meat and potato with mushy peas is a favourite (we quite often pop over the border to Lancashire, as all the bakeries sell this as a takeaway, and its divine!)
Staffordshire oatcakes (the big round ones) are lovely with a fried breakfast ....and Bury black puddings of course!!!
I do tend to like traditional food - often using old fashioned recipes in an old book, which are rather stodgy.......you would think I would be rather larger than a size 10 ;D