Food and drink: Cuisine and food

Times of Main Meals and Food Associated to Each Meal

• It is important to remember that the time of meals varies from person to person. The dishes we associate with a certain time of the day can vary as well.
• Breakfast usually takes place between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
  • A full English breakfast usually includes bacon, sausages, eggs, and a variety of other cooked foods, with a drink such as coffee or tea.
• Lunch takes place between 12:00 p.m. and 13.30 p.m.
  • Ploughman’s lunch is a traditional lunch. It consists of buttered bread, cheese, onion, and sometimes a pickle.
  • Today usually it is a sandwich and some fruit or snacks.
• Dinner or Supper is the main meal and it can be eaten at any time between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
  • Meat and two vegs is a traditional dinner dish. It is made of meat, dark gravy and vegetables.
  • Sunday roast dinner as the name suggests it is eaten on Sundays. It is made of roasted meat, potatoes, two types of other vegetables and is served with Yorkshire pudding.
  • In current times most people eat curry, rice or pasta dishes for dinner.
• Some people still practice Teatime, the usual time for it is around 5:00 p.m.
• Other British dishes include the Sunday roast, steak and kidney pie, shepherds pie and bangers and mash.

Food which Forms a Fundamental Part of a Diet

• Potato is an important food for British cuisine, especially in Northern Ireland.
• British traditional diet is high in fatty meat products, sweet and salty snacks and cakes.
• Traditionally fish play an important part in the diet with Fish and chips being one of the most recognizable dishes.
• Chicken tikka masala became the most popular dish in the United Kingdom. Rice and pasta are now the main part of the British diet.

Social conventions related to the organisation of a menu, food associated with each meal and in the order in which food is eaten

• Menus in restaurants start with appetizers, soups and salads.
• After them usually comes the part with the main dishes.
• Main dishes can be divided into different groups depending on the type of meat used or whether they are cold or warm dishes.
• Vegetarian dishes are usually marked or can also have a separate group. After the main dish comes desserts.
• Drinks and additives are usually at the very end of the menu.
• Drinks can be divided into warm, cold, alcoholic and nonalcoholic ones.

Types of Dishes According to how it is cooked

• Steamed: Bedfordshire clanger.
• Cooked: Bangers and mash, Cullen skink.
• Roasted: Chicken tikka masala, Sunday roast, toad in the hole.
• Grilled, fried, baked: Black pudding, fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, Yorkshire pudding.

Most commonly used condiments, herbs and spices in cooking

• Allspice is an aromatic spice that looks like a large, smooth peppercorn (about the size of a pea). Is common in British cuisine, it appears in many dishes, including cakes.
• Chilli powder is made from grinding dried chillies to a powder. Chilli powder can vary in heat and is also available smoked.
• Basil is commonly used with tomato dishes. It is native to tropical regions from central Africa to Southeast Asia.
• Coriander became popular since Indian, Thai, Chinese and Mexican cuisines became popular in the UK. It is also known as Chinese parsley, its leaves and seeds are mostly used for cooking. It comes from regions of Southern Europe and Northern Africa to Southwestern Asia.
• Ketchup is the favourite condiment in the United Kingdom. It is a sauce made from tomatoes, sugar, and vinegar, with seasonings and spices.
• Mayonnaise is second favourite British condiment. It is made of oil, egg yolk, and either vinegar or lemon juice.
• Garlic is native to Central Asia and northeastern Iran and has long been a common seasoning worldwide including the United Kingdom.

Main Accompaniments

• There is a wide variety of traditional bread in Great Britain, often baked in a rectangular tin. Round loaves are also produced, such as the North East England speciality called a stottie cake. Wales has a sweet bread called bara brith, which includes fruit in the recipe. In Scotland, another form of bread called plain bread is also popular.
• Triple-cooked chips are deep-fried chips, cooled down and then deep-fried again. They are crunchy outside but still soft inside. They come from England.
• Yorkshire Pudding, coming from York in England it is served either before the main dish or as a side dish. It is made of flour, eggs, and milk/water.
• Mushy peas are served traditionally with lamb or fish and chips. It is prepared from boiled peas with soda bicarbonate.

Role of Wine, Coffee and Other Drinks in Meals

• They usually drink coffee or tea at breakfast or after the other meals.
• People usually prefer drinking wine during fancy meals rather than beer. It is estimated that in the UK, wine has become the most popular drink.

Typical Dishes From Countries in the United Kingdom

• Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin consisting of fried battered fish and hot chips. It is a common take-away food.
• Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); mixed with the onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, served in the animal stomach.
• A pasty is a baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, in the United Kingdom.
• Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit is a dish made with a savoury sauce of melted cheese and various other ingredients and served hot.
• Boxty (bacstaí in Irish) is a traditional Irish potato pancake. It is also known as potato bread.

Exercises

External link to Food and drink: Cuisine and food exercises (528).