Typical English Food

SUNDAY LUNCH
Roast Beef, Yorkshire puddings, Roast potatoes, peas, carrrots and gravy. (The gravy typically consists of salted beef broth flavoured with Worcestershire sauce and black pepper, and thickened with refined flour, and corn starch. The gravy may also contain ale or stout.)

FISH AND CHIPS
Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in the United Kingdom as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 17th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain, and is derived from pescado frito. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin.

CORNISH PASTY

Le Cornish pasty est une sorte de tourte originaire de Cornouailles en Angleterre. Il s'agit traditionnellement d'une préparation salée cuite au four et contenant du bœuf haché, des pommes de terre, des oignons et du rutabaga.

Pasties have probably been made in England since 13th century. Originally they were eaten by the wealthy upper classes and even royalty. They came with various of fillings including venison, beef, lamb and seafoord including eels and salmon. They were further flavoured with rich gravies and sometimes dried fruits.

Around the 18th or 19th century the cornish pasty came into existance. With the development of tin and copper mining in Cornwall, the miners who worked long hours in terrible conditions, needed a nutritious yet portable meal to last them through the day.

The traditional cornish pasty contained beef mixed with potatoes onion and turnip. Pasties could even have a savoury end and a sweet end, rather like a two course meal. The pastie was filling and easy to carry. The crimp or crust made it easy to hold in the fingers whilst eating the filling and then discarding the crust. This was very important, the miners fingers were dirty and worse, where there is tin there is often arsenic which is a highly poisonous substance.

There is a rumour that was bad luck for fishermen to take Cornish pasties to sea. This was probably a rumour spread by the miners who wanted to keep the pasties for themselves.

GYPSY TART

Anyone who grew up in Kent will remember gypsy tart, an unusual dessert made from evaporated milk and muscovado sugar which was once a frequent feature on school dinner menus. The story goes that a Kentish woman invented it when she wanted to make a treat for a local gypsy family, but only had a few ingredients in her kitchen.

MELTON MOWBRAY PORK PIES

A Melton Mowbray Pork Pie is named after the town of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. Melton Mowbray pies are made with uncured meat that is chopped and formed by hand into a hot water crust pastry pie. They are then cooked without the use of a mould or pie dish so that the finished pie has uneven and bowed out sides. The best way to enjoy a Melton Mowbray Pork Pie is cold on a ploughman’s lunch accompanied by cheese, chutney and pickled onions, its great picnic food too.