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#132451 08/18/02 06:50 PM
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English food has an outdate and undeserved reputation for being bad.
I've been living in England for over a year now, and I prefer English food to American food.
Part of what makes it different is the way the animals are fed. Cows and lambs eat grass. That's what they are supposed to eat. And they are not full of hormones to grow faster.
Also, the country is much smaller than the US and the distances the food has to travel is only a fraction of that of the US. That means that the food is fresher and doesn't have the same amount of preservatives in it that the US food does.
And, the coffee and tea is fantastic. We use loose tea whenever we make a pot and it makes a world of difference in the flavor.
Any comments?

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#132452 08/20/02 12:09 AM
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I have to admit that when I think of English Food, as much as I *love* that culture, I don't think of really exciting food. If anything, I think of comfort food, of things that are bland and yummy. Jams and biscuits and gravies and such.

It's sort of how I think of Irish food. Fish, chips, potatoes, the Irish bacon which became corned beef & cabbage in the states.

For the *cuisine* of the states, since we're a melting pot, our cuisine can be everything and anything. At one single restaurant you can get food in the style of Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Indian, Mexican, French, Russian, and more. All on one menu. So the variety is pretty endless and the flavor combinations and spices are just great. I love that variety.

As far as fresh goes, really, there is fresh food all over the states <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> In the northeast US, I get TONS of fresh fish, it's quite delicious. I can have fresh lobster, bass, shrimp, striper, clams. We have many farms in the area for beef, chicken, turkey. Right around my home are many farms that I can stop by for fresh corn, asparagus, beans, etc. So I really don't think you can say anywhere has "old" or "preservative only" food. Sure, you can buy it in the store if you want. But you'd have to have walked past quite a bit local food to get it ...


Lisa, Birding Enthusiast
#132453 08/20/02 12:47 AM
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Lisa;

I was talking about the food in the grocery store. I know there's plenty of fresh food in the States - I used to live there. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Have you been here? I'm talking about first hand experience. I'm constantly amazed at the quality of food here and I'm trying to dispell the myth that English food is bland. It's anything but!
There are plenty of Mexican, Italian, Indian, Polish, Chinese, Cajun, Cambodian, and Hungarian restaurants here, and you can buy most of the ingredients for those types of food at the local grocery store to make it yourself.
And the fish is at most a day old and not frozen. Sure, there are plenty of fish and chip shops here, but there are fish markets all over seeing that this is an island.
We also get free range eggs which are out of this world. We get 2.5 dozen eggs for under $2.00.
The UK is just as much of a melting pot as the US is, and the types of food available reflect the different cultures who have adopted the UK as their home.
I wasn't slamming the US, just trying to bash the myth of bad food here in the UK. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

#132454 08/20/02 05:25 PM
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Well, but a grocery store in the states is just like a grocery store anywhere else in the world. You can go to the fruit/veggie section and get fresh fruits and veggies, or you can go to the frozen good section and get things full of preservatives <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> So no matter where you are, you can shop wisely or shop unwisely <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Yup, I've been to England once, and Ireland twice. In many ways as far as what you can buy to cook in England is much like New England. Lots of fish, lots of farms, so you can buy anything. So that's the same in both places.

But you were talking about the cuisine of *England*. I.e. what the natives *do* with that food. I'm sure you can go anywhere in the world and find a Chinese restaurant, or an Indian restaurant. But those are ethnic restaurants from those areas. We were talking about native English food. At least I thought that's what you were talking about <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> If you're just saying "what you can choose to eat while visiting England", heck you could eat McDonalds all week, or only eat Mexican food. But that wouldn't be an authentic native food choice. And your native foods, that were developed in England and for hundreds of years were the standard fare, have a style to them.

I guess my point on the US side is that there ISN'T a native food choice unless you go with American Indian food, which I dare you to find a restaurant for!! Instead, "American" food is really "melting pot from around the world" food. There's no such thing as an American restaurant (unless you want to count McDonalds). Instead, food in America is all based on where the immigrants came from. In Chinatown it's Chinese. In French New Orleans it's French. In Florida it's Cuban. In Texas it's Mexican. In New England it's probably closest to Irish/English. So I think that's why "US food" is neat - because it's not really US food. It's "everywhere food" <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />


Lisa, Birding Enthusiast
#132455 08/23/02 11:58 AM
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In my column I was talking about cuisine, but here I've been talking about the quality of the food - the basics.
Not only I, but my guests from the States, have commented positively about the food. Both the lack of preservatives in the food, and the taste of it, are remarkable. The carrots taste like the carrots we were used to when we were growing up, and the tomatoes taste like the tomatoes we remember.
As far as English cuisine is concerned, most folks don't count the traditional Sunday dinner as being English, but it is. A roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables can be found in most restaurants across the world. Sandwiches are English, too.
We also have to take into consideration personal tastes regarding what people do with food. There are trailer park cooks all over the world!
<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
There are American foods, dear Lisa. Just think of pizza. It's not Italian; it's American. An American GI, from either New York City or Chicago, convinced someone in Italy to make a pizza during WWII and it caught on.
Chop suey, the ubiquitous hamburger, and the traditional BBQ foods are all American. What we know now as Cajn food, is a far cry from what the Arcadians eat.
Come to think of it, I sure would enjoy a bit of Popeye's Fried Chicken with some dirty rice!
<img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

#132456 12/06/04 06:19 AM
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I love English breakfest -Eggs and Bacon- and earl grey tea. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

What I prefer from the European continent is beer (from Ziewietz to Grolsch and Carlsberg), Coffee and french/Belgian cuisine, because I grew up with that in Holland. But I have to say that English cuisine has got better. I love guinnes beer in Irish pubs thaugh.

#132457 12/06/04 06:20 AM
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I flew with British airways recnetly and their food was quite good!

#132458 12/12/04 08:24 PM
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Yes... yummy English breakfasts! A good old fashioned fry up! I also enjoy real Sunday lunches - complete with yorkshire puddings covered in gravy. Mmmm.

Thank goodness for the English store in Santa Monica and regular visits from my Mum. She arrives in 11 days for her Christmas visit... and she will be bringing Bisto gravy granules!

#132459 12/14/04 07:56 AM
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English food is [censored] - that's why we've adopted curry as our national dish....


CO SIE POLEPSZY, TO SIE POPIEPRZY....
#132460 12/14/04 09:19 PM
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LOL. Oh come on! It is curry with an English twist after all! <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

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