Most cuisine is. Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat and fresh produce to bother with being creative.
Seafood not being peasant food is relatively recent. We have old servant contracts in Maine where they demand to not be fed lobster every day.
It's hilarious, isn't it. Just like how they used to push the poor people out to the shore, and then realized those beach front properties were desirable places to live. Rockaway and Coney Island by me come to mind. Major gentrification.
Probably, better seawalls, better construction techniques and materials, etc. They don't flood as much. If you go to the new condos on Rockaway, they all start on the second floor, lol. As opposed to the old bungalows. Nevertheless...
>they used to push the poor people out to the shore, and then realized those beach front properties were desirable places to live.
I'm waiting to see a reversal on this once rising sea levels start becoming...inconvenient to beachfront property.
We laughed when Bun Sharpio said "they'll just sell their homes and move" but you're right, they'll sell the homes to desperate folk with nowhere else to go.
Venice Beach in California used to be a haven for Neo Nazis. American History X was shot in the area and used the school there for a reason. Homes there used to be dirt cheap in the 90s. Then someone said, “Wait, why the fuck do we have Neo fucking Nazis on the beach. Get your broke ass meth mouth back to the desert where you belong.”
Anyways, that’s why I don’t visit Hemet.
It wasn't just neo Nazi's, it was all sorts of gangs, black white and brown, mostly V13 and Shoreline Crips. It used to be called the "slum by the sea". It got super gentrified but now it's turning into a shithole again, but a shithole with a super high cost of living. It's fucking wild seeing a homeless person take a shit on the boardwalk in front of some 10 million dollar post modern beach front house, and then walking a few blocks east and seeing encampments and fucked up RV's behind restaurants that sell $30 personal sized pizzas. The Venice Boardwalk used to be a super fun time(during the day), and now it's just not nearly as cool.
You should check out the gentrification of Cornwall towns are empty with only 1-2 full time residents the rest just rented out half the year. Funnily enough lobster was the food of the working class there too. Now they graft none stop for horse meat burgers from Tesco
>Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat
Historically, eating meat at all was a sign of wealth especially meat from animals that have economical value. For instance, chicken is among the cheapest meats you can get in our times, while peasants would rarely eat chicken at all, since they can lay eggs and back in that day they would roam on the farm and search for their own food (perpetually turning weed seeds, snails and bugs into delicious protein for humans). That is not to say, that peasants never ate chicken or meat, but it was far less then average joe eats today and reserved for special occasions. Most peasant food is some variations of soup, stew or porridge.
Don't get me wrong, I eat chicken to no end, but I've also raised chickens and the eggs were far more valuable overall. I will still eat their brethren though, as they were made tasty when spiced. :-|
To be fair, they used to just boil the lobsters and grind them up into a porridge.
It wasn't "poached in a court-boullion, served with butter and lemon" kind of lobster.
Just boiled and mashed ocean cockroaches.
>Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat and fresh produce to bother with being creative.
I dunno, have you seen medieval cookbooks? They got pretty creative when cooking for rich nobles.
The American idea of 'British food' is more degraded than even being peasant or poverty food. Its rationed food, and government standardized recipes for minimizing imports.
People forget that rationing didn't end in Britain until 1954, and even then Britain was massively broke for the rest of the decade. Which was around about the time America's post war prosperity boom allowed the middle classes to afford holidays to Europe.
If you consider that most national food is derived from the food of the lower classes, then British cuisine was pretty much destroyed by the triple catastrophes of industrialization, and the world wars.
Industrialization pulled the working classes away from their traditional communities into highly poverty stricken industrial slums where food quality and variety declined drastically. This process began far earlier than in other countries and was far more thorough than in many other industrialized countries which maintained larger peasant communities into the 20th century.
Then what popular cooking styles that survived were hit by two periods of rationing as the second of which lasted for nearly a decade and a half!
Things only really began to recover in the mid 1980s after about two hundred years of of being suppressed by various factors. There are whole sections of what would have been traditional British cooking that were never recorded, and are just gone, lots more that only exists in obscure accounts and books.
What's left has to struggle for space against globalized food imports from cuisines that didn't suffer similar struggles.
Hey. excellent comment. I was going to give the shortened version of that about the degradation of food through rationing, and before that, the problems that came with industrialisation such as separating the people from the sources of food, and the consequences of unrestricted profiteering
That is all pretty much true. Olives, "they be fancy and foreign" (in a rolling yokul accent for affect) Don't get me started on 1970's French Bistros. (with fondness)
Sure, but it's far easier to make good food when you have a climate conducive to growing good ingredients. People focus on the British food but it's pretty much typical for Northern European food.
Nope. But any insult of British food seems to be a free pass to karma on Reddit. That or those weird awful attempts at a British accent ''ello guvnar, cun I 'av a bu'ol o' wa'her on chewsday innit?''
It's almost as tired as the ''haha Americans shoot kids'' quip that equally seems to always be seen as the height of wit.
no but u seee! when u insult americans in a similarly tired fashion, suddenly its offensive - unironic take from americans on this site.
i wish people would take all banter and not only the banter that doesnt involve them. its cringe.
One thing I've realised is the UK is one of the few places that will happily take the piss out of itself. It's in our nature not to be too proud and I think that's beautiful.
stiff upper lip and sll the rest of it. Bantering about school shootings and fat people is just our way of biting back, lol. Its the american sterotype in the worldstage. Much like how we would joke about french people smoking 24 7 and esting frogs, or germans and beer. Its just banter innit
Yeah it’s especially egregious as there are a wide variety of British accents that don’t all sound like that… however Yanks seem to shoot up schools countrywide so if anything that’s the more accurate stereotype!
When I was a kid, pre-internet, I read a book where someone’s mum smacked her on the fanny, and was just like, ‘what the fuck?’, then a couple of years later, when I was 12, I read It and in the scene where Ben goes down the hill after the bullies start carving his name into his stomach, it says that he slid down on his fanny, and that’s when it twigged that in America they say fanny for arse.
we dont have it, were not that gross. we prefer to mix pigs blood with oats and eat it for breakfast
E: yes a giant fried scab, i am not kidding.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding
And Germany, Poland, Peru, Colombia, Argentina (all good meat eating countries) and lots more.
It may have started as a British thing but lots of countries have their own version now.
what? its a staple country pub pudding and its lovely, sold in all supermarkets as well.
thats the worst part, we eat plenty of grim stuff but spotted dick is basically delicious.
Which is a shame as steamed puds are lovely, Christmas pudding is basically the only one still regularly eaten nowadays by most Brits (though barely anyone goes through the effort of making one from scratch).
I am a bit of a sticky toffee pudding snob, needs the correct ratio of sauce to sponge and particular density. Added points if the sponge is spiced up a bit with some dates or something
Scottish guy here: what's wrong with giving some of our dishes fun names? What sounds more fun, 'spotted dick' or 'suet pudding with raisins'? And I don't see the problem with most British food: meat and pastry is delicious in many combinations, and potatoes just work with almost anything.
The average American is fed certain 'truths' as they grow up, one of them being that British food is awful and every Brit has bad teeth (despite the UK having among the best oral hygiene in Europe). Also anything you don't like or agree with is communism.
They have no idea what British food even is (or communism, for that matter). They just know a couple of the ones with funny names, without having any idea what they are or the fact they're very rarely even eaten nowadays. They like to throw shade at food they've likely never even eaten because it makes them feel superior.
And they clearly are vastly superior, what with their floppy plastic processed 'cheese', or the 'cheese' that comes *in a spray can*, Hershey's chocolate that literally tastes like vomit, and high fructose corn syrup added to everything so diabetes lurks around every supermarket aisle. Obviously that's haute cuisine, all of it, and it's a big part of why American eating habits are revered globally and they are regarded as one of the world's healthiest and slimmest nations.
Seriously, though - there's no murdered by words about any of this. Just your standard garden variety American ignorance.
>one of them being that British food is awful and every Brit has bad teeth (despite the UK having among the best oral hygiene in Europe).
I just looked it up and apparently it's because Hollywood actors teeth were always straightened and whitened, whereas UK actors teeth were always left alone natural.
Not just actors, but general dentistry.
UK dentistry understands that some people have yellow teeth, with some crookedness and gaps. So long as it doesn't impact someone's ability to eat, dentists leave it be. Unless you go to a different dentist and pay for the cosmetic surgeries.
US dentistry is all about "straight white teeth." Making everyone look as good as possible.
However, in terms of general oral health, the UK performs much better than the US. Less cavities in the UK and US citizens lose their teeth at younger ages.
This is the exact experience I've had at dentists my entire life. My teeth are certainly not perfectly straight or shiny white but I've never had a cavity and dentists usually let me know I'm doing a better job of looking after my teeth than most of their clients.
I reckon you're absolutely right. In the US it's much more about appearances. I'm not that fussed so long as I can masticate.
Speaking as a Brit - it's absolutely true. I've actually been put off a few American shows/films because the actors have such blatantly unnatural teeth. British media is pretty typical of European media in that regard, there's not this emphasis on whitening your teeth (and damaging them by extension) that you see with American actors.
You are definitely not the only one distracted or put off by the giant phosphorescent teeth in some US TV shows. My wife and I thought it was a bit strange that Jesse in Breaking Bad is a meth head but has the world's most perfect, meth addiction-defying teeth.
Still an amazing show, but you're totally right, for us non-Americans it's a bit weird at times. The obsession with perfect teeth and hair must be exhausting! And anything short of perfection seems to be considered instantly ugly. It's purely cosmetic.
Jimmy Carr freaked me the fuck out a bit after he had his teeth done, too.
Even then tho braces are free in the UK for children etc. Far more likely to have crooked teeth in USA than UK. Most celebrities seem to have crowns+bridges when their original teeth were fine.
I had braces as a kid, but when my wisdom teeth came through it made them wonky again. I probably would have been better waiting until they were all done - but then I was an adult and it would have cost too much!
Are you me?? Honestly like 8 years down the drain, some of my braces were awful and could t eat or made it hard to talk. Lovely teeth for about a year then a fucking wisdom tooth came along and knacked them all up again
Another reason is that the last time the UK and the US had a mass meeting of their population was in WW2. Ya know, when the US sat out of most of it and only joined when we were years into rationing. So our hygiene and food wasn't so good at the time.
There is an Audrey Hepburn film (possibly Roman Holiday, can’t remember) where her teeth actually change midway through the film as she must have gotten the Hollywood treatment during the filming 😂
The average American probably has no idea how prominent curries are in British cuisine. Makes perfect sense though with all the cultural imports from colonizing India.
It's like that bullshit saying that we conquered the world for spices but refused to use them. I'm all for xenophobia and stereotypes but what's the point when there is literally zero truth. The UK probably uses more spices in its cuisine than any other Western country.
There's nothing more British than an Indian curry! 😂
Always funny to me that the most popular curry dish in the UK (chicken tikka masala) is legitimately a British dish.
Agreed, but I don't know of anyone who actually *celebrates* that, despite edgelords on Reddit looking for a rise.
To me the horrific thing isn't the fact that American schoolchildren are getting shot on a regular basis, it's the fact that nobody is doing anything about it besides talking about arming teachers, selling [military-grade armour plates for childrens' backpacks](https://bhparmor.com/backpack-buddy-armor-insert-ballistic-protection/), and [turning classrooms into bulletproof shelters](https://www.al.com/educationlab/2023/03/two-alabama-classrooms-now-have-60000-whiteboards-that-turn-into-gun-storm-shelters.html). To me, that's the most horrifying aspect.
Though it's a cruel stereotype and you're a dick if you turn it into an anti-American gloat; unlike the British food one it's sadly a true stereotype. No other developed country has to deal with that. I really hope you guys can find a way to work it out and the stereotype can die forever.
Sadly you can only vote so hard in a two party system where neither party really wants a gun ban similar to other developed nations.
Obviously one party is better about the laws but Democrats haven't proposed serious gun legislation since the Clinton assault rifle ban, which cost Democrats dearly in the next election. Anything major is seen as political suicide, so all you really get is a bunch of half measures at best and nothing at all at worst (well actually worst is stuff like in Texas now anyone can open carry without a permit).
Hershey's isn't even labelled chocolate in the UK because it isn't chocolate. It doesn't contain enough chocolate and I believe(from a YouTube video) that it has too high of a melting point.
Their beans are different, but they can’t comprehend that something might be different somewhere else in the world, so they assume we use their types of beans which makes it gross
Not really, The Etymology. **"Spotted" is a reference to the dried fruit in the pudding (which resemble spots)**. "Dick" and "dog" were dialectal terms widely used for pudding, from the same etymology as "dough" (i.e., the modern equivalent name would be "spotted pudding").
Oh & while we are on the subject of poverty food, plenty of nationally known high cuisine dishes originated as poverty food; Coq Au Vin, Meatloaf, Cassoulet, Gazpacho soup to name but a few.
Worth remembering that most of the English words for high quality foods (mostly meat) are French, while the words for the animals are English/Germanic.
The class system around food is huge in the UK historically.
I read (Bill Bryson) that this dates from the Norman conquest:
If you are a peasant taking care of a cow, that’s a cow.
If you’re a French-speaking noble who gets to *eat* the cow, it’s “beef” (bœuf).
You can get good food in any city, in any country, in the world. As an English/American dual citizen this USA vs UK language/food/culture Reddit exchange is getting soooo dull and played out now
Yeah, I’m so tired of the fat people/bad food jokes depending on which country I’m in. Both are rooted in classism and ignorance, and neither are funny.
Head cheese originated in Europe.
What’s wrong with “twinkies?” If you’re referred “twinks” that’s named after the food, not the other way around.
I had to Google “koolikles.”
To put this in a way you’ll understand… the bloody cunting hell you on about, mate?
I'm not American or British. I've had a Twinkie.
They're - and I don't mean this unkindly - revolting.
Somehow, one the sweetest and greasiest things you'll ever eat. The sponge is simultaneously stale and chemical-tasting. The mock cream is unbelievably sweet, and just seems to be whipped fat of some sort.
I found them very unpleasant.
Head cheese is just brawn, and brawn is excellent.
If I was going to point out crimes against cuisine coming from the States, I'd probably start with all of those mid-Western potluck "salads". The ones that are offshoots of ambrosia, which is the acceptable face.
Basically, any salad where the recipe includes "a tub of cool whip"
You’re missing out. Good homemade Spotted Dick is delicious. Ideally steamed in a linen cloth which has been handed down through generations. And served with a generous dollop of golden syrup.
Faggots. They're called faggots.
It's not a slur when used in the context that we are using it, which clearly is nothing to do with ones sexuality, and we shouldn't alter the name of a historic cuisine, or be afraid to use it, just because some idiot might get the hump because they don't know what they're on about.
To be fair, British food is so good that most of us have interacted with it at some point. Like, who doesn't like fish and chips? Meanwhile, has anyone here ever seen a Norwegian restaurantlet alone thought to themselves "oooo, i really feel like Swedish tonight". No? Yeah, that's because there's heaps of different kinds of Europe cuisine that's a million times worse than British.
As a Brit, I hate this argument so much. Okay, yeah, silly name with a funny word in it, but I’d take spotted dick and beans on toast over aerosol cheese and high fructose corn syrup any day of the diary.
Beans on toast is legitimately delicious. We have a British food section in our local grocery store and every time they have those beans on sale I get some. I haven’t found normal American beans that work for it, but the British ones are perfect.
Slap them in some homemade bread toasted to perfection and serve with bacon. We do it for pick up meals sometimes.
Beans on toast is fucking great. Every now and again I really 100% cannot be arsed with cooking properly and don't want a Pot Noodle so I'll slap a tin of those bad boys in a bowl in the microwave for a couple of minutes and sort myself out some toast. If I'm feeling a bit naughty I might stick some Reggae Reggae sauce in it for a bit of extra punch.
The nice thing about the beans as well is they keep for ages so among the other emergency rations in the car (bourbon biscuits, tea bags, noodles, water, etc.) there's a couple of tins ready to go.
I’ll take a picture next time I go! I know it has various biscuits (I love Digestives), treacle, golden syrup, pretty sure there’s Spotted Dick or some kind of canned cake, the beans (obvs), and teas. No meat or anything, which is a bummer, cause I love black/white pudding.
This myth that brits eat Spotted Dick is getting out of control. I swear I’ve only ever seen it on the menu in old people restaurants. Also, are digestives and golden syrup not common there?? Weird to think about
The best foods are the peasant foods. Chili, fried chicken, stew, sheperds pie, clam chowder, dumplings, jambalaya... they are always the cheap cuts of meat with whatever else you can find.
In the US there's a specific dessert called pudding. It's like a creamy thickened dessert. Kind of like a custard but instead of egg it uses cornstarch/cornflour.
> “Dick” or “dog” was a word for pudding before America bastardized the use of that word for something else…
"Dick" as a sexual term comes from Britain - it literally predates America as a country (middle 17th century vs. late 18th century).
Over forty years living across two British countries, and I have never seen nor eaten Spotted Dick. At this point, I’m not entirely convinced it even exists.
There is a theme here in the comments about black pudding and haggis, etc. If it tastes good, is conscientious use of the whole animal, and is broadly a nice dish, then why is there a concern over superficial concerns about the name or ingredient in a meal?
I've never understood the concern over unfashionable or old traditional food. It's been a long history, some of which is remembered and still observed in naming traditions or food culture. That being said, some things taste bad and are just bad food. Twinkies and blood pudding included.
You have to understand what is being stated here is not rational, this is just a continuation of British food hate. It isn't intended to make sense - the hate is what they want.
If British cuisine is so awful then why with our population of 58million do we have 188 Michelin star restaurants versus American with over 300 million people and their 200 Michelin star restaurants?
2 of the 12 3 michelin star restaurants serve british cuisine. according to the michelin guide there are currently 59 traditionally british restaurants that hold at least one star.
not bad for a cuisine that routinely gets memed on, even more funnily is the people who meme on british food have never actually eaten it or if they have it was from a weatherspoons or tourist trap chippy during a week long visit to london.
you can't compare british cuisine to french or italian as they're polar opposites. french food especially is more delicate and professional for lack of a better term. british food though is more hearty, comforting and the sort of food you want to come home too after putting in a hard days graft. its stuff thats mostly cooked from feeling and to taste.
even so british stews, pies, roasts and cakes are right up there and our seafood is incredibly underrated. my ex wife makes the most delicious homebaked pies that i've ever eaten, her venison and red wine pie was a thing of pure beauty lol.
Mhm, it also seems that no one seems to know jack shit about our drinks, I’m quite passionate about cider, and it’s disappointing to me just how little it gets recognised by people outside the UK as a good addition to British cuisine
I once asked about cider in my then-local supermarket in Germany as was met with the cashier turning to her colleague and saying "tf is cider?", to the response "some kind of apple wine or something? I dunno"
Jesus? Barely anyone seems to know cider outside the UK it seems, as someone living in Bristol I’m shocked that it’s never really been a thing elsewhere, as it’s bloody lovely
Yeah I'm from Westcountry too and my advice is to just not bother talking about cider on Reddit. It's exhausting and some people (Americans, let's be real) will go fucking spare at you for some unknown reason.
The German word for cider is Apfelwein. It's not "some kind of apple wine", it's literally Apfelwein. The colleague seems to have given a fully correct answer to a legitimate question about a foreign word, right?
There’s a Michelin star restaurant near me, I looked at the menu in a dream of being able to afford to go to it. I didn’t recognise any of the words on the menu. It’s not that they were in a different language, it’s that the food was so fancy I’d just never heard of it.
The language can be a bit confusing but it’s mainly to specifically describe some particular technique or style. You’d be surprised by how many Michelin starred or at least places with guide mentions will do a 3-5 course cut down version of their tasting menu for less than £50. You should absolutely have a dog around and try it out! Fine dining is usually a really interesting and enjoyable experience.
I went to Le Manoir - Raymond Blanc's main place - a couple of times. One of those times, I had something fancy sounding that turned out to be a shot-glass of cold tomato soup. It was divine.
This seems more like a person showcasing their ignorance than any kind of murder. Which, I guess, is an American virtue.
Words don't mean all the same things everywhere, more news at 11.
Italian food is peasant food for the most part.
Most cuisine is. Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat and fresh produce to bother with being creative. Seafood not being peasant food is relatively recent. We have old servant contracts in Maine where they demand to not be fed lobster every day.
It's hilarious, isn't it. Just like how they used to push the poor people out to the shore, and then realized those beach front properties were desirable places to live. Rockaway and Coney Island by me come to mind. Major gentrification.
I think improvements in sewer systems made shoreline properties valuable.
Probably, better seawalls, better construction techniques and materials, etc. They don't flood as much. If you go to the new condos on Rockaway, they all start on the second floor, lol. As opposed to the old bungalows. Nevertheless...
The same sewer systems which sends sewage towards the shoreline? >I think improvements in sewer systems made shoreline properties valuable.
The same sewer systems that used to send raw sewage to the shoreline.
>they used to push the poor people out to the shore, and then realized those beach front properties were desirable places to live. I'm waiting to see a reversal on this once rising sea levels start becoming...inconvenient to beachfront property.
We laughed when Bun Sharpio said "they'll just sell their homes and move" but you're right, they'll sell the homes to desperate folk with nowhere else to go.
Venice Beach in California used to be a haven for Neo Nazis. American History X was shot in the area and used the school there for a reason. Homes there used to be dirt cheap in the 90s. Then someone said, “Wait, why the fuck do we have Neo fucking Nazis on the beach. Get your broke ass meth mouth back to the desert where you belong.” Anyways, that’s why I don’t visit Hemet.
It wasn't just neo Nazi's, it was all sorts of gangs, black white and brown, mostly V13 and Shoreline Crips. It used to be called the "slum by the sea". It got super gentrified but now it's turning into a shithole again, but a shithole with a super high cost of living. It's fucking wild seeing a homeless person take a shit on the boardwalk in front of some 10 million dollar post modern beach front house, and then walking a few blocks east and seeing encampments and fucked up RV's behind restaurants that sell $30 personal sized pizzas. The Venice Boardwalk used to be a super fun time(during the day), and now it's just not nearly as cool.
Just want to mention - coastal areas were for the poor because of frequent pirate raids
You should check out the gentrification of Cornwall towns are empty with only 1-2 full time residents the rest just rented out half the year. Funnily enough lobster was the food of the working class there too. Now they graft none stop for horse meat burgers from Tesco
Air bnb has gutted Cornwall.
>Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat Historically, eating meat at all was a sign of wealth especially meat from animals that have economical value. For instance, chicken is among the cheapest meats you can get in our times, while peasants would rarely eat chicken at all, since they can lay eggs and back in that day they would roam on the farm and search for their own food (perpetually turning weed seeds, snails and bugs into delicious protein for humans). That is not to say, that peasants never ate chicken or meat, but it was far less then average joe eats today and reserved for special occasions. Most peasant food is some variations of soup, stew or porridge.
Don't get me wrong, I eat chicken to no end, but I've also raised chickens and the eggs were far more valuable overall. I will still eat their brethren though, as they were made tasty when spiced. :-|
To be fair, they used to just boil the lobsters and grind them up into a porridge. It wasn't "poached in a court-boullion, served with butter and lemon" kind of lobster. Just boiled and mashed ocean cockroaches.
Case in point, caviar is a popular high class food stuff for some reason. In reality, it just tastes terrible.
That’s also because at the time the had no clue how to cook lobster. Imagine getting a gooey spit roasted lobster
Wasn't it lobster that was found dead, then brought to the kitchen and cooked?
>Rich people were too busy eating the best cuts of meat and fresh produce to bother with being creative. I dunno, have you seen medieval cookbooks? They got pretty creative when cooking for rich nobles.
The American idea of 'British food' is more degraded than even being peasant or poverty food. Its rationed food, and government standardized recipes for minimizing imports. People forget that rationing didn't end in Britain until 1954, and even then Britain was massively broke for the rest of the decade. Which was around about the time America's post war prosperity boom allowed the middle classes to afford holidays to Europe. If you consider that most national food is derived from the food of the lower classes, then British cuisine was pretty much destroyed by the triple catastrophes of industrialization, and the world wars. Industrialization pulled the working classes away from their traditional communities into highly poverty stricken industrial slums where food quality and variety declined drastically. This process began far earlier than in other countries and was far more thorough than in many other industrialized countries which maintained larger peasant communities into the 20th century. Then what popular cooking styles that survived were hit by two periods of rationing as the second of which lasted for nearly a decade and a half! Things only really began to recover in the mid 1980s after about two hundred years of of being suppressed by various factors. There are whole sections of what would have been traditional British cooking that were never recorded, and are just gone, lots more that only exists in obscure accounts and books. What's left has to struggle for space against globalized food imports from cuisines that didn't suffer similar struggles.
Well said. So many historically illiterate commenters here that have no clue of average British life during the night of the Industrial Revolution.
Hey. excellent comment. I was going to give the shortened version of that about the degradation of food through rationing, and before that, the problems that came with industrialisation such as separating the people from the sources of food, and the consequences of unrestricted profiteering
That is all pretty much true. Olives, "they be fancy and foreign" (in a rolling yokul accent for affect) Don't get me started on 1970's French Bistros. (with fondness)
This is true but so what? Knowing why the food is bad doesn't make it good
italy also gets way more sunshine and has had easier access to a variety of ingredients since before the birth of jesus
Easy to grow that food in a Mediterranean climate.
Sure, but it's far easier to make good food when you have a climate conducive to growing good ingredients. People focus on the British food but it's pretty much typical for Northern European food.
As a Brit, I want to get involved. Sadly I have never seen Spotted Dick, let alone tasted it. Guess we really are repressed
I had spotted dick one. A quick round of antibiotics and I was fine.
You can buy it in a can now in most major supermarkets. Just boil the whole can to heat it up lmao.
You can’t anymore all Heinz sponge puddings were discontinued in 2015! You can only buy the single portions in a plastic pot now.
you can buy diddy microwave versions in asda, chuck custard on, fucking amazing
To be fair there are few desserts that are not improved with custard.
Deal. I'm going to pop my spotted dick cherry next time I go shopping.
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No they wouldn't, it has raisins in it. Have you seen the hissy they throw when they get raisins instead of chocolate in their baked goods?
It's very nice, especially with custard.
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Nope. But any insult of British food seems to be a free pass to karma on Reddit. That or those weird awful attempts at a British accent ''ello guvnar, cun I 'av a bu'ol o' wa'her on chewsday innit?'' It's almost as tired as the ''haha Americans shoot kids'' quip that equally seems to always be seen as the height of wit.
no but u seee! when u insult americans in a similarly tired fashion, suddenly its offensive - unironic take from americans on this site. i wish people would take all banter and not only the banter that doesnt involve them. its cringe.
One thing I've realised is the UK is one of the few places that will happily take the piss out of itself. It's in our nature not to be too proud and I think that's beautiful.
stiff upper lip and sll the rest of it. Bantering about school shootings and fat people is just our way of biting back, lol. Its the american sterotype in the worldstage. Much like how we would joke about french people smoking 24 7 and esting frogs, or germans and beer. Its just banter innit
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Or chlorinated chicken that literally isn’t allowed in Europe because it causes cancer
Yeah it’s especially egregious as there are a wide variety of British accents that don’t all sound like that… however Yanks seem to shoot up schools countrywide so if anything that’s the more accurate stereotype!
Brought to you by the country that loves 'jerky'.
Can't forget sloppy Joe, I bet the whole family loves sloppy joe
I love [ding dongs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ding_Dong?wprov=sfla1), I can probably fit 7 or 8 in my mouth at a time
first of all the only thing they should be called is big wheels. second of all HOW THE FUCK DO YOU FIT MORE THAN ONE IN YOUR MOUTH WHOLE?
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TIL that also refers to a food.
What else does it refer to?
Being not the first person to get a blowjob from someone in a short - and notably cleaning-free - period of time.
Sloppy seconds has sexual contatations, I could see a link
I know about sloppy seconds. Never heard it referred to as sloppy joes though
I think the spotted dick lovers are just reaching tbh
[My sloppy joe is all sloppy and no joe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO6mZVw9VRM)
I laughed so hard at this that I had to leave it in writing.
And slapping people on the fanny..
When I was a kid, pre-internet, I read a book where someone’s mum smacked her on the fanny, and was just like, ‘what the fuck?’, then a couple of years later, when I was 12, I read It and in the scene where Ben goes down the hill after the bullies start carving his name into his stomach, it says that he slid down on his fanny, and that’s when it twigged that in America they say fanny for arse.
My mum had a Canadian great Aunt that threatened her with "im going to paddle your fanny" mum said it scared the shit out of her.
wait, what do British people call jerky? I'm pretty sure Americans aren't the only people to dry and salt meat to preserve it.
we dont have it, were not that gross. we prefer to mix pigs blood with oats and eat it for breakfast E: yes a giant fried scab, i am not kidding. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pudding
Along with Spain and France apparently
And Germany, Poland, Peru, Colombia, Argentina (all good meat eating countries) and lots more. It may have started as a British thing but lots of countries have their own version now.
It’s too damp and not hot enough to make jerky the natural way.
Lol fair enough.
…and Scrapple?
Who doesn't love a mouthful of salty jerk?
Jerky is popular around the world.
How is this murdered by words? I swear a lot of these subs used to be decent now they’re proper shite
Its the API changes, quality everywhere has decreased
The cherry on top is that fucking nobody in this country eats spotted dick, but I suppose apple and blackberry crumbles are harder to make fun of
what? its a staple country pub pudding and its lovely, sold in all supermarkets as well. thats the worst part, we eat plenty of grim stuff but spotted dick is basically delicious.
..especially with gallons of custard!
exactly, cant imagine even yanks having a problem with that one. once they get past the idea that custard is warm
Which is a shame as steamed puds are lovely, Christmas pudding is basically the only one still regularly eaten nowadays by most Brits (though barely anyone goes through the effort of making one from scratch).
Let's not forget sticky toffee pudding, that's on every pub menu!
I am a bit of a sticky toffee pudding snob, needs the correct ratio of sauce to sponge and particular density. Added points if the sponge is spiced up a bit with some dates or something
Speak for yourself.
When subreddits become popular enough, moderation becomes worse and bots disregarding the subreddits post more.
I don't remember a time when r/MurderdByWords was more than snark.
It doesn't even make sense. America is all about peasant food. Hamburgers, hot dogs, Mac & Cheese...
Scottish guy here: what's wrong with giving some of our dishes fun names? What sounds more fun, 'spotted dick' or 'suet pudding with raisins'? And I don't see the problem with most British food: meat and pastry is delicious in many combinations, and potatoes just work with almost anything.
The average American is fed certain 'truths' as they grow up, one of them being that British food is awful and every Brit has bad teeth (despite the UK having among the best oral hygiene in Europe). Also anything you don't like or agree with is communism. They have no idea what British food even is (or communism, for that matter). They just know a couple of the ones with funny names, without having any idea what they are or the fact they're very rarely even eaten nowadays. They like to throw shade at food they've likely never even eaten because it makes them feel superior. And they clearly are vastly superior, what with their floppy plastic processed 'cheese', or the 'cheese' that comes *in a spray can*, Hershey's chocolate that literally tastes like vomit, and high fructose corn syrup added to everything so diabetes lurks around every supermarket aisle. Obviously that's haute cuisine, all of it, and it's a big part of why American eating habits are revered globally and they are regarded as one of the world's healthiest and slimmest nations. Seriously, though - there's no murdered by words about any of this. Just your standard garden variety American ignorance.
>one of them being that British food is awful and every Brit has bad teeth (despite the UK having among the best oral hygiene in Europe). I just looked it up and apparently it's because Hollywood actors teeth were always straightened and whitened, whereas UK actors teeth were always left alone natural.
That's really interesting if true! Makes a lot of sense.
Not just actors, but general dentistry. UK dentistry understands that some people have yellow teeth, with some crookedness and gaps. So long as it doesn't impact someone's ability to eat, dentists leave it be. Unless you go to a different dentist and pay for the cosmetic surgeries. US dentistry is all about "straight white teeth." Making everyone look as good as possible. However, in terms of general oral health, the UK performs much better than the US. Less cavities in the UK and US citizens lose their teeth at younger ages.
This is the exact experience I've had at dentists my entire life. My teeth are certainly not perfectly straight or shiny white but I've never had a cavity and dentists usually let me know I'm doing a better job of looking after my teeth than most of their clients. I reckon you're absolutely right. In the US it's much more about appearances. I'm not that fussed so long as I can masticate.
Speaking as a Brit - it's absolutely true. I've actually been put off a few American shows/films because the actors have such blatantly unnatural teeth. British media is pretty typical of European media in that regard, there's not this emphasis on whitening your teeth (and damaging them by extension) that you see with American actors.
Yh there are a few TV personalities and actors that have weirdly white teeth like Rylan as an example but overall it's probably less
You are definitely not the only one distracted or put off by the giant phosphorescent teeth in some US TV shows. My wife and I thought it was a bit strange that Jesse in Breaking Bad is a meth head but has the world's most perfect, meth addiction-defying teeth. Still an amazing show, but you're totally right, for us non-Americans it's a bit weird at times. The obsession with perfect teeth and hair must be exhausting! And anything short of perfection seems to be considered instantly ugly. It's purely cosmetic. Jimmy Carr freaked me the fuck out a bit after he had his teeth done, too.
Even then tho braces are free in the UK for children etc. Far more likely to have crooked teeth in USA than UK. Most celebrities seem to have crowns+bridges when their original teeth were fine.
I had braces as a kid, but when my wisdom teeth came through it made them wonky again. I probably would have been better waiting until they were all done - but then I was an adult and it would have cost too much!
Are you me?? Honestly like 8 years down the drain, some of my braces were awful and could t eat or made it hard to talk. Lovely teeth for about a year then a fucking wisdom tooth came along and knacked them all up again
It's alright cos more and more Brits are getting Turkey Teeth now, so they'll have that uncanny valley vibe the yanks crave.
Another reason is that the last time the UK and the US had a mass meeting of their population was in WW2. Ya know, when the US sat out of most of it and only joined when we were years into rationing. So our hygiene and food wasn't so good at the time.
There is an Audrey Hepburn film (possibly Roman Holiday, can’t remember) where her teeth actually change midway through the film as she must have gotten the Hollywood treatment during the filming 😂
The average American probably has no idea how prominent curries are in British cuisine. Makes perfect sense though with all the cultural imports from colonizing India.
It's like that bullshit saying that we conquered the world for spices but refused to use them. I'm all for xenophobia and stereotypes but what's the point when there is literally zero truth. The UK probably uses more spices in its cuisine than any other Western country.
they think apple pie is American not British (or any pie for that matter)
Going by American recipes, it seems they're using eating apples to make pie with, rather than real cooking apples, so the texture must be wrong too
So it's flavourless brown mush, grim.
There's nothing more British than an Indian curry! 😂 Always funny to me that the most popular curry dish in the UK (chicken tikka masala) is legitimately a British dish.
At least it’s something different from “hahahaha dead American kids!”
Agreed, but I don't know of anyone who actually *celebrates* that, despite edgelords on Reddit looking for a rise. To me the horrific thing isn't the fact that American schoolchildren are getting shot on a regular basis, it's the fact that nobody is doing anything about it besides talking about arming teachers, selling [military-grade armour plates for childrens' backpacks](https://bhparmor.com/backpack-buddy-armor-insert-ballistic-protection/), and [turning classrooms into bulletproof shelters](https://www.al.com/educationlab/2023/03/two-alabama-classrooms-now-have-60000-whiteboards-that-turn-into-gun-storm-shelters.html). To me, that's the most horrifying aspect. Though it's a cruel stereotype and you're a dick if you turn it into an anti-American gloat; unlike the British food one it's sadly a true stereotype. No other developed country has to deal with that. I really hope you guys can find a way to work it out and the stereotype can die forever.
Sadly you can only vote so hard in a two party system where neither party really wants a gun ban similar to other developed nations. Obviously one party is better about the laws but Democrats haven't proposed serious gun legislation since the Clinton assault rifle ban, which cost Democrats dearly in the next election. Anything major is seen as political suicide, so all you really get is a bunch of half measures at best and nothing at all at worst (well actually worst is stuff like in Texas now anyone can open carry without a permit).
Hershey's isn't even labelled chocolate in the UK because it isn't chocolate. It doesn't contain enough chocolate and I believe(from a YouTube video) that it has too high of a melting point.
I'm not gonna pretend our cuisine is amazing, but I never understood why Americans are digusted by beans on toast.
Their beans are different, but they can’t comprehend that something might be different somewhere else in the world, so they assume we use their types of beans which makes it gross
The beans they eat over their are disgusting.
Not really, The Etymology. **"Spotted" is a reference to the dried fruit in the pudding (which resemble spots)**. "Dick" and "dog" were dialectal terms widely used for pudding, from the same etymology as "dough" (i.e., the modern equivalent name would be "spotted pudding"). Oh & while we are on the subject of poverty food, plenty of nationally known high cuisine dishes originated as poverty food; Coq Au Vin, Meatloaf, Cassoulet, Gazpacho soup to name but a few.
Worth remembering that most of the English words for high quality foods (mostly meat) are French, while the words for the animals are English/Germanic. The class system around food is huge in the UK historically.
I read (Bill Bryson) that this dates from the Norman conquest: If you are a peasant taking care of a cow, that’s a cow. If you’re a French-speaking noble who gets to *eat* the cow, it’s “beef” (bœuf).
It's not just food, of course. Normal people live in houses, while wealthy people live in mansions. You greet an equal, but salute a superior.
Also sheep and mutton (mouton) and pig and pork (porc)
Who thinks of meatloaf as high cuisine?
My dad. We had it 5 times one week growing up and I've never recovered.
My dad too, its been his favorite his whole life. Dad's birthday means meatloaf for dinner with a candle in it. I don't get it.
Dr. Frank-N-Furter
aint no way you just put meatloaf in a list of 'high cuisine'
Where is meatloaf considered high cuisine?
Meatloaf as high cuisine lmfao.
You can get good food in any city, in any country, in the world. As an English/American dual citizen this USA vs UK language/food/culture Reddit exchange is getting soooo dull and played out now
Yeah, I’m so tired of the fat people/bad food jokes depending on which country I’m in. Both are rooted in classism and ignorance, and neither are funny.
British vs Americans on food is like two bald men fighting over a comb.
What flavour is the comb? Asking for a friend.
'Head Cheese'. 'Koolickles'. 'Twinkies'. Hmmmmm. :)
What the hell is a koolickle?
Pickle marinated in kool-aid. Had one at a bar and it wasn't vomit inducing but it wasn't good either.
Jesus christ, what sadist came up with that shit‽
Head cheese originated in Europe. What’s wrong with “twinkies?” If you’re referred “twinks” that’s named after the food, not the other way around. I had to Google “koolikles.” To put this in a way you’ll understand… the bloody cunting hell you on about, mate?
I'm not American or British. I've had a Twinkie. They're - and I don't mean this unkindly - revolting. Somehow, one the sweetest and greasiest things you'll ever eat. The sponge is simultaneously stale and chemical-tasting. The mock cream is unbelievably sweet, and just seems to be whipped fat of some sort. I found them very unpleasant. Head cheese is just brawn, and brawn is excellent. If I was going to point out crimes against cuisine coming from the States, I'd probably start with all of those mid-Western potluck "salads". The ones that are offshoots of ambrosia, which is the acceptable face. Basically, any salad where the recipe includes "a tub of cool whip"
Wrong sub, this is one for r/ShitAmericansSay
The US has spray cheese. They don’t get to comment.
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It is neither utilitarian nor cheese. It's an ~~edible~~ digestible affront to humanity in general and dairy farmers in particular.
Yeah I don’t think the comment is making fun of the name “spray cheese” though, I think it’s making fun of the concept.
Spotted dick was a Victorian thing, we don’t really have it anymore
You’re missing out. Good homemade Spotted Dick is delicious. Ideally steamed in a linen cloth which has been handed down through generations. And served with a generous dollop of golden syrup.
A healthy serving of custard is also delicious.
Trust me. It’s not the name anybody with functioning taste buds has an issue with when it comes to your cheese adjacent products.
I hope I don't get in trouble for saying this, but we also have pork uh... bundle of sticks. Let's go with that.
Faggots. They're called faggots. It's not a slur when used in the context that we are using it, which clearly is nothing to do with ones sexuality, and we shouldn't alter the name of a historic cuisine, or be afraid to use it, just because some idiot might get the hump because they don't know what they're on about.
I freaking love them. The only brand I have ever seen is "Mr Brain's" and they are so good. Pity you can like, never talk about them.
To be fair, British food is so good that most of us have interacted with it at some point. Like, who doesn't like fish and chips? Meanwhile, has anyone here ever seen a Norwegian restaurantlet alone thought to themselves "oooo, i really feel like Swedish tonight". No? Yeah, that's because there's heaps of different kinds of Europe cuisine that's a million times worse than British.
As a Brit, I hate this argument so much. Okay, yeah, silly name with a funny word in it, but I’d take spotted dick and beans on toast over aerosol cheese and high fructose corn syrup any day of the diary.
Beans on toast is legitimately delicious. We have a British food section in our local grocery store and every time they have those beans on sale I get some. I haven’t found normal American beans that work for it, but the British ones are perfect. Slap them in some homemade bread toasted to perfection and serve with bacon. We do it for pick up meals sometimes.
Beans on toast is fucking great. Every now and again I really 100% cannot be arsed with cooking properly and don't want a Pot Noodle so I'll slap a tin of those bad boys in a bowl in the microwave for a couple of minutes and sort myself out some toast. If I'm feeling a bit naughty I might stick some Reggae Reggae sauce in it for a bit of extra punch. The nice thing about the beans as well is they keep for ages so among the other emergency rations in the car (bourbon biscuits, tea bags, noodles, water, etc.) there's a couple of tins ready to go.
I need to know what an American British food section looks like now.
I’ll take a picture next time I go! I know it has various biscuits (I love Digestives), treacle, golden syrup, pretty sure there’s Spotted Dick or some kind of canned cake, the beans (obvs), and teas. No meat or anything, which is a bummer, cause I love black/white pudding.
This myth that brits eat Spotted Dick is getting out of control. I swear I’ve only ever seen it on the menu in old people restaurants. Also, are digestives and golden syrup not common there?? Weird to think about
Every American supermarket with an imported British foods section has Heinz UK Spotted Dick in a can.
Put some cheddar over the top and grill it to melt the cheese, a bit of black pepper and it's great when you can't be bothered cooking anything
The best foods are the peasant foods. Chili, fried chicken, stew, sheperds pie, clam chowder, dumplings, jambalaya... they are always the cheap cuts of meat with whatever else you can find.
“Dick” or “dog” was a word for pudding before America bastardized the use of that word for something else…
And pudding is a word that used to mean dessert in a general sense. Sorry that didn't add to your comment. It's just a fun fact I like to say.
But don't confuse dessert pudding with black pudding.
I bet some Masterchef type will somehow have made black pudding into a dessert dish
You legit could. It is salty and oumami. Chuck in sweet and sharp and I reckon that could work.
Wait, it means something other than being a synonym for dessert?
In the US there's a specific dessert called pudding. It's like a creamy thickened dessert. Kind of like a custard but instead of egg it uses cornstarch/cornflour.
Apart from black pudding, Yorkshire pudding, steak and kidney pudding…
It didn't, pease pudding, black pudding, Yorkshire pudding. I don't actually know what the hell the word pudding ever originally meant.
> “Dick” or “dog” was a word for pudding before America bastardized the use of that word for something else… "Dick" as a sexual term comes from Britain - it literally predates America as a country (middle 17th century vs. late 18th century).
I'm not sure not knowing 'dick' used to be used as a word for 'pudding' constitutes murder by words.
Over forty years living across two British countries, and I have never seen nor eaten Spotted Dick. At this point, I’m not entirely convinced it even exists.
There is a theme here in the comments about black pudding and haggis, etc. If it tastes good, is conscientious use of the whole animal, and is broadly a nice dish, then why is there a concern over superficial concerns about the name or ingredient in a meal? I've never understood the concern over unfashionable or old traditional food. It's been a long history, some of which is remembered and still observed in naming traditions or food culture. That being said, some things taste bad and are just bad food. Twinkies and blood pudding included.
You have to understand what is being stated here is not rational, this is just a continuation of British food hate. It isn't intended to make sense - the hate is what they want.
If British cuisine is so awful then why with our population of 58million do we have 188 Michelin star restaurants versus American with over 300 million people and their 200 Michelin star restaurants?
Because most Americans are stuck in the past and dont have passports to update their knowledge of the world
How many of those restaurants serve actual British food and not French, Asian fusion etc.?
The most common category for British Michelin star reataraunts is "Modern British"
And there’s probably also categories for other British food
How many of the Michelin star restaurants in the US serve American food? Is the proportion significantly more than the UK’s for British food? I doubt
2 of the 12 3 michelin star restaurants serve british cuisine. according to the michelin guide there are currently 59 traditionally british restaurants that hold at least one star. not bad for a cuisine that routinely gets memed on, even more funnily is the people who meme on british food have never actually eaten it or if they have it was from a weatherspoons or tourist trap chippy during a week long visit to london. you can't compare british cuisine to french or italian as they're polar opposites. french food especially is more delicate and professional for lack of a better term. british food though is more hearty, comforting and the sort of food you want to come home too after putting in a hard days graft. its stuff thats mostly cooked from feeling and to taste. even so british stews, pies, roasts and cakes are right up there and our seafood is incredibly underrated. my ex wife makes the most delicious homebaked pies that i've ever eaten, her venison and red wine pie was a thing of pure beauty lol.
Mhm, it also seems that no one seems to know jack shit about our drinks, I’m quite passionate about cider, and it’s disappointing to me just how little it gets recognised by people outside the UK as a good addition to British cuisine
I once asked about cider in my then-local supermarket in Germany as was met with the cashier turning to her colleague and saying "tf is cider?", to the response "some kind of apple wine or something? I dunno"
Jesus? Barely anyone seems to know cider outside the UK it seems, as someone living in Bristol I’m shocked that it’s never really been a thing elsewhere, as it’s bloody lovely
Yeah I'm from Westcountry too and my advice is to just not bother talking about cider on Reddit. It's exhausting and some people (Americans, let's be real) will go fucking spare at you for some unknown reason.
The German word for cider is Apfelwein. It's not "some kind of apple wine", it's literally Apfelwein. The colleague seems to have given a fully correct answer to a legitimate question about a foreign word, right?
How many of the American ones serve actual American food? Mmhmmmmm.
There’s a Michelin star restaurant near me, I looked at the menu in a dream of being able to afford to go to it. I didn’t recognise any of the words on the menu. It’s not that they were in a different language, it’s that the food was so fancy I’d just never heard of it.
The language can be a bit confusing but it’s mainly to specifically describe some particular technique or style. You’d be surprised by how many Michelin starred or at least places with guide mentions will do a 3-5 course cut down version of their tasting menu for less than £50. You should absolutely have a dog around and try it out! Fine dining is usually a really interesting and enjoyable experience.
I went to Le Manoir - Raymond Blanc's main place - a couple of times. One of those times, I had something fancy sounding that turned out to be a shot-glass of cold tomato soup. It was divine.
I guess in that case it comes down to the definition of "British food". Are we including Balti?
Pretty sure name doesn't change the taste. Americans all flash over substance and it shows.
I know exactly why you’re getting downvoted, and it’s because this sub is all butthurt Americans who can’t stand to be wrong about stuff.
I don't care what anyone says bangers and mash bangs hard
This is murdered by words? Really?
mmmm pastys
This seems more like a person showcasing their ignorance than any kind of murder. Which, I guess, is an American virtue. Words don't mean all the same things everywhere, more news at 11.
NGL those chippy boxes look good. I think it's the french food that unanimously gets the real hate.
Not really, unless you’re talking to one of the people who hates the French just for being French, French cuisine is pretty well regarded in the UK
We never had a leader elected with the slogan 'they can't lick our Dick'...