Es gibt natürlich immer Leute, die von Tuten und Blasen keine Ahnung haben, und Vorurteile und Stereotypen ungefragt übernehmen. An solche Leute scheinst Du leider geraten zu sein. Es ist überhaupt nicht wahr, daß die englische Küche an sich 'schlecht' ist.
In vielen Pubs und Landgasthäusern z. B. kan man wunderbar essen. Das Sunday Roast ist eine Sache, die ich nur empfehlen kann. Für was Schnelles zwischendurch geht immer Fish & Chips, und die Desserts sind teilweise traumhaft. Natürlich wirst Du immer an Leute geraten, die nicht kochen können - aber die gibt es hier bei uns auch, oder?
Achtung: Frühstück im Hotel ist in den allermeisten Fällen 'Continental'. Nimm lieber das 'Full English', da dürftge alles dabei sein (Corn Flakes, Speigeleier, Toast, gebackene Bohnen, Speck, evtl. auch Würstchen und wenn Du willst auch Porridge), und Du bist auf jeden Fall bis mittags versorgt.

Wegen Bier - frag einfach in einem Pub nach der lokalen Spezialität. Soweit ich weiß, gibt es in und um Manchester auch immer noch Traditions-Brauereien.

Viel Spaß & enjoy your meals!

unbedingt sherry trifle probieren! superlecker *schwelg* Das mach ich Weihnachten als Nachtisch

Ich habe den "Yorkshire Pudding" in meiner Gastfamilie in guter Erinnerung. Den gab es als Beilage zum Sonntagsbraten und war kein Pudding in unserem Sinn, sondern ein knusprig gebackener Teig. Wenn ich mich recht erinnere, wurde er im Backofen auf einem Backblech unter dem Braten mitgebacken.

Kommt natürlich darauf, was du gerne magst. Im Prinzip finde ich das englische Essen sehr lecker - ich denke, die meisten denken an das Ganze Fast-Food aus schmutzigen Lokalen, das sie bei ihren London-Aufenthalten kennenlernen - aber das ist meiner Meinung nach nicht sonderlich englisch (sondern nur verantwortlich für den schlechten Ruf).

-Solltest auf jeden Fall mal einen Sunday Roast probieren - am besten in einem urigen Pub auf Lande (vielleicht gar mit offenem Kaminfeuer) und am besten am Sonntagmittag oder -abend. Das ist einfach ein Sonntagsbraten (fast so, wie du ihn aus Deutschland kennen wirst). Meistens stehen Rind, Schwein und vielleicht noch Lamm zur Auswahl und dazu gibt es Kartoffeln und Gemüse (das Gemüse wird meistens anders als in Deutschland zubereitet - es wird nur kurz gekocht und ist daher meistens knackiger und oft fast roh). Außerdem gibt es dazu oft 'Yorkshire Pudding' als Beilage, was eine Art Blätterteig-Dingsbums ist - schwer zu beschreiben: hat eigentlich nicht viel Eigengeschmack, taugt aber ganz gut zum Soßeauftunken. 'Mint sauce' würde ich eher dankend ablehnen oder bestenfalls erst mal auf der Seite probieren. Die scheckt wie Zahnpasta, und wenn man das nicht mag ist gleich die ganze Mahlzeit versaut.

-Zum Inder musst du natürlich auch mal – was könnte englischer sein, als ein echtes Curry? Am besten spät abends nach dem Kneipenbesuch.

-Falls du in einer Bed-and-Breakfast-Pension wohnst, hab keine Angst vor einem echten englischen Frühstück – ein 'full English breakfast' mit Eiern, Speck, dicken Bohnen in Tomatensoße, einer Bratwurst, gebratenen Tomaten und Champignons. Der perfekte Start in den Tag – und bis zum Mittagessen brauchst du da nichts mehr. Auch gut geeignet als Brunch und vielerorts bekommt man es auch mittags und nachmittags noch (als 'all-day breakfast').

-Wenn im Pub 'Burger' angeboten werden, sind die normalerweise auch nicht zu verachten. Die sind nicht zu vergleichen mit dem, was du vielleicht von McDoof etc kennst – so ein richtiger Burger ist meistens eher rustikal, mit leckerem Brötchen und gutem Fleisch und etwa dreimal so groß wie ein McDoof-Burger, dazu gibt’s dicke, hausgemachte Pommes. Pub-Ketten wie "Weatherspoon's" sind in der Beziehung gar nicht schlecht – auch wenn ich unabhängige Pubs natürlich immer bevorzuge ;-)

-Cornish Pasties sind auch ganz lecker und gerade auch gut für unterwegs (kann man sich manchmal in den Fußgängerzonen zum Mitnehmen kaufen). Das sind Blätterteigtaschen, die meistens mit Fleisch und Gemüse gefüllt sind. Es gibt aber auch vegetarische Optionen. Das Ganze wird warm gegessen.

-Wenn du in der Nähe der Küste bist, musst du natürlich auch Gerichte mit Fisch oder Meeresfrüchten probieren.

So jetzt hab ich Hunger und werde erstmal in die Mittagspause gehen ;-)

Könntet ihr dazu schreiben, was z.B. sunday roast ist. Ich hab ehrlich gesagt keinen Plan. Und was ist porridge?

Danke

Was Sunday Roast ist, hab ich oben beschrieben.

"Porridge ist ein einfaches Gericht auf Basis von Haferflocken oder Hafermehl sowie Wasser und/oder Milch. Die Bestandteile werden kurz aufgekocht und häufig mit Zucker und Sahne verfeinert." (Wikipedia)

Ich persönlich finde das eher eklig, aber mei, wem's schmeckt...

Hi Rasta.

You've been pretty well advised already (thanks all, makes a nice change to read positive things about English food!) but let me add a little bit of beer info.

If you're near Manchester you should look out for Holts and Robinsons Bitter; I can particularly recommend the latter ;-)There are many other local varieties to try; to find them, and decent pubs to drink them in, go into a large-ish bookshop and head for the reference section. Find The Good Beer Guide and look up your area. You'll find pubs serving proper real ale listed alphabetically by town. at the back there's a regional guide to breweries large and small.

Simply combine the beer with the Sunday Lunch and all will be right with the world! Cheers! Bottoms Up! Down the Hatch!

Hi Richard -

I thought I'd let an expert talk about the beer bit, seeing as I don't drink ... :-D

<ot> nice to see you :-)

@Thomas: deinen Thread hab ich leider erst nach meinem Commentschreiben gelesen. Trotzdem Danke.
Indisch ist gut, ess ich sehr gern. Und wenn die Gerüchte über englisches Essen (verkochtes Gemüse, nicht gewürzt, vor Fett und Essig triefend = Zitate die ich gehört hab) nur Gerüchte sind, dann bin ich zufrieden.

Part 2: if you visit Scotland, don't forget to put salt on your porridge...! Otherwise they'll laugh at you for being a soft southerner! No, REALLY!

If you're like me, you'll go for a little bit of honey drizzled lightly in circles....

@Thomas: "...Außerdem gibt es dazu oft 'Yorkshire Pudding' als Beilage, was eine Art Blätterteig-Dingsbums ist..."

Mit Blätterteig hat das ja nun rein gar nichts zu tun, der Teig ähnelt eher einem Pfannkuchenteig :o)

"...'Mint sauce' würde ich eher dankend ablehnen oder bestenfalls erst mal auf der Seite probieren. Die scheckt wie Zahnpasta, und wenn man das nicht mag ist gleich die ganze Mahlzeit versaut..."

Lammbraten OHNE mint sauce??? Nee, nee, wo kommst du denn her? ;o)
Schmeckt nicht wie Zahnpasta sondern schön nach (Pfeffer)Minze und sollte sparsam (!) auf das Fleisch aufgetragen werden. Das Zeug ist keine Bratensoße!!

Hi Katharina-

ich auch nicht....;-)

nice to see you too :-)

Was kann man, wenn man nicht die Zeit hat, in ein Pub zu gehen, auf der Straße essen außer Fish&Chips (salt&vinegar ist da üblich oder) und den üblichen MC-Doof Krempel. Gibts ein Pendant zur z.B. Currywurst in Berlin?

Mint sauce doesn't taste like toothpaste, but it is, shall we say, an acquired taste. Not a taste I ever managed to acquire. My mother loves it, even just with boiled potatoes. She also often puts mint in with the potatoes when cooking (but then she also considers "crème de menthe" a drinkable liqueur. Now that could qualify as alcoholic toothpaste!)

Also there are different ways of making it: my mother's mint sauce is very runny and seems to contain a lot of vinegar. In England you often get mint jelly (even more revolting.)

@Fury: I'm with you on the mint sauce thing!

@ Rasta: Thomas hat Dir etwas weiter oben die Cornish Pasties empfohlen, und das kann ich nur unterstützen. Schau mal bei 'Devon Savouries' vorbei (das ist eine Ladenkette), oder sonst in jeden beliebigen Sandwich-Shop. Trau Dich einfach mal, was Neues auszuprobieren, und Du wirst staunen!

@Rastaman: Achtung -- es stimmt tatsächlich, dass man wenig würzt und Salat ohne Salatsoße und Pommes mit Essig isst, dass es überall fettiges Essen gibt, dass man nicht überall gutes Brot bekommt usw usw. Manche Gastfamilien wissen nicht, dass Sardinen oder geräucherter Fisch zum Frühstück nicht überall normal ist, und genießen gebackene Bohnen, Watte-Toast und Tiefkühlkost fast jeden Tag.

Die Geschmäcker sind eben verschieden. Aber gutes Essen findet man in England ebenfalls überall.

(Und ich habe auch in Deutschland oft ungenießbares Essen heruntergewürgt, und schlechtes, billiges Brot erlitten, verkochtes Gemüse und verwürzte Soßen mit einem höflichen Lächeln verspeist...)

In meiner Erfahrung auch ist das Essen in England meistens nicht so schlecht. Allerdings muß man beachten, daß in Pubs - und sogar in manchen Restaurants -verlangt wird, dass man über 18 ist (nicht ein Problem für mich persönlich, aber als wir mit meinem Neffen (damals 4) unterwegs waren, war das echt ein Problem, essen zu gehen mit einem Kind - fast als wären Kinder eine Gefahr für die Allgemeinheit! - und es ist ein bisschen schwierig, einen vierjährigen als 18 auszugeben). In Schottland war das ein noch größeres Problem.

Apropos Schottland: dort fanden wir einen schönes, modernes, vegetarisches Restaurant - tolle Ambiente, das Essen sah wunderbar aus - schmeckte aber doch sehr eigenartig und pappig (very stodgy!)

Aber noch etwas Tolles - vielerorts müssen die Raucher draußen bleiben! Wenigstens etwas Vernünftiges.

What I find is best about food in England (this applies to London at least, but probably Manchester too) is that there is absolutely no need to worry about what 'traditional' English cooking is like, because you can in fact get whatever the hell you like. Fair enough if you don't like porridge or fish and chips (incidentally they will NEVER just put vinegar on your chips without asking you first), but it doesn't matter because you can get anything you can think of - I definitely know of a German, an Austrian, and a Swiss restaurant in London, although (if you really are a rastaman) there are loads of carribean eateries or, even better, ethiopian restaurants. Like I said this is London I'm talking about, and I've never been to Manchester, but it's just supposed to be just as cosmopolitan really.

It may indeed be true that our traditional food isn't to everyone's taste (although it is to mine!) but I've never been anywhere in the world where you have a wider range of choice than in the UK...

Also wenn es schnell was auf der Straße sein soll, dann musst du dringend nach lokalen Sandwich- Läden Ausschau halten, sowas wie subway nur in richtig gut und einfach viiiieeeeeel besser, am besten mit einer Horde älterer Damen hinter der Ladentheke. Was das Bier angeht: "Pale Rider" kommt zwar aus Sheffield, kann man aber auch an anderen Orten in der Gegend finden (also wohl auch in Manchester) und ist mal echt gut. Außerdem habe ich es mir zur guten Tradition gemacht immer zuerst die Biere zu probieren die ich nicht kannte, vor allem natürlich die "gepullten" (oh deutsche Sprache verzeihe mir!). Ist eigentlich wie in jedem Land: Alles was man nicht kennt: Probieren!!!!!

@Mary: Nicht weil "Kinder eine Gefahr für die Allgemeinheit" sind, sondern weil Kinder nicht miterleben sollen, daß Menschen viel rauchen, viel trinken und sich dann kindisch benehmen :-) Wenn der pub einen Garten hat, sind sie meist willkommen, auch beispielsweise in getrennten Speisesälen.

Das mit dem Rauchen ist übrigens ein neues Gesetz: Alle pubs, die auch Mahlzeiten servieren, sind (theoretisch) komplett rauchfrei zu halten.

Kann der Meinung über die Sandwichläden nur zustimmen - da gibt es of riesige Sandwiches mit zig beliebigen Füllungen zu einem günstigen Preis. Und oft haben sie auch irgendwelche gefüllten Blätterteigtaschen, die noch kurz erhitzt werden.
Was ich auch immer mag, sind Baked Potatoes. Als kleine Mahlzeit, wenn man nicht viel Hunger hat, sehr lecker!

Nicht zu vergessen - falls du Süßes gerne hast - all die leckeren Desserts und Kuchen! Warmer Schokoladenkuchen mit Vanilleeis oder Sahne - mmmmh :-) Oder all die verschiedenen Crumbles oder Trifles. Banoffee Pie! Sticky Toffee Pudding! und... und... und... *wasserimmundzusammenlauf*

Vielleicht hilft das:

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/restaurant_...

Ansonsten hat Google noch viel mehr zu bieten. Evtl. auch auf Touristik-Seiten nachlesen, was die Spezialitäten sind.

Enjoy your meal ...

Wenn man Euch so hört (liest :o)) dann wundert man sich echt, wieso die englische Küche als schlecht gilt.
Ich hab mir gerade mal ein paar Schlagworte rausgeschrieben und werd mir die Tips zu Herzen nehmen. Alles in Allem klingt es doch ganz positiv und ich bin echt gespannt.

PS: parsnips!

Falls Du Innereien magst, ist auch Steak & Kidney Pie super lecker.

Eine Pastete, die mit einer einer Mischung aus Steakfleisch und Nierchen in Sauce gefüllt ist. Das ist soooo lecker.

Oder Chicken Kiev in einem Pub *yummie* (knusprig panierte und gebratene Hähnchenbrust mit Knoblauchbutter gefüllt). Klingt jetzt nicht so wahnsinnig englisch, aber ich habe es woanders noch nie gegessen. Könnte daran liegen, dass ich noch nie in Kiew war. ;o)

Oh ja, die Pies in all ihren Varianten - die sind auch lecker! 'Steak and Guiness Pie' ist auch lecker - unter 'steak' ist hier (im Kontext der Pies) immer gewürfeltes, gekochtes Fleisch zu verstehen (ähnlich wie im Gulasch).

Das Fleisch und Gemüse (zusammen mit einer Soße) ist dabei in einer Teighülle (jetzt aber Blätterteig, glaub ich) versteckt.

Und noch was: Wenn du gerne Döner ist, verzichte in England lieber darauf. Hier gibt es zwar auch Döner, aber einen guten hab ich in all den Jahren noch nicht erwischt - die sind hier meistens ungenießbar bis eklig. (Werden auch meistens nicht von Türken gemacht - vielleicht liegts ja daran?) Das Fleisch, das hier für Döner verwendet wird, ist ganz anders - das sind immer so unappetitliche Lappen.

Ich freue mich jedenfalls bei jedem Deutschlandbesuch immer schon im voraus auf einen richtig schönen Döner ;-)

Im Faden   related discussion:Studentenfutter ging es immer wieder um "clotted cream". Wird wohl gerne auf Scones gestrichen und dann mit Erdbeermarmelade gekrönt; wird zu Tea gereicht. Inzwischen bin ich richtig neugierig drauf, aber "clotted cream" scheint es in Deutschland nicht zu geben, es selber herzustellen ist schier unmöglich und mein nächster Englandbesuch steht noch in den Sternen. Also probier's Du für mich!

Na ja, es gibt halt so einiges, was in Deutschland nicht mehr so oft anzutreffen ist- Nieren zum Beispiel. Wenn Du allerdings bereit bist alles mal auszuprobieren, empfehle ich:

Steak & Kidney pie oder
Steak & Kidney pudding

wenn Du Nieren nicht magst, Steak & Ale pie

Roast Lamb, aber auf jeden Fall MIT Mint Sauce- sehr lecker

Roast Beef, mit Meerettich (Horseradish)

Beef Wellington

Fish pie

Roast pork with apple sauce

Bangers & Mash (Kartoffelbrei mit Wuerstchen & Sauce)

Toad in the hole (so eine Art Wuerstchen im Schlafrock- bzw. in einem Yorkshire pudding Teig gebacken)


Jetzt, wo so langsam die Weihnachtszeit kommt, solltest Du auf jeden Fall auch Mince pies probieren, sowie Christmas pudding with Brandy Butter


Was Nachtisch angeht, so sind Crumbles ein absolutes Muss, am besten mit custard (crumble besteht aus suessem, gekochten Obst, z.B. Aepfel, mit einer Streusselschicht obe drauf und dann gebacken. Custard ist einer Vanillesauce aehnlich, aber dicker und suesser)

Ebenso sind Spezialitaeten wie Fudge und shortbread (schottisch) sehr zu empfehlen.

Solltest Du es auch nach Schottland hoch schaffen, gibt es zumindest in Edinburgh auch Deep Fried Pizza (ja, frittierte Pizza) sowie Deep Fried Mars Bars... das mag nicht nach jedermanns Geschmack sein, aber probieren sollte man das mal (und ich finde es schmeckt herrlich...)


Was das Bier angeht, wuerde ich vorschlagen in den Pubs jeweils das Real Ale zu probieren- das ist Original englisches Bier, liegt geschmacklich in etwa zwischen deutschem Stark/Dunkelbier und Altbier, passt aber hervorragend zum englischen Klima und Essen, und es gibt eine grosse Bandbreite. Im Norden wuerde ich McEwan's 80 shilling empfehlen, andere Ales die mir schmecken sind zum Beispiel London Pride, Speckled Hen, Old Peculier, etc.

Viel Spass

I can't believe nobody's mentioned the perfect snack "auf die Hand": the pork pie!

Having lived in Germany for over 20 years, I frequently suffer from pork pie withdrawal symptoms (involuntary salivation, twitching, violent depression, halucinations, etc.), so the first thing I do when I visit the UK is stop at the nearest petrol station and grab whatever pork pie they've got, plus a Crunchie bar to maximise calory intake. A bottle of Lucozade to wash down the crumbs - and I'm home at last!

LOL - @ Albion - my dearly beloved who has lived here in Germany for four years now (UK before that), is experiencing the same problem! However - help is at hand - we are getting visitors from the UK on Friday, and they have promised to bring over some pork pies for him. They are nice, though. (The pork pies. As are our visitors. Oh - you know.)

@Albion/Katharina: Melton Mowbray are the best, I find.....the ones in the dark green wrappers, if I remember rightly....:-)Mmmmmmmnnnnnnnn!!

@ Richard - that may well be the case, however we don't get to choose which ones our vistors will bring! They are more likely to be Tesco's own brand, but those are really nice as well!

@Katharina: they certainly are! Used to have one of an evening with a bit of cheese, pickle or chutney on the side and a big cup of tea - delicious!
Enjoy 'em!

And not forgetting the ultimate beer accompaniment: pork scratchings.

Never mind all those artifically-flavoured crisps or, even worse, imitation scratchings made from publican's bum fluff - no, proper scratchings have to challenge the dentures, lacerate the gums, contain globs of pure pork fat and, as certain proof of authenticity, sport at least five pig's bristles.

Damn, now I've gone and slobbered all over the keyboard.

@Albion: me too! Love the Nick by the way - I do like a good play on words!

Albion - don't be disgusting now :-D

*hands Albion a cloth to go and wipe his keyboard clean*

@Albion That Ship:
Before you wreck your keyboard... In larger cities in Germany (and even in smaller ones) you can often find an "English Shop". Also, there are a few sites on the internet where you can order British and/or American specialities. You probably won't find pork pies online (but I can get them sometimes frozen from an "English Shop" around here), but I know from experience that you can order pork scratchings (complete with bristles *yumyum*), Bakewell tarts *droooool*, Jelly Babies, Trifle mix, etc.

Why not try it out??

Have a good search on the internet - maybe there's a Shop near you! ;o)
Have fun!

Search around, you'll find plenty of good Chinese and Indian restuarants.

Thanks for the tip, Fury (which puts me in mind of horse-meat sausages, yummy). I've heard about these shops, and I'm sure there'll be one in nearby Hamburg, but I feel strangely guilty and inhibited about going to such an establishment. It would be a bit like that "special" at the butcher's in "The League of Gentlemen" - you know, dark glasses, wig, plain brown paper bag, etc. Back in the UK, anonymity is guaranteed because everybody's at it. Besides (donning Captain Sensible hat), these things surely aren't good for you. But as they say, vegetarians don't live longer, they just look older.

I'd also try a nice Indian meal, not that British cooking is bad but more that there are few "English restaurants" in England and the Indian ones are part of British life.
If you try fish and chips, a nice cod in batter is the "classic".
The clotted cream thing is known as a "cream tea" which is a pot of tea, a scone, jam and thick cream, yummy!
You could try out some cider if you get tired of beer; strong dry cider is nothing like the ones you usually get in German shops.
I'm going to England for a few days next week and will be eating all of the above!

I'd just like to thank you all for saying such wonderful things about English food. I'm studting here in Germany for a year and am sick of people telling me how rubbish Ebglish food is. It gets me down as I know how good English food is, and to be honest, I've not found the food here to be great. Feeling a bit homesick after reading all of this and very much looking forward to Christmas in England this year. I suppose we are all used to what we have grown up with and so to me English food cannot be beaten. When I return I will eat every type of cream and milk! Coleslaw, hard cheese, triffle, steamed puddings, sunday dinner, salad cream...oh the list is endless.

But really, there have been some good tips here. I come from Bradford (not too far from Manchester) and hope that you find some nice places and experience English food in its full glory! (And a nice Indian too!) Just one word of warning about Indian food - the Indian food I have eaten in Germany has been very mild in comparrison to England, so I woulds choose something mild is you're not too keen on really spicey food.

And one last tip - go to a supermarket, Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons. You will find the difference striking and can look at all of the different food one can buy in England. I'd recommend that you buy some Red Leicester or Chedder cheese with a jar of branson pickle to put in some freshly baked wholemeal baps from the bakery section :). Yum

Hope you have a great stay!

LEMON CURD is something that has not yet been mentioned. On scones, that's sooo delicious. It is made of lemon, sugar, eggs and butter.

Emma - it seems to me you have expressed your disillusionment with the standard of German supermarkets before. Could it be that you are going to the wrong kind of supermarket? Or are you in an area where there is no choice? I can't speak for German supermarkets, but in Vienna there are considerable differences depending on the type of customers they are trying to attract. There are some I just won't shop at because they give me the feeling that it's either wartime in another country, or that Austria is stuck in the 1980's on the other side of the Iron Curtain (as it was almost everywhere here in 1986 when I first arrived here as a young student). This now applies mainly to certain discount supermarket chains.
But there are also a lot of good supermarkets that stock a variety of quality food - as well as fresh fruit and vegetables - and you can still save money by buying the supermarket's generic brands, which are usually just as good as the named brands. The situation has also improved since Austria joined the EU, as there are more imported foods, and the domestic industry has had to improve its products in order to remain competitive.

I know what you mean about the huge variety in English supermarkets - but if you go to a larger supermarket in the suburbs or outside of town, they are also able to stock more. And the "gourmet" supermarkets often stock English specialties such as "Branston pickle" and the like. I'm thinking of "Spar Gourmet" (I don't know what the German equivalent is) - there's one two doors down from my flat and it's great - I'm amazed at the variety they can offer in a small, relatively inner city supermarket. Of course, it is expensive if you only buy gourmet items, but the normal items are at normal prices - and it's clean and tidy.

Cheer up, Emma! Try asking someone where you can find a better place to shop for the food you like. Or if all else fails, perhaps Rasta can bring you a food parcel with him when he gets back - to alleviate your homesickness! :-)

@ Emma I don't know what supermarkets you've been to - I would suggest Real, Handelshof or Kaufland and not the small Edeka, Tengelmann, Penny, Norma, Lidl, Spar, Aldi etc. Edeka has large shops as well as small ones, depending on the location, but I wouldn't go there because the small ones don't have enough variety and the large ones are more expensive than Kaufland or Real. Maybe you don't have a car here? That can be a problem - large supermarkets can be difficult to reach by bus.

Unfortunately I don;t ave a car and the only Supermarkets here are Edeka, Norma and Plus. Theres an Aldi out of town too. Edeka is not bad - by far the best and it does have more variety. Maybe its just the area I'm in. But I am very happy here! And mentioned it only as you can see all of the different foods on offer if you go to the supermarket in England, which I thought might appeal to Rasta if she is interested in English food.

I am fine with Edeka here! I'm not having a go. Of course it is different here, that's what makes England special to me. I don't want to debate this all over again. I was merely offering advice on what to try in terms of food in England.

Das schlechteste Essen in England gibt es in Restaurants (mies zubereitet und übermäßig teuer). In gutbesuchten Kneipen ist das Essen ganz genießbar (pub grub). Das beste Essen für mich gab es bei meiner Schwiegermutter und ihren Schwägerinnen. Das war nicht nur genießbar sondern lecker.
Vor ca. 20 Jahren haben mir "hinterhältige" Kollegen einen Prospekt für ein Buch auf den Schreibtisch gelegt. Der Titel war "Die englische Küche und wie man sie überlebt". Ich lebe immer noch ... ;-)

@Rasta: In Manchester hat mir mal eine Bekannte zum Frühstück "Black Pudding" angeboten (gebratene Blutwurst). Eine Delikatesse! Mit allem anderen (corn flakes, bacon, sausages, fried eggs, toast) kam ich locker bis zum späten Nachmittag durch, ohne Hunger zu verspüren.
Das englische Bier (ale, bitter) ist vom Geschmack her unheimlich variabel. Einfach alles durchprobieren ...

Im letzten Urlaub in Polperro (Cornwall) gegessen: eine Art süsses Cornish Pasty aus zartem Blätterteig, gefüllt mit gedünsteten Äpfeln und Rhabarber - einfach überirdisch!!!!!

treacle tart!

Sounds pretty delicious...
Can anybody explain the difference 'tween cheddar and continental cheese to me.

By the way, why are mashed things called pudding (black.., yorkshire)?
I associate something completely different with that word.

@Richard: Oh, really! Did you have to say that? You've set me off drooling again now! ;o)

@Rasta: mashed? Mashed Yorkshire Pudding? Nothing mashed about them... :o) And to confuse you even more: Yorkshire Pudding was traditionally a starter, not a dessert!

I wouldn't say that black pudding or yourkshire pudding are mashed. Yorkshire pudding is a batter cooke on to oven. Maybe somebody else knows something about the origins of the word. But in recepie instructions for Yorkshire Pudding it would never say 'mash' the ingeredients or anything.

Chedder cheese is hard and full flavoured (mature). Couldn't tell you how its made, although if you type it into google it will probably come up with something.

hmm treacle tart. Double cream or custard? :)

Yorkshire pudding to me is a savory, either with a roat dinner or as a giant Yorkshire pudding with a filling such as onion gravy, mince meat or sausages.

I've only seen it been eaten by chefs as a desert. An ex of mine was a chef and they used to cook carvery. At the end of the day the chefs would fill any left over Yorkshire puddings with cream and treacle or ice cream etc, but thats is not normal!

The batter used to make Yorkshire pudding incidentally can also be used to make pancakes...maybe that is what you were thinking of?

@Emma: double cream!

Cream with treacle tart, custard with all other puddings, e.g. Rhubarb crumble, suet puddings, bread and butter pudding yummy!
This thread has made me so glad that I am going back to England for a few days, otherwise it would have made me die of homesickness! I am enjoying German food, but had forgotten just how great English food is.
Could just eat Steak and ale pie now, with mash, lots of different veg and lashings of gravey!! Followed by bread and butter pudding with lashings of custard!!! Yum Yum...and I was told the other day by a German person that the English don't put enough sauce on their food compared to the Germans (maybe I'm just the odd one out)
@Richard, parsnips -> roasted!

@Joe: oh yes!
My brother texted me the other day from the country pub in County Durham where he was eating his birthday roast. (He was waiting for his "pud" to arrive) My plaintive reply ran as follows "Were there parsnips? Will there be treacle tart?!" He answered: "There were. It's on it's way. And the pint of Jennings Bitter is superb. See you at Xmas!" I bought my plane ticket the next day!!

I think it's the onset of colder weather that makes one think of all that lovely warming English comfort food!! My mum's very good at producing all the desired treats & I've got 2 weeks to eat as many of 'em as possible!!

I don't normally miss such things, but ever since that text....!

@Richard: Do English people actually _like_ parsnips? I always thought of them as a kind of punishment - alongside swede and brussels sprouts (super yuck!)
I suppose they are alright roasted - but boiled?

Most revolting childhood vegetable memory: mashed parsnips and carrots together!

I am a vegetarian now, but these are vegetables I am thankfully able to avoid.

What fabulous lists of food! I had a British (Blackpool area) roommate for a year, and visited her sister in London often, but they were both vegetarians who didn't cook or like sweets, so all we ever ate was Indian take-away (which I didn't complain about one bit). But now I feel like I missed so much!

Have a good trip home, Richard and all the others going soon. Eat up!

@Mary: of course! Love 'em, they're my favourite vegetable! Never had 'em boiled tho'...why would I, when I can have the sublime roasted version??!!!

Admittedly, they're a bit sensitive & a "woody" parsnip is no good to anyone, but when they're at their best I can't think of anything finer....honest!

At my parents at Xmas we practically come to blows over the "'snips" as we call them!

My pet hate is......sprouts. Don't miss them!

@girly-girl: thank you!

As they didn't like sweets, you hopefully didn't have to suffer through a stick of Blackpool Rock....? Otherwise you'd still be at the dentist's!!!

There's nothing wrong with bolied parsnips either, although of course, I would always opt for the roast variety out of choice and mashed veg together is great!!
Carrots, swede and parsnips all mashed together with gravy, great stuff.
Have to agree on the sprouts issue though - now there is one veg I could do without.
@Richard, I know exactly what you mean about the text, I wasn't having such cravings until I read this thread!
@Rasta, it would be very interesting if you started a new thread on Leo when you get back, to tell us what you did try and what you thought. (or reserect this one)

Das bringt mich darauf, dass ich schon seit Ewigkeiten keine Stilton Soup mehr gegessen habe. *Einkaufszettel schreib*

Mahlzeit !

@Joe
If I get internet at my desk in UK, I'm going to report my experiences during the trip. Otherwise you will read "me and english food" as a new thread afterwards.

@ Rasta
great stuff! But I can't promise not to drool.
@SoSo - stilton soup, now there's a plan, or pasta with stilton sauce or stilton scones for that matter (instead of cheddar) - and for the foreigners, these type of scones are NOT to be eaten with clotted cream, but margarine or butter (preferably salted)

I'm looking forward to my Christmas Stilton fix too!

And to "Rasta's Regional Round-up" of course!

@ all - I can see a LEO Englsih Food Potluck Meet approaching... we'll all meet somehwere central, everybody brings their favourite English dish, and then everybody tucks in!!

@ Richard - hi sweetie darling :-D (best Ab Fab voice)

Bei uns gibt es Stilton Soup eigentlich immer Heiligabend zum Mittagessen, aber manchmal kann ich es auch nicht abwarten.

Das bringt mich auf die Frage, was ihr an Weihnachten kocht. Aber das wäre wohl ziemlich off topic. ;o)

@Katharina: Sweedie! Hi! Mwah Mwah! (Ab Fab mode)

What a good idea! Instead of disagreeing about what everything's actually called, we can just eat it all!! ;-)

@ SoSo: ist nur ein wenig off topic. Und auch keine schlechte Idee. Also wir sind Heiligabend bei meinen Eltern, da gibts entweder Gans oder Ente (frisch - nicht gefroren und mit hausgemachter Füllung), am 1. Weihnachtstag mache ich Hühnchen mit Gemüse und Sauce, und am 2. meist irgendwas Simples wie Spaghetti, aber auch mit hasugemachter Sauce.

Jetzt habe ich neulich wieder das Rezept meiner englischen Quasi-Schwiegermutter für Apple Crumble ausgegraben, und den wirds an allen Tagen zum Nachtisch geben (3 Tage = 6 x Crumble machen).
Dazwischen Ladungen an selbstgebackenen Plätzchen.
Sonst noch jemand?

@ Richard: mwah mwah :-D

Heilig Abend gibt's bei uns mittags Stilton Soup, damit wir bis abends nicht verhungern. (Ist ja sozusagen erst der erste Feiertag - da ist der Magen noch fit.;o).

Abends gibt es Wild. Vermutlich Rehrücken mit Spätzle und Rotkohl. Rhabarber Crumble als Nachtisch wäre eine klasse Idee. Vielen Dank für den Tipp!

Am ersten Feiertag werden wir dann bei meinen Eltern verwöhnt. Dort gibt es immer (!!!) Pute mit Ködeln, Sauce und Rotkohl. Da freue ich mich schon das ganze Jahr drauf!

Am zweiten Feiertag (und fast bis Silvester) leben wir von Resten. ;o)

Um nochmal auf Rastaman's Frage 'Könntet ihr dazu schreiben, was z.B. sunday roast ist. Ich hab ehrlich gesagt keinen Plan.' zurück zu kommen: ich kann Dir nur empfehlen, in einen guten Reiseführer - und zwar von Dorling & Kindersley (Schreibweise??) zu investieren. Da stehen nämlich nicht nur die Sehenswürdigkeiten drin, sondern die haben immer auch einen Anhang, in dem über alles Mögliche berichtet wird, von der Benutzung der öffentlichen Telefone bis hin auch zum Essen. Da wird alles haarklein erklärt; alles mit wunderschönen Fotos und solchen speziellen Zeichnungen versehen, bei denen man in das Innere z. B. von Gebäuden blicken kann (bißchen doof erklärt, aber ich weiß nicht, wie ich es sonst sagen soll). UND die erzählen einem nicht den ganzen Quatsch über Touri-Fallen, sondern führen einen dahin, wo auch die Einheimischen hingehen. Ich SCHWÖRE auf D&K!!!

Marmite....has to be tried altho don't know a foreigner yet who actually likes it!! marmite on hot buttered toast is the best snack ever.

@c: "after school? With a cup of tea? Next to an open fire? Watching Blue Peter?
Me? With my reputation? Oh well, yum yum it is then!"

It's got to be spread thinly, though....

This is definitely the most delightful discussion I've read in the forum. Everyone wrote so lovingly about so many things that I'm now feeling both hungry and homesick! Anyhow, one VERY important thing was missing from the list: persimmon pudding. You should be able to find it around Christimas when persimmons (Kaki) are in season. With hard sauce, of course :)

Leuchtendes Kotelett alarmiert Australier

Ein leuchtendes Schweinekotelett hat in Australien für erhebliche Unruhe gesorgt. Die zuständige Lebensmittelbehörde gab Entwarnung: Leuchtendes Fleisch sei vielleicht nicht appetitlich, aber ungefährlich.

http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1...


Aber Australien hatte ja wirklich einen schlechten Start. Wenn man bedenkt, dass sie vor nicht allzu langer Zeit als englische Gefängnisküche angefangen haben ... trotzdem, wie sagte ein schweizer Mitreisender: "Schade ums Material".

Pudding-

traditionally all those things that were cooked in a 'pudding cloth' were called puddings. So that gives you both the savoury (black pudding, white pudding, steak & kidney pudding, etc.) and the sweet (sponge pudding etc.) as well as Christmas puddings. Nowadays they are rarely cooked in a pudding cloth (which I think is somewhere in between a tea towel and muslin), but they have retained the name. Not sure why yorkshire pudding is called that though.

Pudding is also a generic term for "Nachtisch".



Parsnips-

They are lovely- roasted, boiled (or boiled until just soft & then roasted for about another 10-15 minutes, preferably coated with cranberry sauce, or tossed in honey & sesame seeds, or with a sprinkling of mustard powder, or....), as soup or mashed. Parsnips really were something I missed in Germany- most of the other dishes one can at least make at home, even in Germany, but parsnips are difficult to find.


Brussel Sprouts-

What's wrong with them? Young brussels, gently cooked until just soft, then tossed in butter and dusted with nutmeg are absolutely gorgeous.


another thing to try in England are soups- cheese and ale soup (with a puff pastry top) or a nice, hearty broccoli & stilton soup is hard to beat.


Looking forward to the Christmas gluttony- although celebrating Christmas itself in Germany, we'll have a pre-Christmas dinner here, including:

Parsnip soup
Poached salmon with a curry mayonnaise
Home cured, honey glazed roast ham
Turkey with chestnut stuffing (and with a mascarpone mixture between skin & breast to stop it from drying out)
Beef Wellington
Brussel sprouts with butter & nutmeg
Cranberry roast parsnips
Roast potatoes
Caramelised carrots
Beetroot in blackcurrant jelly
Bread sauce
Gravy
Cranberry sauce (all home-made, of course)
Trifle (the full hog- i.e. the sherried sponge base, jam, custard, bananas (in Rum), raspberry-wine jelly, peaches, orange-wine jelly, mango, whipped cream with cointrau)
Christmas pudding (which I'm hoping to finish today)
Brandy butter
Cheese board


Now I feel hungry... can't wait for Christmas time ;)

@Kate: now that sounds good! I love persimmons, but I've never had persimmon pudding....more details please!

@ Richard
You're making me go all soppy and nostalgic - sitting at the fire with a cup of tea and toast (mind you, without marmite for me) watching Blue Peter "Get down, Shep!", wishing I'd saved the empty squeezy bottles or loo rolls to make something "wonderful". God, we were easily pleased.
Love the thread, and can't wait for the few days we'll spend with my sister at xmas- not so far from MM - pork pie and stilton country. Prefer the latter myself.

@ Kate (and everyone else of course): if you are somewhere in the Cologne area, there is an English shop which, incidentally, is called just that - right by the large Kaufhof, behind where Marks & Spencer's used to be. They stock English food, books, videos / DVDs, magazines, tea of course, and just lovely 'things'... They charge you the earth, of course (as they import everything), but it might alleviate the worst bout of homesickness... ?

@ Richard: I am totally with you on the Brussels sprouts issue. Can't stand them. They are the work of the devil.

@Richard D

It really is unfair to get us all worked up like that without an invitation! lol Thankfully I'm going home for Christmas for my Grandma's lovely dinner..yum

@all

Just out of interest, and if you don't mind saying, I was wondering what brought you ("Englander") out here to Germany.

btw I've seen parsnips in Edeka.

@Richard

I think persimmon pudding is possibly one of the best things ever invented. Pure magic! There are tons of recipes on the internet which are all more or less the same. Most important is that the persimmons are really ripe and mushy and that you steam the pudding instead of baking it. http://www.recipesource.com/side-dishes/puddi.... The brandy sauce is indispensible. Vanilla ice cream is good in a pinch! Enjoy!

Für Pastinaken kann ich nur die Wochenmärkte empfehlen. Und im Supermarkt oft genug nachfragen, bis der Einkäufer dort sie endlich auf die Liste setzt.
Oder (wer einen Garten hat) selbst ziehen - ist so schwer wirklicht nicht.

@ Emma,
see also the Expats thread:
  related discussion:Expats

You're all driving me mad with these lovely descriptions of proper English cooking (sadly not my forté) combined with the knowledge that I'm spending Christmas here in Schwabenland for the first time.

Luckily I'm popping back to see the family in a couple of weeks and have planned my long weekend around going to the Indian, a pub Sunday lunch and a trip to the supermarket!

@ Richard and everyone else: was sind denn Parsnips / Pastinaken eigentlich? Klär doch mal einer dieses Satdtkind hier auf, bitte.....

@ Katharina

Parsnips sind diese herrlichen Dinger:

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http...

Wenn der Link nicht funktioniert, einfach mal parsnip in die Google Image Search eingeben

@Kate: thanks! I certainly will! Sounds....heavenly!

@Katharina: sorry, no time for parsnips at the mo' :-( Soon, promise....Perhaps they can be added to the pork pies arriving on Friday??!! My mum prefers marsnips...geddit?!

@tete: "here's one I made earlier" - sticky-backed plastic - GO with Noakes!

@Richard D / Kate : DonŽt forget the silver sixpences for the Chritmas pudding. My Grandma used to stuff loads of them into her Christmas pudding, which made eating a tricky experience. Being from Yorkshire, she would of course collect all the pennies from everyone after the Christmas dinner.
Oh yes and donŽt forget the christmas crackers !
Last time my Dad came over at christmas he brought Christmas crackers with him, but he had to leave the explosive bits of the crackers at the airport for security reasons.We all had to pull the crackers and shout "Bang!" instead. Perhaps the securitans were worried that he might blow up the plane. I just love the crap jokes that come with them. And of course everyone has to wear the paper crowns.

@ Richard: I felt bad enough as it was, asking my friends to bring us various things from Swindon... but I'll look them up (the parsnips, that is).

Sooo... you're a Can fan are you? :-D

Marmite, oh yes! But not with butter, surely. There's only one spreadable that brings out that true Marmite tang - pork dripping! My mum always gave me M&D sandwiches to take to school in the winter. And mercifully, Marmite goes such a long way, or as Peter Kay put it:

"The other day I entered a competition and I won a year's supply of Marmite ......... one jar."

Ich habe Pastinaken am WE im real gesehen - als "Wurzelpetersilie" (oder so ähnlich). Vielleicht lesen die Einkäufer ja hier mit ;-)

Nachdem alle so davon schwärmen, muss ich dieses Gemüse wohl auch mal probieren (war mir vor LEO übrigens gänzlich unbekannt).

@Katharina: I certainly am! - Food/Can connection.....Mushroom!! Good track!
Know what you mean about asking - will let you know - promise :-)

OT: In the meantime: "I Am Damo Suzuki" (I was Mark E Smith-ah too! The Fall-ah! Remember?!) - a song about Can by The Fall!

@ct-joe: my great aunt, also from Yorkshire used to do that too!

note to self: Richard, time you went home for a lie-down, mate!

@ Richard
>sticky-backed plastic< we never had such luxury at home. BTW Is John Noakes still alive? He must be a really old man by now - I mean, I'm getting on ;-)

@17
Wurzelpetersilie ist was Anderes. Pastinaken sind die echten Parsnips, sehen aber durchaus ähnlich aus, nur Pastinaken sind etwas größer und schmecken (roasted) einfach divine.

@17: Pastinaken sehen zwar so ähnlich aus wie Petersilienwurzeln (nur größer), sind aber nicht dasselbe. Aber auf Wochenmärkten und in Bioläden sieht man Pastinaken häufiger. Ich habe mir sagen lasen, daß sie bei Müttern beliebt sind, weil der Brei bei Babys genausogut ankommt und weniger schlimme Flecken macht als Möhrenbrei :-)
Heiligabend: Fondue
Christmas Day: roast turkey etc., Christmas pud, mince pies, crackers...

@17: Petersilienwurzel und Pastinake sind unterschiedliche Dinge, wenn sie auch sehr ähnlich aussehen.
Die Petersilienwurzel ist wohl die Wurzel der glatten Petersilie, aber aus der Pastinake kommt keine Petersilie - auch wenn beide zu den Doldengewächsen gehören.
Die Pastinake schmeckt milder als die Petersilienwurzel.
Verwendung ist ähnlich - man kann mit der einen eigentlich alles machen, was mit der anderen auch geht.

@Tete, Dragon & hh: Ach sooo... na gut. ;-)

Hat jemand schon crumpets erwaehnt? Getoastet mit Butter.

Eine schoene Begleitung zum Essen ist auch Cider - besonders wenn's ein regionaler Scrumpy ist. Die massenproduzierten sind meist zu suess.

I cannot believe parsnips are so hard to come by in Germany - what a tragedy! On the other hand, I've never tried eating parsley roots - I've just thrown them away on the compost heap :-o, so I must rectify that in future. Let's not forget parsnip and potato mash when we feel like a change from roast parsnips. I could eat it by the kilo.

Die englische Küche - und wie man sie überlebt ... (stimmt!)
More, more, more suicidal German youths visit the British Isles ... ;-)

Hmmm, nach allem, was ich hier gelesen habe, sollte ich Pastinaken wohl eine zweite Chance geben! Ich habe sie einmal gegessen, und Geruch und Geschmack erinnerten mich furchtbar an den Geruch von altem Blockflötenfett (dieses braune Zeugs, das man auf den Korkstreifen schmieren soll, damit es beim Zusammenbauen nicht quietscht ...) *schüttel* Petersilienwurzeln finde ich hingegen in allen "geschmorten" Saucen klasse!

@Dragon: Pastinakenbrei ist bei Müttern nicht so sehr wegen der (fehlenden) Farbe beliebt (aber sicher auch das!), sondern weil Pastinaken weniger Allergene haben als die Möhre. Sie ähneln in dieser Hinsicht der Kartoffel.

Und ich sollte diesen Thread nicht mehr öffnen - ich bekomme jedes Mal Heimweh und Hunger! ;o)

Auch auf die Gefahr hin, das Albion zu kränken: Ist den werten britischen Leos noch nicht aufgefallen, dass sie in diesem Faden weitgehend allein sind, was das Loblied der englischen Küche angeht? Ich vermute -mit Wolfmann- dass da ein Selektionsprozess stattgefunden hat. Bekanntlich können ja nur die vom Krieg berichten, die ihn überlebt habe und deren Sicht ist naturgemäß eine andere, zur Heroisierung neigende, als die der weniger Glücklichen.

Besonders witzig finde ich die hier mehrfach ernsthaft vorgetragene Argumentationsfigur, die übrigens von Kishon stammt: Die englische Küche ist hervorragend, aber versäumen sie nicht (in London) die asiatischen Restaurants zu besuchen! Letzterem kann ich nur zustimmen!

Aber -zum Trost- alles negative, was man über die englische Küche sagen kann, wird durch ein großartiges Geschenk an die Welt aufgewogen: Das Frühstück!

@Brötchen: niemand hat behauptet, dass die englische Küche hervorragend sei. Nur, dass wenn man sich da ein bisschen besser auskennt als die meisten ahnungslosen deutschen Touristen, dann gibt es leckere Sachen zu finden.

Bzgl. asiatische Restaurants: die sind auch ein Teil der englischen Küche, genau wie Döner-Läden ein Teil der deutschen Küche sind.

@Brötchen: look at the original question :-)

Amd in the meantime I'll do my best to remember that German cuisine is of course of much higher quality and is in fact the most interesting, varied and exciting cuisine in the entire world.

Strange, too, how much more rewarding and fulfilling it is to give open-minded people tips than to have pointless arguments about whose food is "better".

It's a Geschmackssache. End of story.

spotted, Dick!

;-)

@fritzi: nobody calls me that!! But I'll let you off this time! Tasty!

:-)

@ Brötchen

Wie kommst du darauf, dass hier nur Briten vom englischen Essen schwärmen?

Ich als Schweizerin kannte die ganzen "Englisches Essen ist bäääh"-Stetements ebenfalls, trotzdem habe ich nicht ein einzigesmal in England schlecht gegessen, manchmal sogar besser als in Deutschland oder der Schweiz.
Zusätzlich war auch der Service viel besser als hier.

Du siehst, man muss nicht Engländer sein, um englisches Essen zu mögen!

Meine Favoriten:

Cornish Pastry
Cornish Cream tea
Ploughman Sandwiches/Lunches
Steak and Ale Pie
Apple crumble
Pub food in general
Indian food (there is so much more variety than here)
Asian food (yummy! and all the lovely chinese "towns" in bigger cities)

Aber mit Pastinaken, Innereien oder Marmite kann man mich jagen.... yak!

As Richard said, it's pointless having arguments about whose food is 'better', because its a 'Geschmacksache', so I don't want it to look like I'm 'sticking up' for British cooking... but...

I was just wondering - could someone please explain to me what exactly the preconception Germans have about British food is? Is this just a German thing, or does the whole world think the same? I've been in Germany for about 2 months now, and fairly near the beginning of these 2 months, I picked up on this preconception, but before this I've done quite a bit of travelling and never heard of any other nation having this preconception about British food (maybe they were just keeping quiet about it!)

From what I can discern from this thread, it appears that the idea is that English food is fatty, underspiced, and the vegetables overcooked. I find this utterly bizarre, since my general experience of German food (and the experience of almost every English person I know who's been to Germany) is that it is very heavy, stodgy, rich, and meat-based - i.e. fatty. Also when I fancy a something a little spicy here, and opt for something labelled as 'scharf' it invariably turns out to be something that in England would be labelled 'mild/medium'. Oh, and I've found that the vegetables here can be a little overcooked. So basically, this all seems to me to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Or have I misunderstood the preconception??? Like I said, I don't want to start an argument - just want to understand the German mentality a bit better!

@Richard D
"traditionally all those things that were cooked in a 'pudding cloth' were called puddings".

Even earlier, however, "pudding" referred to foostuffs cooked/stored in an animal intestine. The pudding cloth is a (relatively speaking) modern invention!

The origin of the word is a little unclear; the COD gives it as "probably from Old French boudin "black pudding", from Latin botellus "sausage, small intestine".

@tim - I think it is just people wanting to have something to complain about, or just to be right, or it is national pride, or something. It is just human nature, and it is illogical.

I used to share an office with an Anwalt, and his wife told me one day about the fact that a German foreign exchange student she knew in the States gained weight because the food there is so unhealthy (fatty, sugary, etc.).

I said that I had gained weight when I moved to Germany, and her instant reply was that it was obviously because the food tasted better here!

oh - and I am not trying to start a fight! This has really been a fascinating thread. There are surely similar blanket statements made in the other direction!

@ Tim.

I too have been in Germany for about two months and tried to bing this up in another thread (Studentenfutter), but people basically started having a go at me. I think we just have to live with the fact that we know what is true.

@ Brötchen: Übrigens kamen die ersten paar Beiträge voller Lobeshymnen auf die englische Küche überwiegend von Deutschen (zumindest nach den Namen und dem Schreibstil zu beurteilen - auch ich bin natürlich Deutscher).

@Thomas: eben!

sorry bring.

Oh, and my experience of the foos here hasn't been great either. I can't understand where this opinion comes from! I also made a remark about the supermarkets here and everyone was most defensive! Have a read of the thread! Everyopne started to try an analyise me - saying that I will ruin my time there (totally not true) and that I must be young! In the end I gave up trying. I hope we understand one another. I'm not saying that I don't likeGerman food, it just gets me down when I hear these awfulcomments about English food all of the time!

Like when I meet someone and they find out I'mfrom England, nearly always the first comment is about the terrible food there! Its not nice or fair. And I don't want to start anotherarguement either!

Na ja, Emma, Du ärgerst Dich über Pauschalaussagen wie "Englisches Essen ist immer schlecht." und wunderst Dich, dass andere sich über die Aussage "Alle deutschen Supermärkte sind schmutzig." aufregen?

@ Emma
I didn't mean to slate German food either - or even really to compare it to English... my main interest was basically to find out what the average German's idea of "bad English food" entails.

So... any Germans out there who can give me an answer??

The prejudice against British food could well be as relevant to the present as the way the Germans in school learn to pronounce "The kätt sätt on the mätt". 60 years ago it was close to the British way of speaking, but the shift has been undeniable.
And maybe British food really used to be as bad as they say. After all, the rumour has been going round for centuries, apparently... The Germans have had a reputation for being coarse and uncultured since the Romans, I believe. I would not say, however, that that applies to the whole of Germany today.

And it's not just the Germans who think bad of British food. Didn't Jaques Chirac offend the British nation only a few months ago by saying how awful British food was? And this despite "all those British top chefs like Marco Pierre White, Angus Steak House and Raymond Blanc" (as Jeremy Clarkson once put it).

I think the bad reputation of your food is really spread all over the globe.

@Tim: I think the preconception is more widespread. In the States, I had always heard the same thing about English food (over-cooked, under-spiced, mushy veggies). Then, on a chilly, rainy day in San Diego, I went with a friend to an English pub named Shakespeare's. We had a few pints, filled up on great English pub food (Shepherd's Pie, etc) and realized just how tasty and satisfying English food could be!
I believe the German food can sometimes be heavy and fattening (as can American food) -- but I've still managed to lose weight here because of all the walking I end up doing! Nice to be able to eat the delicious food here and still lose weight!

Schwer zu sagen, woher das Vorurteil kommt. Ich vermute fast, dass diejenigen, die es verbreiten, niemals englisches Essen probiert haben. Sie wiederholen einfach nur, was andere vorplappern.

Einiges wird vielleicht auch einfach unterschiedlich zubreitet. Und "was der Bauer nicht kennt, isst er nicht." (Oder eher: Watt der Buar nich' kennt, fritt er nich'.)

Meine erste Erfahrung mit englischem Essen waren sausages. Damit hatte ich dann auch gleich als erstes ein Gericht probiert, das ich nun überhaupt nicht mag. Wenn ich nichts anderes probiert hätte, würde ich jetzt vermutlich auch meckern.(Ich führe meine Gedanken zu englischen Würstchen jetzt lieber nicht weiter aus. ;o) Außerdem würde ein englischer Freund von mir sich dann an dieser Stelle mit ziemlich derselben Aussage über deutsche Würstchen anschließen.:o))

Vermutlich ist es einfach eine liebgewonnene Tradition, dass englische Küche schlecht ist, alle Deutschen in Lederhosen und Dirndl rumlaufen, alle Schotten Röcke tragen und dass Franzosen nur Froschschenkel essen. Und Traditionen gibt man nur ungern auf. ;o)

Was mir aber völlig schleierhaft ist, ist woher die französische Küche ihren unvergleichlichen Ruf hat .... Aber das ist ein anderes Thema. ;o)

@ Thomas
Ah I see... thank you - so it's a general opinion rather than just a German one.

I do vaguely remember something about that Chirac comment, but not really - I can't see why anyone would really be 'offended' by it!!
 
Don't really understand the Clarkson quote though - does he think that there is chef called Mr. (first name) Angus (last name) Steak-House?! And does he think this Mr. Steak-House is a good chef?! I'm just a little confused... :)

@Tim: I think the well-known "petrolhead" was attempting to be sarcastic - there are no English chefs worth the name - something along those lines,,,,

Angus Steakhouse would fit quite well in the concurrently running pun thread :-)

@ TRS & SoSo
All very interesting.... so, going off topic a bit (as is best suited to the General Discussion forum), are there any other stereotypes about English people that I might not know? After all, as I said, I only found out about this food thing a few months ago....

@ Richard
yeah, I suppose that's what he meant isn't it. just found it a little odd!

Although there is much English food that I, as an Englishman, love, I have to admit that the preconception that English food is bad is not wholly unfounded.

It's not about particular dishes or the variety on offer in supermarkets and restaurants, it's more to do with the role food plays in our lives, it's importance to us.

In my experience, we British are far too accepting of poor food we receive when eating out, and even in the home I don't think we know how to enjoy our food like the French do, for instance. Pub food is great when done well, but so many establishments simply serve up microwaved rubbish, prepared in a hurry. Or take fish and chips, that old classic: lecker when done well, but in 90 per cent of places it really isn't that appetising.

It's all a question of being selective and knowing where to eat, but let's not pretend the standard of British food overall is high, because I don't believe it is. I found it interesting to compare the cookery skills of people of different nations when studying abroad, and we Brits really are at the bottom of the pile. Apart from maybe the Germans... :-)

Mein Bruder wohnt und arbeitet seit 14 Jahren in England, wo er eine Engländerin geheiratet hat. Ab und zu, um sie zu ärgern, erwähnt er die gesamte Anzahl der englischen Restaurants in der Welt :)
Obwohl nicht so drastisch, bin ich auch der Meinung, dass eine echte "haute cuisine" im England ziemlich schwer zu finden ist. Meine Anregung wäre, soviel wie möglich am Breakfast zu essen und dann die Gastronomie bis zum nächsten Morgen zu vergessen.

Sorry, Brit friends: in many other respects you are absolutely great.

"It's not about particular dishes or the variety on offer in supermarkets and restaurants, it's more to do with the role food plays in our lives, it's importance to us."

That's actually an interesting point - I found that the English generally are also less keen on preparing food themselves. This is probably to do with the different lifestyle which leaves your average working mum less time to cook or even bake.

A good example are cakes. In my experience most English people I know would buy their cake in a shop. In Germany, however, I would find it rather odd (und lieblos) if someone bought a cake rather then baking it themselves (I'm not talking about the odd slice of cake, but more of buying a whole cake for a birthday party, for instance). Here in England people are usually very surprised (or were in the beginning) when I bring a home-made cake.

@ Emma, I have to agree with SoSo on this point. I, too, read your postings in other threads about how crappy and dirty German supermarkets are and how little choice there supposedly is - and I am sorry, but the supermarkets I visit are just NOT like that. The Tesco's Superstores in the UK might be bigger and open 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week - but that's about it. Who needs a choice of 44 kinds of cereal / dog foods / cleaning agents? Do try and visit other supermarkets in your area and I am sure you'll find one to your taste. Or, even better, find out about the Wochenmarkt in your area (there must be one) and buy fresh, locally grown produce.

Also, your sentence 'I think we just have to live with the fact that we know what is true' made me laugh. I suppose by 'we' you mean 'we English'?? So do you think that 'you English' are right on the matter and all others, German, Swiss, everyone else who has posted here so far, are wrong? I am very sorry to disappoint you here - but there can not be ONE truth about the matter. It is a question of what you're used to, what you grew up with - and if you are away from home, then it's obvious you're going to miss food from home. How do you think I felt when I lived in England in 1995/96 and couldn't get hold of a decent loaf of proper wholemeal bread anywhere? Don't you think that depressed me as well? It did - But I didn't keep moaning about it, instead I just made the best of it and got on with things.

SORRY if this sounds like I am having a go at you - I AM NOT - I was just wondering why you feel so bad and so strongly about this issue.

Ah, PORRIDGE... true, in England you put sugar on it, in Scotland salt. Once in Durham, pretty near the border, for fear of offending either side I decided not to dress it at all and -- just AWFUL! Tapetenkleister! Skip it if you can.

Another speciality you'll better avoid (unless you like strong experiences) is HAGGIS, an ancient Scottish euphemism for 'soft-boiled entrails'. Scots are reported to drink plenty of beer (or even whisky) before, during and after it; wheter they do it to digest it better or to forget it faster is still unclear :)

@Katharina

I don't believe I ever said that German Supermarkets are crappy and dirty. I said that I had experienced dirty supermarkets here, which lack variety. I also believe that I said it was down to personal experience and of course what you are used to. Again you read into things which are not there. I hate to reply like this, but quite frankly you were having a go again and should not apologise to me as you knew what you were doing.

By 'we' I was replying to tim. Saying also that I do not understand where this comes from, and that it does seem to be a case of the pot calling the kettle black from my experience here too. But that I tried to mention this before and unfortunately received the same critisism that you have given me once again, for things that I have not even said.

I have been to all of the supermarkets. I do know where to shop - thank you. And what makes you think that I am not enjoying myself here simply because of food - there is more to life.

The reason I feel strongly about this is becasue of replies such as yours and the comments that the Germans here are so keen to make about English food. Here are some examples, then maybe you might understand why it angers me to hear such things, which I find to be unjust and unfounded considering my own experiences:

Everybody knows that the english food is awful - and you donŽt have good beer.

It is the same like in the usa - only crap. When i had to england i was used to eat at mc donalds or burgerking. Because the other food couldnŽt be eaten.

DonŽt like the food. I tried in on my trips to england it is really awful.

But the english food is good? I am in contact with erasmus-students as a tutor and there are 2 german who studying in brighton and they both say, that the english food is awful.;) You have a funny taste.

I also a German girl this afternoon whos mum is English. She told me that whenever they go to England they only take half a suitcase so that they can stock up at Tesco's, as the supermarkets here don't compare. Her words not mine.

If find Edeka here quite agreeable, if not a little expensive. Of course the food is different, it would make no sense to be two different countries if everything were the same. I am merely fed up of hearing bad coments about English food. And wish that you would stop taking everything I say here in the wrong way. I would like to think that the forum could be used in a positive way to discuss English-German topics without such silly bicker.

That should have read: I also met a German girl

@ Emma - who's bickering? I did specifically say I was *NOT* having a go at you, and neither do I think I 'read things into' what you're saying. I feel that in this one thread *AT LEAST*, people *ARE* discussing the differences between the UK & Germany in a positive way! You obviously haven't seen how many people here had *GOOD* things to say about British food. As I pointed out in my first reply on this thread, one will always come across people who have no idea what they are talking about, yet they will readily quote any stereotype they have ever heard. This kind of people, it seems to me, are the ones you are talking about. Why do you even take someone seriously who comes out with a sentence like, 'Everybody knows that English food is awful'??

OH and something else - whoever prefers McD or Burker King over any other kind of food '(the other food couldn't be eaten'), needs their head examined anyway in my opinion.

True. I did start my comment in this thread by thanking people for what they had said and all the great tips they had given rasta. How can you not pay attention when you have heard it for the umpteenth time.

I liked the way this thread talked about English and German food. I was refering to you saying that I called all German supermarkets dirty and crappy, as I did not! And that I should not complain but make the best of what's on offer, which I am doing.

Ich habe in englischen Pubs schon sehr gute bürgerliche Küche gegessen. Selbst Yorkhire Pudding mit Gravy war eine gute Erfahrung. Es gibt nicht immer Pfefferminzsoße.

Rainbow
Hello children! Bungle and Zippy have been busy bickering again
We know a song about bickering donŽt we ?

I am afraid it is too late!
with pontification they indeed altercate,
they dispute and quarrel
they wrangle and squabble
with banter and squall
they battle and brawl
What a twist in oneŽs knicker
With such silly bicker.

... as ever, a highly qualified statement by ct-joe. When one has nothing to add to the topic at hand, why not just make fun of people... !

@ ct-joe: brilliant! My first thought was: Oh God, it's that time of day again - they're tired and hungry and bad-tempered.

@fritzi: Agree completely with your comments about the English being prepared to accept generally poor standards when it comes to food. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that most of us in the UK were raised on school dinners (my personal experience having been in the sixties and seventies) which were, looking back, of appalling quality - cooked to death, greasy, full of carbohydrates and no fresh produce in sight. Judging by Jamie Oliver's recent campaign to improve school dinners, very little has changed over the past 30 years. I think we all tend to idealise the past a bit (e.g. music - Gary Glitter was pretty awful, after all), and clearly food is no exception.

Oh, and girls - you know who you are - let's keep it civil, eh? This is just a fun thread, so try not to your knickers in such a twist about it. ;-)

@Katharina : Peace .... just loosen up a bit and donŽt get worked up about a bit of flubdub.

@ct-joe: Maybe you should change your nick to George?? Then again, could you stand another change? Ah well... You know, you've made my day so often, I think I owe you one :o)

@ Katharina
Dearie-me, never heard of tongue-in-cheek? I think ct-joe's response is most appropriate. There's a lot of hacking going on this thread (but not only). It's turning into a culinary Christiansen - no, not really that bad.
And maybe we should remember that food (natural produce) is what you make of it. I'm no friend of the Schnitzel-Parade but appreciate lots of game dishes etc. here in Germany. Cross-over rules o.k. Enjoy!

Well, I just sampled my first christmas pudding of the year (well, I needed to try out the mixture I had, before I boil it all in the proper one, so had a small test one...)

mmmmmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhh- rum soaked sultanas, brandy soaked raisins, apricots, dates, prunes, a variety of nuts.... now to add some figs & glace cherries & finish cooking it :)


And in response to a previous poster-

Haggis is lovely- especially when accompanied by a nice cream and whisky sauce, tatties & neeps, and some cranachan as pudding.

Why the hell does my (English) wife still love to eat typically English food every now and then (provided by a friend who travels to England frequently)? It is not lethal. On the other hand, she loves cooking the German way (... and she manages extremely well).
Es gibt ungenießbares deutsches Essen und ungenießbares englisches Essen. Man sollte nicht die (angeblich so tollen) Restaurantgerichte als Maßstab nehmen. Nach meinem Empfinden sind die in England tatsächlich überbewertet, überbezahlt und (teilweise) ungenießbar (dafür rennen aber 17 Kellner ständig um den Tisch herum).
Meine Schwiegermutter und ihre zwei Schwägerinnen haben für mich immer noch das beste Essen gekocht (und meine liebe alte Freundin in Manchester).

... and, Katharina, I love McDonald's French Fries!

<offtopic> overheard in a downtown Montreal McDonald's 25 years ago ... a German couple sitting down at a table and the woman says "Haben die hier keine Messer und Gabeln?"
<offtopic>