Identity: thefoundations of British culture 2.. Living culture: the state of modern Britain We’re going to need a bigger oven… Elizabeth David’s revolutionary 1950s tome A Book of Medite
Trang 11 Identity: the
foundations
of British culture
2 Literature
and philosophy
3 Art, architecture and design
4 Performing arts
5 Cinema, photography and fashion
6 Media and communications
7 Food and drink 8 Living culture:
the state of modern Britain
We’re going to need a bigger oven…
Elizabeth David’s revolutionary 1950s
tome A Book of
Mediterranean Food
included guidance on stuffing a whole sheep.
“ C H I C K E N T I K K A
M A S A L A I S N O W
B R I TA I N ’ S T R U E
N AT I O N A L D I S H ,
N O T O N LY B E C A U S E
I T I S T H E M O S T
P O P U L A R , B U T
B E C A U S E I T
I S A P E R F E C T
I L L U S T R AT I O N O F
T H E WAY B R I TA I N
A B S O R B S A N D
A D A P T S E X T E R N A L
I N F L U E N C E S ”
Or so said Robin Cook during his tenure as Foreign Secretary
Begged, stolen and borrowed:
the story of ‘British’ flavours
For centuries the British diet was directed
by invading Europeans The Romans
introduced asparagus, cucumber, peas,
pheasant and viniculture, embraced seafood
and built the extensive road network that
moved food around the country The Saxons’
farming expertise served up wild game and
fertile land on which to grow a
variety of foods – they were particularly good at herbs
The art of drying and preserving fish was handed down
from the Vikings and Danes, and smoked fish and
shellfish still taste best in the old Norse heartland of
the North East Having colonised Sicily shortly before
appropriating England, the Normans brought spices
and recipes from southern Italy and Africa Crusaders
had their first taste of oranges and lemons in the same
era, and cinnamon, cloves and ginger, considered
suggestive of wealth, appeared in a range of savoury
and sweet dishes
When Britain itself turned colonial overlord, the flavours
of foreign lands were assimilated once more, brought
back by explorers and traders Coffee, cocoa, potatoes
and tea poured in Dishes like kedgeree (rice, lentils,
onions and egg) and mulligatawny (spicy meat or
chicken soup) found an appreciative British audience in
the days of the Raj, before complete cuisines from the
Indian subcontinent, East Asia and the Caribbean were
century Ethnic food and ingredients are now readily
available in shops, and thousands of international
restaurants reflect the diverse British palate
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