Tuesday, January 29, 2008

British traditional food?

I am Japanese. I love cooking and eating. I like learning about all sort of food good or bad, tasty or not.
I happened to share a house with British couple and asked what the traditional British food is. I often was wondering if I can get something tasty to consider adding to my recipe selections. They told me about any roasted meat using oven, Yorkshire Pudding, and Toad-in-the hole. They described Yorkshire pudding made of the same ingredient as American Pancake but baked in the oven and served with gravy.
Being curious learning about new food, I researched a bit to find out what really Yorkshire pudding is. Definition of Yorkshire pudding from BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A192683 “Yorkshire Pudding is a traditional and popular British dish, originating from the North-east of England, which some British people find similar in appearance and consistency to a cowpat. This does not seem to stop tourists from thinking they enjoy it though. “ . It is surely British traditional food but does not sound appetizing from this description. According to website dedicated describing British culture and life: http://projectbritain.com/, Harry Potter mentions Yorkshire pudding being one of his favorite foods. I am wondering if British people still love Yorkshire pudding. Although I am not sure about Yorkshire pudding, projectbritain website made me wanting to try out other type of pudding desert served in England by reading ‘Sample Pudding Menu Served in a Restaurant in England ‘section.
How about Toad-in-the-hole? I was not able to find the definition in the bbc website above. Projectbritain has the picture of Toad-in-the-hole which was cooked sausage in the pudding. It looks like unwrapped version of pig in the blankets.
I probably will eat food above. However, I doubt my elderly Japanese parents will. I used to hear Japanese people go to England and had hard time finding food they like. I am wondering if British people go to Japan and they have hard time.

3 comments:

Karen said...
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Karen said...

Being British I can only say that the taste is probably better than the description, if made well! It is true that a lot of traditional British dishes are based around making a meal go further, like Yorkshire Pudding which is an addition to the traditional roast dinner, or Bubble and Squeak which is another dish made from the left overs of a roast dinner. Maybe we thought that if we gave things silly names they would be more palatable ... But don’t despair if you are planning a trip to Britain – I can assure you that there is lots of variety on the food front and something in our culinary heritage that will suit every palate!

Lisa Lynch said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment on my Seattle Japanese Garden photos post. I've not heard of the Kubota gardens. I will check out their site!

I'm a real fan of the Japanese Garden style and am now training to be a tour guide at the Portland Japanese Garden! I've never been to Japan before, but I'd love to go. I'll get there one day.

I'm looking forward to your posts and I'll check in frequently.

Lisa