Recipes - British Food

In Britain, most people work or attend school at a distance of about an hour commute in one direction, so while it’s common for many European countries to take a break from work or school midday for a large meal together as a family. It is not as common in Britain for this lengthy lunch break.

The British breakfast

Instead, a typical British family will have a large breakfast before they leave to start their day. British (or English or Scottish) breakfasts can be large, fried feasts, with common dishes being fried eggs and bacon, and even fried bread or tomatoes.

Cereal eating

Some people don't want such a large meal first thing in the morning, and they will opt for tea or coffee, with toast and jam, or cold cereal. A favorite cereal in Britain is cornflakes, although the grocery stores carry a wide selection of cereals to choose from.

Lunch menu

Because of the somewhat lengthy commute to school and work, many British people pack a lunch to take with them. A packed lunch would typically include sandwiches and crisps (US say chips), and a drink (a can of soda, perhaps). While many schools and factories have canteens available to purchase a lunch, most people prefer to bring their own for this smaller meal of the day.

Dinner time

Dinner is a large meal for most British people, served between 6:00pm and 8:00pm, and traditional recipes from fish and chips to shepherds pie, to meat and potatoes, the dishes made for evening meals in Britain tend to be large and the family gathers around to share the details of their day with one another. Most dinner meals will have some form of potatoes, the British eat a lot of potatoes, and have since they began being grown!

Potatoes galore

Because of the tendency to eat many potatoes at meals, there is a lot of shepherds pie recipes. When there is a type of meat in the recipe, typically the British will create a gravy from the meats juices and use it to cover their carrots or potatoes or other vegetables, as well as their meats. Often, you’ll also find a plate of white bread covered in butter at any meal, in order to soak up the juices left behind by your meat or gravy. British bakeries sell loafs of bread that you cut yourself, and are very tasty- although you can purchase pre sliced white bread, it isn’t as flavorful as the loafs.

Bangers and beans

Other favorite foods of the British include baked beans, a recipe that takes beans and cooks them in tomatoes, and then are often eaten on a slice of toast. To spice up potatoes, they often add cooked sausage or 'bangers', and call the recipe “bangers and mash”. Another common sausage dish is black pudding, which is a very thick sausage made from blood and fat. Scones are popular in Britain, and are often served with a cream or custard, or jam that you spread over top of the dry biscuit-like food.

Sunday roast

On Sunday’s, the British commonly have a large meal around noon time, often roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding is a batter that is the same as pancake batter, and instead of frying in a pan to create the pancakes, it is baked in the oven and served with roast beef.

Famous fish 'n chips

If you go out for lunch in Britain, you will most likely find a fish and chips shop. The chips are made from fried potatoes, and served in white paper, or newspaper. You can have vinegar and salt added to them if you like. The chips are typically served with fish, or pies, or sometimes other vegetables.

healthier eating

Eating habits are beginning to change in Britain, and often vegetable oil is replacing butter in recipes, and rice and pasta are somewhat decreasing the amount of potato consumption in the country.