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This document discusses stereotypes of British cuisine. It notes that Philip Harben's 1953 cookbook listed stereotypical British dishes like Cornish pasty and Yorkshire pudding. However, the sociologist Bob Ashley observed that few Brits actually eat the stereotypical full English breakfast, lunch and dinner regularly. In fact, British cuisine has incorporated many foreign dishes over time, like curry in the 18th century. Many supposedly traditional British dishes are actually quite recent, like piccalilli in the 18th century. Conversely, some dishes considered foreign, like fish in sweet and sour sauce, have been in British cookbooks since the Middle Ages. British meals like the full English breakfast evolved gradually over time.

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ANIKA DHANIKACHALAM
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77 views1 page

SCZCZX

This document discusses stereotypes of British cuisine. It notes that Philip Harben's 1953 cookbook listed stereotypical British dishes like Cornish pasty and Yorkshire pudding. However, the sociologist Bob Ashley observed that few Brits actually eat the stereotypical full English breakfast, lunch and dinner regularly. In fact, British cuisine has incorporated many foreign dishes over time, like curry in the 18th century. Many supposedly traditional British dishes are actually quite recent, like piccalilli in the 18th century. Conversely, some dishes considered foreign, like fish in sweet and sour sauce, have been in British cookbooks since the Middle Ages. British meals like the full English breakfast evolved gradually over time.

Uploaded by

ANIKA DHANIKACHALAM
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Stereotypes

In 1953, Britain's first celebrity chef, Philip Harben, published Traditional Dishes of Britain. Its
chapter titles simply listed "the stereotypical stalwarts of the British diet",[45] from Cornish pasty and
Yorkshire pudding to shortbread, Lancashire hotpot, steak and kidney pudding, jellied eels, clotted
cream and fish and chips. Panayi noted that Harben began with contradictions and unsupported
claims, naming Britain's supposed reputation for the worst food in the world, but claiming that the
country's cooks were technically unmatched and that the repertoire of national dishes was the largest
of any country's.[45]

The sociologist Bob Ashley observed that while people in Britain might agree that the core national
diet consisted of items such as the full English breakfast, roast beef with all the trimmings, tea with
scones, and fish and chips, few had ever eaten the canonical English breakfast, lunch and dinner in
any single day, and many probably never ate any item from the list at all regularly. In any case,
Ashley noted, the national diet changes with time, and cookery books routinely include dishes of
foreign origin. He remarked that a National Trust café, whose manager claimed "We're not allowed to
do foreign food ... I can't do lasagne or anything like that",[46] in fact served curry, because
"seemingly curry is English".[46] Anglo-Indian cuisine has indeed been part of the national diet since
the eighteenth century.[47]

Many supposedly traditional English dishes are relatively new and can be dated to the century, and
sometimes to the year, of their introduction. Thus piccalilli was introduced from India in the 18th
century, as recorded by Hannah Glasse who gave a recipe for it in 1758.[48] Conversely, dishes and
sauces still considered foreign, such as fish in sweet and sour sauce, have been in English recipe
books since the Middle Ages.[3][49] Other dishes took their present form only gradually, as with the
so-called "Full English breakfast". Breakfasts of this kind are indeed described in later editions of
"Mrs Beeton", but as one of many variations. Thus her list of "Family Breakfasts for a Week in
Winter" has for Wednesday something that looks fairly modern: "bread, muffins, butter, brawn,
grilled bacon, boiled eggs";[50] but on other days less modern-looking breakfasts include mince,
mutton cutlets, grilled kidneys, baked fresh herrings, and hash of cold game or poultry, while
suggestions for "Family Breakfasts for a Week in Summer" included sardine toast, cold tongue,
kedgeree and rissoles, and "Guests' Breakfast (Autumn)" included cold pheasant, game pie, and
pressed beef.[50]

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