English cuisine
This article is part of the
series:
British cuisine
Varieties:
• English cuisine
• Scottish cuisine
• Welsh cuisine
• Gibraltarian cuisine
• Anglo-Indian cuisine
English cuisine is shaped by the country’s
temperate climate, its geography, and its his-
tory. The latter includes interactions with
other European countries, and the importing
of ingredients and ideas from places such as
North America, China, and India during the
time of the British Empire and as a result of
post-war immigration.
Since the Early Modern Period the food of
England has historically been characterised
by its simplicity of approach and a reliance
on the high quality of natural produce. This
has resulted in a traditional cuisine which
tended to veer from strong flavours, such as
garlic, and an avoidance of complex sauces
which were commonly associated with Cath-
olic Continental political affiliations[1].
Traditional meals have ancient origins,
such as bread and cheese, roasted and
stewed meats, meat and game pies, and
freshwater and saltwater fish. The 14th cen-
tury English cookbook, the Forme of Cury,
contains recipes for these, and dates from
the royal court of Richard II.
Other customary dishes, such as fish and
chips, which were once urban street food
eaten from newspaper with salt and malt vin-
egar, and pies and sausages with mashed
potatoes,
onions,
and gravy,
are now
matched in popularity by curries from India
and Bangladesh, and stir-fries based on
Chinese and Thai cooking. French cuisine
and Italian cuisine, once considered suspect,
are also now widely admired and adapted.
Britain was also quick to adopt the innova-
tion of fast food from the United States, and
continues to absorb culinary ideas from all
over the world while at the same time redis-
covering
its
roots
in sustainable
rural
agriculture.
Modern British cuisine
The increasing popularity of celebrity chefs
on television has fuelled a renewed aware-
ness of good food and New British cuisine
has shaken off something of the stodgy "fish
and chips" image. T