The REAL Reason British Food Has a Bad Reputation

[@bignibbles]

Hey everyone! Thanks for the love on this, quick clarification. My last two longform videos took two different approaches, for this one the budget went completely on an editor. For the Last one (Amsterdam food tour) the budget went on the content itself and I handled the whole production. Its clear the use of AI isnt going down well with you guys, and the edit pulls away from my style too much, so in future Ill be taking a different approach, but thanks for watching regardless.

[@fupoflapo2386]

British moment

[@Thurgosh_OG]

You missed (possibly on purpose, if you have a large US audience) that the biggest reason for British food's poor reputation is that during WWII, we had around 4 million US military based here in the UK and they arrived (late) after we'd been at war for around 2 years and were on heavy rationing. This meant that US servicemen, were given very bland but hearty foods to sustain them, while here and after the war, they took these stories of bland, boring, tasteless, British food, home with them and the internet has revived kept these tales and reputation in the minds of US Americans to the present day.

[@mrkiplingreallywasanexceed8311]

Both getting over myself and chilling out, I nevertheless take the greatest umbrage under a dense miasma of pique at your assertion our "produce" isn't up to much🙂‍↔️ You deign to suggest that we "make nice cheeses" but somehow pretty much skip over everything else which, while maintaining the stiffest of upper lips (if, sadly, these days not so much the nether environs), did create a certain internalised stress! The Scots, for example, while gruffly acknowledging the salmon reference no doubt, will be furious at the lack of rapture over the Arbroath smokie - the pinnacle, the zenith, the apogee of the smoked fish. Fish and chips gets a worthy mention but ffs we're a figgin' island so Scots asides, our herring, cod, sea bass, Cromer crabs and frabjous oysters all deserve to be lionised - and most spectacular of all IMHO - the tiny brown shrimp. A food so wondrous - and excruciatingly painstaking to prepare - it laughs in the face of the famously infamous ortolan. Our miniature crustaceans, moreover, while simply astonishingly expensive, are also entirely legal to be sold and eaten - unlike the consumption of those tiny French songbirds where part of the semi auto erotic pleasure other than the flavour engendered by the Armagnac which filled their minuscule lungs as they were drowned in the stuff - is the searing agony of the gush of hot fat at the back of the throat released as one crunches whole the hapless creature - at least now very much dead - bones and all. Whether, as legend has it, the napkins traditionally placed over the head while consuming brutalised roast avians was to stop God seeing - or merely to shield the diners from each others' shame for so enjoying the experience - or from their own hideous grimacing from the explosion of boiling grease - remains moot. The point being our most divine delicacy requires no such price on our consciences, even if it does on our wallets! But I don't recall cost being the main point of your perusal of our gastronomic history and anyway, most of what comes from here isn't dear at all - the climate takes care of that since the warming effects of the Gulf Stream bathe us all year round taking the edge off the Baltics freeze of a northern winter and gently enhancing the surprising amount of sun we get - the Spanish (themselves not exactly the object of ridicule for their food - which is incredible) have a word which uniquely describes very specifically the ENGLISH countryside - la campiña - such is their wonder at the lush verdancy of our peerless pastures! What, honestly, does anyone REALLY think will be the quality of ALL our meat, poultry, fish, fruit, veg, herbs - as well as dairy - and all the iddly biddly amazing specialities like pears - and perry - and baked cheesy nibbly things so light and cholesterolæmic, they make once you pop you just can't stop seem freshly appropriate! Even if you set out to make poor - or even average - "produce", you couldn't😂. There are just too many lovely fresh green things for deer to munch and on which pheasants blithely gorge themselves! The fat fuckers can barely lift off by the time they're ended in a hail of lead 😂😂 Fair dos, you had more than 2000 years to get through - but even slowing to a canter from the gallop, the real prize gems whizzed by in a blur - perhaps a more diffuse leisurely bimble through the orchard, field and barnyard for at least a few future episodes?😉😎

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

The bad reputation used to be deserved. I was born in the early 60’s. As a kid getting school dinners, every single one of the adults serving the food had gone through the Second World War and the subsequent rationing. This led to an ‘eat what you’re given and be grateful’ mentality. Not much sympathy for kids who didn’t like that particular food (yes beetroot I’m looking at you). This ‘mustn’t grumble’ mentality accompanied your average Brit in the ‘60s and ‘70s when they dived out. Nobody would ever complain about restaurant food so there was no incentive to improve it. Lastly there’s the emergence of the fridge/freezer. We had no fridge when I was a lad. There was a marble slab in the cupboard under the stairs where mum kept the butter etc. she’d also shop twice a day and pick up what she needed for the next meal. Owning a fridge allowed the shopper in the family to indulge in fantasies about modern dishes.

[@RemnantCult]

The aftermath of WW2 had an opposite effect in the US. We pretty much began to go ham on our quick foods and turn them into business while inviting migrants to come and further enrich our selection of cuisines. It did give a lot of people a taste for processed foods though. It was a full on processed food takeover. Think spam and frozen OJ. It's a nice snapshot of how well the US did after the war which was the opposite of how the UK did. It's quite unfortunate but as someone who enjoys blood sausage and marmite, I hope to see British foods fully shed its rationing era skin. I still don't think I can get into beans on toast though. Soggy toast with beans doesn't sound too thrilling. Where I come from, beans are for BBQ. I eat stripey bacon with peanut butter so I can't make fun.

[@Thurgosh_OG]

@@RemnantCult A couple of things. The US made a big profit from WWII, with all of those countries on both sides owing big debts to the US (only 2 countries ever fully repaid the US, Britain and the Soviet Union), so while the UK was having to rebuild a lot of the nation, while repaying war loans and helping other countries rebuild, the US had none of this and could flourish. Beans on Toast - we British and also Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians know to butter our toast before putting the beans on it. This layer of butter, enhances the taste and slows sogginess down considerably, though by the end it will get through, if you leave it long enough. Also we have been brought up to enjoy this and you haven't, so you're not accustomed to the taste and textures like we are. Trying my first T-Bone Steak while visiting the US, was like a jaw exerciser, because I wasn't used to that for example.

[@AudieHolland]

Dutch cuisine shares some similarities with British cuisine, in that most of our traditional dishes were 'poor people's food.' Anyone know Van Gogh's The Potato Eaters? Every dish (nearly every) was based on potatoes. For the rich people's cuisine, see French cuisine. Raw herring is an exception, as that's really old. First accounts of the curing of herring go back to 1380. I guess most people ate a lot of bread and of course turnips, before potatoes were introduced. Although even tulip bulbs are edible, and many Dutch in the big cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht) turned to eating tulips bulbs during the last winter of the Second World War (Dutch Hungerwinter). Anyway, like the British, Dutch cuisine was saved by the people in our colonies, the Dutch East Indies and Suriname. Following the Indonesian War of Independence, many Dutch Indies people were 'repatriated' even though many had never been to Holland before. And when Suriname was granted independence in the 1970s, a lot of Surinamese people used their Dutch passports to emigrate to The Netherlands. The best bami dish I ever tasted was Surinaamse Bami, a combination of Javanese and Surinamese culinary influences.

[@CavemanSynthesizer]

@@RemnantCult Yeah, we suffered a lot less scarcity after the war.

[@laurabailey1054]

My father and other family members were in England during WWII. My father was a kid and hunted as a kid. In Canada my nana was saving the rations and sending what she could to relatives to help them out during the war.

[@jamesfx2]

My German wife had heard that British people added mint to everything. The idea of mint sauce with meat sickened her to the same amount as a pineapple on a pizza would a normal person. We didn't realise that to Brits, mint usually means Garden Mint whereas to them, mint means Peppermint. I made a salad that tasted 1000% of the 0.1% Peppermint I added to it before I figured that out.

[@leviturner3265]

Mint is good on lamb meat. Mint sauce is vinegar, sugar, and mint.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

@@leviturner3265 I guess it depends on what you're used to (eat). Mint to me shoud be left for a tisane (herb tea). Or some cold sauce to go with Middle Eastern food. Lamb meat is very delicate. I make fricassé, saddle steak or lamb cutlets (with rosemary, thyme and oregano), shanks, or leg roast. But no mint please. I'm Norwegian !

[@mememaster695]

There's actually a bit of folk lore around the lamb and mint sauce. Supposedly, the British were eating too much lamb and the supply of sheep couldn't keep up, so the ruler at the time, I believe either queen Victoria or Elizabeth I, ordered that all lamb had to be eaten with mint sauce. This was meant to stop people from eating lamb, as it was thought that lamb and mint sauce would be terrible. However, the common folk loved the mint sauce so much that the plan backfired and they ate even more lamb than before.

[@kavasir7042]

Mint sauce is good with lamb, the acidic sweet sauce cuts through the fat and lamb can be rather fatty. Its like using redcurrant sauce with venison or gamey meat...or using cranberry sauce in a bacon and melted brie sandwich.

[@leviturner3265]

@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 Personally when dealing with an old fashioned mint sauce I find the vinegar to have more of an overpowering characteristic than the mint. I am sure it does depend what one is used to. I would recommend giving it a try, to see if you like it. I generally would also look for rosemary as a seasoning for lamb, perhaps thyme, and salt and pepper of course. Even seasoning the lamb this way I would generally also make a mint sauce, if mint is in season. I have also seasoned lamb with dried mint in addition to other herbs. Mint sauce is indisputably not for everyone. Lamb fricassee... interesting. I have only made chicken fricassee and have heard of rabbit, but never lamb. Interesting.

[@Soundwave1980i]

As a Brazilian cook who lived in Birmingham for almost a year I can confidently say that British food is highly underrated. I adopted several dishes to my everyday meals. And let’s not forget about the absolutely delicious sweets and teas.

[@WatchKek]

Which dishes did you adopt?

[@Soundwave1980i]

@ Sunday Roast, Shepherd’s/Cottage Pie, Toad in the Hole and Fish & Chips (with a lot of salt and vinegar). Oh! Almost forgot about the Cornish Pasty which is very similar to Brazilian Pastel.

[@tonywhite3835]

O que vc tava fazendo em Brum? Rs

[@Soundwave1980i]

@@tonywhite3835 Trabalhando num café na Jewellery Quarter e aprendendo a decifrar o que o Ozzie fala . 🤣

[@tyne_9]

i bet %99.9 of people who diss British food has never even been close to trying it

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Correct. And guess what they say when they do get to try our food? 😂

[@John-kc4cg]

Or they eat it but don't know it's from here, to this day Americans will even claim Alexander Graham Bell or Andrew Carnagae are Americans so its no surprise that they don't know that macaroni cheese, apple pie, possibly fried chicken, and many other dishes are British.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

Well, I must admit the Stargazer Pie looks a bit... Different. That said, Norwegians eat fermented mountain lake trout, and fermented cod. (Only Icelandic cousins take it one notch up, with fermented shark, and whale blubber ditto). The Swedes of course have a mad love for über fermented herring. 😮 But that's close to suicede... Love from Norway 😊❤

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

​@@John-kc4cg Americans think they invented planet Earth... ❤😂

[@Gantali9305]

@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 I am English ...and before this comment thread i had never even heard of stargazy pie. Its not a common item in UK diets.

[@mahdireza5695]

As a British South Asian myself, I will say people HEAAAAVILY overdramatise British food as an "awful" thing. While it's arguably not the most complex cuisine on the planet, it's definitely more about simple comfort foods and that doesn't mean British cuisine cannot be delicious. Is it out of this world? Maybe if your taste pallet is simple it might be a huge standout, but if you've had the chance to discover many different cuisines and tastes in the world, you will find that many other cuisines have more standout qualities. It's also a matter of who cooks that specific British food. There's a reason why Gordon Ramsay got mad at lots of British cooks before lol. 😂

[@NaviRyan]

Gordon Ramsey: “this is dry as a camels asshole in a sandstorm”

[@mahdireza5695]

@NaviRyan gotta love Gordon's brutal reality checks for bad cooks 😂

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Exactly, it isn't overly elaborate and aims to make the best out of simple things.

[@otherssingpuree1779]

@@mahdireza5695 As a South Asian British, we love to hate British food. Most of us rarely try it but the rest of us, we love it secretly.

[@invisibleman4827]

Usually, the voices making fun of British cuisine are Americans, but they forget a few things. 1) British traditional cuisine is pretty heavy, because that's typical for northern Europe. See German, Irish, Eastern European and Scandinavian food. So naturally it doesn't have the same characteristics as food from southern Europe and overseas. 2) Americans often eat the same food, such as fish and chips, for example. And beans. 3) British food has evolved since the rationing days and before. What was haute cuisine 90 odd years ago would be pretty boilerplate today.

[@Scoutbutball]

@@invisibleman4827 that is unsurprisingly true But our neighbours overseas just like to yammer on about how our food is ‘bland’ and ‘boring’, as if their food isn’t just over processed and overpriced slop (plus, all the additives and dyes used is definitely not healthy…. And they have roast chicken in a can. Why.)

[@Foogi9000]

​​@@Scoutbutball British food has the spice and consistency of a joke told by James Corden. The United States is so multicultural that we've got a bit of everything here. Especially in the south, Cajun food is my favorite personally. British people need to come here lol, it'll be like a food spiritual awakening.

[@OfficialAnthem]

​@@Foogi9000Britain also has a bit of everything too. We are still very much a multicultural nation, with food from all over the world. You can't compare multicultural foods to native, just because traditional British food doesn't include spices and cajun, doesn't mean we don't have those foods.

[@Gallic_Gabagool]

@@Scoutbutball British food uses additives and dyes too, perhaps you should look in a mirror (or an ingredient list). And you have PIE in a can. Why.

[@ReinhartSchneider]

@@Gallic_Gabagool nowhere near as much as the ultra processed slop you eat in america. even your grocery store bread has absurd amounts of sugar, probably even corn additives and other garbage in it. the level of quality of the produce and basic ingredients you can get in britain is actually very good and on par with the rest of mainland europe, which actually does have regulations for what can be considered food or put in food products, unlike usa.

[@shadibrahim1489]

It’s because social media only talk about beans on toast and that stupid fish head pie. British food is great when you look into it

[@Jodamango]

man u fan 💀💀💀

[@eg_manifest510]

i also blame the photography side of things. We're used to seeing photos of food taken like they're gonna be on Italian Vogue, but a lot of the "gross British food" photos are taken with crappy lighting and grainy quality that only make the dish look dull and lifeless. Sure the examples actually show off crap food a lot of the time, but a lot of those dishes would probably look better if they just opened a curtain or turned on a lamp for some warmer lighting

[@jojojojo4332]

no, its because the british predominately eat things like pigs/toads in blankets the names are very different and unusual because english is the main trade language of the world. and everyone just understand the bland expressions that are translated to our own different cultured minds. For example what is dutch food to the british. often i get to hear. ah you mean snitzel man. but thats actually austrian. or when you ask germans why not the entire country wears bavarian clothing in oktober. its that stereotypical bs mixed with a lot of misinformation that makes it much worse.

[@bruhed1117]

British food is definetly not as bad as people say, but with the exception of a handful of pretty good foods, it is super bland and uninteresting

[@jojojojo4332]

@@bruhed1117 the British eat utilitarian. The French eat overcomplicated, the Dutch and Germans just eat what was available and efficient, the danish over produced on its main trading articles. To the point of them being gullash barons. I think that covers most of Western Europe. And for added bonus the Italians have a lot of dishes we eat and love that came from poor regions or poor people.

[@Ratblink]

I was hoping you'd point out that Scotch Eggs are English, as that always riles someone up. Solid video, and great editing!

[@thataintfalco7106]

Scotch eggs are fucking fire

[@Scoutbutball]

Yesss They are amazing

[@PiousMoltar]

I knew this but had forgotten. Thanks!

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

Seagull eggs anybody ? Love from Norway ❤😅

[@Thurgosh_OG]

True but 'Scotch' is generally a word used (even by us Scottish folk) for foods and of course drinks, at least in more recent centuries and not to do with the location of production or origin.

[@ozelhassan8576]

Correction: water was a gamble in the cities not the rural areas.

[@shanewalta7876]

It could still be a gamble. You never knew if there was a dead sheep half a mile up the river, but it was definitely a better option than the water out of the Thames.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

​@@shanewalta7876 Hmm, yes. Brown bog water can hide a lot of sins... Luckily I'm Norwegian. ❤

[@svenv9034]

As a Belgian food blogger (Vegatopia), I don't quite understand the bad reputation of British food. Until the 1980's cuisine in most of Western Europe was incredibly bland, with the Netherlands as somehow an exception because of colonial influence. We crossed the border for more flavourful groceries. Several of my childhood dishes were even quite similar like "balkenbrij" (check Wikipedia) and black pudding. I had it with pan fried apple slices. On the one hand British food is mocked at because it is supposed to be weird, bland and overcooked, on the other hand British chefs conquered the world and influenced many other cuisines. So, the there's a contradiction and not so much rationality. Be proud of your heritage!

[@KIJIKLIPS]

You forget western europe included Iberia (Spain and Portugal) and sorry as a Portuguese i have to say you're incorrect we have and INCREDIBLY LONG AND COLOURFUL FLAVOURFUL EVEN culinary history stretching back to the age of discovery we started by sailing around africa to reach india and capitalise on the spice trade before the UK dutch or any other European had the chance, then with the discorvery of the new world Portugal and Spain were thr FIRST european to use POTATO'S (Portuguese keeps the exact same word as the natives in south america used to refer to BATATA) As well as peppers and the first people outisde of mexico to start using chilis and cacao were portugal and Spain also. Without Portuguese spreading chillies to africa india china etc there wouldn't be the same piri piri chicken no spicy indian curries like you know or chinese food you might be familiar with either. Due to the favourable climate in southern europe we have been cultivating these plant's for near 5 centuries did i even mention tomatoes too😂 what would Italian cuisine be like now without these contributions from south America brought to the outside world by Portuguese and Spanish explorers? Not to mention our amazing history of pastries cakes and baked goods which gave rise to some of the deserts and cakes you see in macau china and japan today ! Truly an extensive and tasty culinary history to be found in western europe if you ask me! No fish and chips or tea time in England either the list goes on😂

[@Croz89]

Interesting, because Dutch food nowadays has a reputation for blandness similar to the British (yes it does, Dutch people, stop pretending it doesn't!).

[@Jonathan_Fairbanks]

@@Croz89 Dutch food is the worst in Europe

[@rob876]

When I go to the Netherlands I always look for Dutch croquettes, salted herring, smoked eel, appelstroop and salted liquorice.

[@draum8103]

Um, you're Belgian so right next to France and you don't understand why British food has a bad reputation?! Lmao. When I was in the UK the food is like ten times worse than in France or Belgium and more expensive.

[@davidwright7193]

British food has a bad rep because rationing led to very poor food during a period when there were 3 or 4 million US troops in the country. So if they ate outside the unit mess would have been served a very bad or ersatz version of something they ate at home.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

German ancestry ?

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

​@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 Traditional German food is in fact well-seasoned. It's more the strong Puritan influence, with the emphasis on 'plain, honest, simple fare' and a suspicion of making food too 'extravagant' in preparation or flavouring.

[@robokill387]

No, it had a bad reputation well before then. Victorian era British food was even worse.

[@davidcheater4239]

Growing up in Canada, there was a type of Selection Bias guiding our opinions of "British Food". We thought of every day food as "British" (even when it was not) while restaurants served "Exotic" foods. ie. Beans on toast, sandwiches, canned soup, hard-boiled eggs, breakfast sausage, meat & potatoes, and boiled vegetables were "British". The very plain, mostly flavourless, low effort home cooking. But when we went to restaurants that's where we saw 'foreign cooking'. Food that was prepared with some flare: shish kabob, Sweet n' Sour chicken with pineapple, lasagne, biryani, enchilades, and crepes suzette. What we didn't get from British cuisine were any of the items from fine dining: Christmas goose, Yorkshire pudding, trifle, steak and kidney pie, cranachan, or meat pies. tldr; we got mediocre British food to the point where we identified mediocre food as British. We didn't get mediocre 'foreign' food, only a selection of the most appealing. That solidified the bias that British food was inferior.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Funny thing is, a lot of those fancy dishes you list will almost certainly be the British version of that dish. And the British dishes you've listed aren't mediocre, there's only mediocre preparation. My nan was a Cordon Bleu chef and when _she_ made those dishes, I'm sad that as good as I am at cooking, I will never be that good.

[@Pudddle]

To be clear, Yorkshire pudding is the very opposite of fine dining, it's one of the simplest foods we have and came from using cheap/leftover ingredients. It's very bland too, but super crispy and airy and tender and the perfect vehicle for flavourful gravy and sweet sauces/jams 😋

[@laurabailey1054]

I am Canadian and grew up on British cooking and what my nana and grandma made was not bland and flavourless. My mum learned to cook from her English mother and what she cooked was not lacking in flavour.

[@finnmcginn9931]

​@@laurabailey1054some of the best Sunday roasts I've ever tasted were cooked by mums and grans in Canada. British is great when prepared by those who care. Cheers

[@carltonlambert7608]

Fair comment.

[@cjpalmi8]

Absolutely adored the abundance of alliteration in this food focused feature. The clever, continuous cadence of culinary commentary kept me captivated!

[@Cazzer1604]

This is great, love the deep dive and clearly tons of effort has gone into this! Bonus points for defending our mid cuisine.

[@TheMajinHermit]

Long form content lets go

[@JlandelMoncada1]

Listen, when i had Bangers and Mash when I went to England, it changed my life.

[@Scoutbutball]

YES

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I love our pork sausages, they just perfectly present you with the flavour of pork. We like taking just a few ingredients and cooking them to perfection to present their unaltered flavour.

[@Ryysight]

Modern British food for the most part is actually really good, the quality of the ingredients on the European continent is usually far superior to the quality of food in other places (excluding Japan, Korea etc) due to strict food standard laws which really contributes to these classic meals tasting really great without the need of heavy seasoning or alteration, some people (mostly Americans) simply can't comprehend this because most of them haven't tasted food in Europe which for the most part is of a much higher standard and quality than what they're used to

[@RemnantCult]

I know you usually make shorts with cooking and dry, distinctively British comedic narration but I really enjoy this standard length video here.

[@Nathan-lp2iz]

The abundant use of AI 'art' makes it look horrible

[@bignibbles]

Last time I use Fiverr for an editor

[@Seansmusicvault]

I don't know, considering you get to watch his content for free (unless of course you're a Patron) then a few extra phalanges (or arms) shouldn't make you apoplectic. 😱

[@L1d0]

@@Nathan-lp2iz the craziness goes with the channel and music. quite like the dancing squirrel 😄

[@Nathan-lp2iz]

@@Seansmusicvault I still give him money indirectly by watching the ads, so I have every right to complain when I watch like 5 ads and the video has at least 20 AI images with hilariously wrong fingers, food clipping into plates, broken hands, and terrible lighting

[@Seansmusicvault]

@@Nathan-lp2iz All right, then. ☮

[@rosiefay7283]

2:22 Now if you're vegetarian, fair enough, black pudding is gross, but then so is all meat. But you can hardly call it gross if you're willing to eat hot dogs or American burgers with whatever they make them out of.

[@enoyna1001]

I think people don't like the idea of too much blood in their food.

[@emkalina]

Black pudding in contrary to meat actually has some vitamins in it

[@rustyhowe3907]

I heard an american lose his mind "I can't understand how *anyone* could eat something as vile as that!" myself (Australian born), a Ukrainian friend and my own mother (born in Switzerland where it was common) all said "poverty" and shut him up real quick.

[@emkalina]

@rustyhowe3907 not exactly poverty but lack of land more precisely. Europe has no shitload of free space for cows to graze freely

[@rustyhowe3907]

@@emkalina Yep that's what my mother also said about where she grew up, but in hers and my friend's case it was definitely poverty being a huge factor too.

[@topazz5574]

Jellied Eel sounds good. I'm deffinetly gonna give it a try. Here, in Ukraine, we have jelly but made out of pork. I'm really excited to taste jellied fish. (in Ukraine we call jallied pork like [holodets])

[@RendererEP]

Jellied eel tastes better with some parsley sauce.

[@henryblunt8503]

We have pork jelly too, but usually we only use it to fill up the space in a pork pie between the meat and pastry that's formed as the pie cooks. Keeps the meat away from the air and adds an extra texture and juiciness.

[@squeezter]

Yes, I thought of that too, but if there are bones in the fish it would be a pass for me

[@MostlyPennyCat]

I've been making Halupsi, except I now need a meat grinder to make them really well. And I want to use fermented sour cabbage however I think that's, er, can't remember the nation that's from.

[@jimmyjenkins1907]

@@MostlyPennyCat you mean sauerkraut? I think its german 🤔

[@jcrossan1351]

Yanks just simply cannot comprehend the complexity of the greggs sausage roll

[@sevenember3332]

No, we can’t, but have you ever had a scrapple egg and cheese sandwich? Regional, but very tasty

[@lemdixon01]

Greggs sausage rolls are okay, not great because it's a big chain bakery/store with low quality meat, half cooked pastry and not local and home made.

[@thomasdevine867]

Baked Beans were the standard Sunday meal in colonial New England. Basically, they banked the oven fires on Saturday night. They set the crock with beans and sauce in the oven the night before, and it was ready the next day. This made cooking on the Sabbath unnecessary. 12:50

[@UnicornsAndUnions]

Most of the distaste about british food culture is because we have a very honest food culture. What we say we eat is what we do eat, for everyone. In most other countries, their food culture is aspirational, but the UK's is WYSIWYG.

[@mzple]

@@UnicornsAndUnions That’s actually a really good point.

[@327legoman]

That's true. I've been living in Japan for 3 years and honestly, and people can be served a turd and it won't complain. On TV, they just start yelling "OISHIIII" (delicious) before the food even reaches their mouth. Part of the reason for this is to be polite, the other is that being defaming a business, even if it's your own perfectly valid opinion, is a crime. Ironically there's a cafe/bakery near me, called Penny Lane, a beatles themed place and it is heaving. Despite the isolated location, it's stupidly busy even on weekdays and it's the only place in Japan I've found which serves proper pub grub with proper pub style burgers and triple cooked chips, nice pies etc. Yet, if you asked any of those diners "Do you like British Food?" They'd probably turn around and say "Like Stargazy pie? Nah! British food is terrible!" (Probably in Japanese of course.)

[@Croz89]

True, most British food in restaurants are basically tarted up versions of what people eat at home. In many other countries, the food you get in restaurants is almost never eaten at home, maybe only on a special occasion.

[@artspooner]

@@327legoman yeah but we can’t exactly claim burger and chips as British food. As you describe it, it’s just a British spin on a quintessential American food. But I do agree in essence. If there was a restaurant doing proper pie and mash, Sunday roasts, toad in the hole etc then people would love it (may need to adjust for each countries palate as we do here).

[@mallardofmodernia8092]

@@artspooner not American either 😂 German, Belgian and French origins.

[@minhquanvu2944]

As an Vietnamese and an Asian, i like blood sausage. We all have our version of blood sausage here in SEA

[@Scoutbutball]

Black pudding is legitimately good Like Why y’all foreigners dissing it >:(

[@hartmann3288]

beans on toast is peak too, especially with a bit of cheese on top

[@Pudddle]

@hartmann3288 I don't even consider it the proper meal yet without cheese tbh. The pictures you see people react to are always just beans on an underdone bit of cheap, pre-sliced white toast. No wonder they aren't impressed, GET SOME BLOODY BROWN SAUCE ON IT 😤

[@Scoutbutball]

Or add a fried egg Make it crispy on the edges with salt and pepper seasoning That makes things ten times better imo ❤️

[@Im_dj_]

FR, americans literally believe they know everything, the guys who diss our food i bet haven't even had it before 💀

[@KajiRider1997]

Because I've had it, it tastes like liverwurst but warmed up, just ew

[@petuniasevan]

I seem to remember that someone insulted British food in John Cleese's hearing. He snapped, "We had an empire to run!"

[@jimlaker6552]

Best video yet on this channel, and by some distance. A fascinating watch, not just for the food, but also the history. The history of British tea is also the history of the British empire. The most prized possessions in the west were the Caribbean islands where sugar cane was grown. Tea was bought from China (tea being a corruption of cha), which led to a shortage of British silver and the need to get some back (resulting in the Opium war and Hong Kong). The search for other sources made Sri Lanka important. Milk in tea was a result of drinking habits in India.

[@jonarbucklefan1]

Baked beans taste great, I don't know why people dislike them so much.

[@christianmarriott3696]

Who dislikes them ?

[@Bedic-Mag]

Because baked beans in the US Vs UK are very different. They've never tried Heinz beans before. And TBF, the beans themselves taste better than they look

[@MostlyPennyCat]

​@@Bedic-Mag It's literally an American product. _Heinz_

[@PiousMoltar]

@@MostlyPennyCat It's an American company, it's not an American product, they don't really sell them over there. Well they sell baked beans but they're not the same. I think they do actually sell some called "British style" or something (edit: Oh, they are literally pictured in this video) because I saw a video about it, which compared them to actual British Heinz Beanz, but even they are not identical, and most people probably don't even know you can buy them. For some reason as a kid I didn't like baked beans. I thought they were kinda gross. Nowadays I think they're pretty good. Oh and Heinz aren't even the best.

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

Beans is a less costly, good source of protein if you can't have meat. In Norway we serve tomato beans with thick slices of fried unsmoked salty bacon. This is eaten with steamed potatoes and white sauce. The Danes add chopped parsley to the sauce, where as in Sweden they just swap tomato beans for brown beans. Very typical Scandinavian... 😊❤

[@minipily1841]

good video! it would be good if you would include more vital information like dates so theres more narrative. however i see this long form style is new to you so yay!

[@superlynx98]

Hi mate, been loving your shorts for ages now, great longer video too. Only criticism is that the use of AI imagery is a bit outputting. Otherwise, nicely done

[@amarok9749]

The British have a very high standard of ingredient quality, Everything from potatoes to lamb is very heavily controlled and sourced usually from grass fed free range animals, And with such a small population all relatively close to each other, we don't have to transport food 1000+ miles across country in freezers, Combined with a "weekly shop" culture food doesn't have as many preservatives and fake flavourings added to combat the bland old produce that's been on a shelf for 6 weeks. So whilst we might not use every herb and spice know to man in our food, its because believe it or not, a simple well made mash potato with 2 local butchers sausages and some simple meat gravy has plenty of flavour and doesn't need dousing in "BIG TEDS FLAMING HOT GRILLED EAGLE DICK SPICE MIX" like they do in the good ol' USA. Also WW2 did some weird shit to us as well to be fair..

[@amarok9749]

@Dionysos640 relative to the USA, it does, America has a pupulation of around 350 million, compared to around 70 million in the UK.

[@robokill387]

America is like 100 times the size of the UK. If anything, America is underpopulated for its size. Most countries it's size have a population of over a billion. Russia doesn't count because most of its land mass is uninhabitable.

[@sevenember3332]

I’m lucky to live in a part of the US where, from spring to mid-autumn, produce stands are run selling mostly locally grown or made food. I try to stick to seasonal produce when possible and when not, frozen vegetables with no added preservatives. We do weekly shops here too. Not every American has their freezer loaded with and dines exclusively on convenience meals just as I know not every Brit takes advantage of the high-quality meat and produce you’re proud of (and you should be). Spice mixes, outside of specific cuisine, are the crutch of people who don’t know how to cook. And again, not every American is ignorant of how to properly produce a tasty meal. It’s not even the majority. Please don’t pretend every American is the same with poor taste as I don’t do the same for you. And the blame for the reputation of British cooking can be laid entirely on the transition from wood fire cooking to coal fire cooking. When the main meal needed to be cooked in a pot, it was typically boiled for most people. That’s when things went downhill. And no, the war didn’t help Side note: I’ve had tasty food in England. I’ve also had boarding school food. Take that as you will

[@nightshade3685]

Love this format, would love to see more educational long form food vids!! 👏👏

[@felixbonnet6639]

Bro just skipped the Anglo-Saxon period 💀

[@Blaidd7542]

Almost like that time period is known as the dark ages specifically because unlike the literate native Britons the Anglo Saxons were illiterate.

[@felixbonnet6639]

« Illiterate »? I mean the Britons,yeah, but the Anglo-Saxons.They are known for having a huge body of literature back then. Don’t tell me they did’nt mention how they cooked.

[@Blaidd7542]

@@felixbonnet6639 no the Britons had been a literate culture since the romans brought the Latin alphabet over half a milenia before the arrival of the Anglo Saxons, first in Latin and then in Brythonic around the 5th century.

[@leonie3294]

This video is so well made! Definitely deserves more attention

[@Tobias_Brix]

Really enjoyed this mate. Keep the long form vids coming !

[@Peorhum]

As a Canadian who grew up eating British style cooking, I think British food is extremely underrated. It relies on the natural taste of meat instead of over spiced food like some regions cook. I grew up having a nice roast every Sunday and I loved it and still do. If you don't like British food, it is either cooked wrong or you have killed your taste buds with over spiced food. I served a pork dish to someone once and told them not to reach for the salt and pepper until they tasted it, they enjoyed what I made, without the layer of salt and pepper they normally added to their meal. In fact they said that "it was the 1st time he actually tasted pork" and they enjoyed it.

[@PLZnoHEXES]

Production value on this one is a bit crazy Good job :>

[@stargirlskye]

your editing is fluid af omgg but bro if you rendered this in 60fps, it'd be buttery

[@swankmank]

i think he went to a school for that or something

[@kurtwagner4663]

​@@swankmankhe literally mentioned hiring an editor at Fiverr in another comment 😅

[@Wazzen563]

All this video taught me was that any decent British food actually came from a different culture, so it isn't even British at all.

[@matthewwalker5430]

Part of my theory on why British food has a bad reputation is we export it badly. Other cultures do a grand job of bringing a taste of their home to others, but for some reason when you see a "British Pub" somewhere in America it is usually awful representations of our food. I also see Americans on TikTok and stuff going to eat "British Food" and often I barely recognise it. Even the Fish & Chips, something so simple, is so weird (no curry sauce for 1 thing!) and the fish is tiny. Also, we Brits get a lot of stick for "disgusting" foods, like "Blood Sausage" (it isn't "disgusting", it's bloody lovely, pun intended) but every other nation whose food is apparently "incredible" uses just as many of those sort of ingredients, particularly the French (erm snails? frogs? ... and both aren't actually as bad as you think but the only ones who really give France a hard time for that stuff is us Brits!) and Asian countries. Finally, I don't get the obsession with spice. Yes, some spice can be lovely, be so can good quality meats that you're effectively hiding by using too much spice. And we do use some spice, particularly mustards, horseradish and chutneys. Now I think Americans and the internet has programmed people to turn their noses up at our British cuisine even before they've tried it, meaning they're pulling faces and doing the obligatory "eurgh!" meme as soon as they taste it without really giving it a chance.

[@bingobongo1615]

Thats a nice theory but the reality is that British food had at least a couple of really bad decades... Its slowly recovering now.

[@matthewwalker5430]

@@bingobongo1615 yeah, I mean that's true too. Thing is, I would say British food has been decent since the 90s, and half the people who get so disgusted by British food weren't even born then, so I figure it has to be more than just "British food was terrible pre-1985" (and don't forget American food could equally be horrid back then too, they were putting jelly in salads and stuff for example, the absolute nutters!). Also, I would argue peak British food was 1995-2010ish, when pubs actually did great British grub. Now half the stuff on the menu is Thai Curries or Pizza, and nothing annoys me more than Pizza in a pub, it's just not cricket

[@rosemartasgaminghoard]

Thank you for this video. It pisses me off so much when I see people bashing traditional British food or daring to say that it doesn't even exist and that it was stolen from other places. British food is great. It's very similar to other European cuisines and there's nothing wrong with that.

[@espben360]

It’s because it’s popular to hate on English food. Just because it don’t have a tons of seasonings, doesn’t mean it’s not tasty!

[@Seansmusicvault]

Well done video, mate! Excellent culinary history lesson, replete with your wonderfully witty wordplay and delightfully dry analogies. ☮

[@Roof_Pizza]

If the stereotype wasn't accurate it would soon die away, it hasn't. The French do smoke a lot and Scandanavians are rather tall. You get the idea. Being butt hurt and pretending you know what others think isn't helping your cause.

[@user-wr3vt8uq4s]

The UK also gave us Marco Pierre White (who's far better than Gordon Ramsey) and the Two Fat Ladies, who made British cuisine approachable and fun. If people focused on what broke people eat in the US, they'd be put off far more than typical British fare. I just had some Devon rice pudding, it's lovely stuff. I wish we had a place around me that did full English breakfast.

[@alangeorgebarstow]

Not forgetting the Roux brothers and Pierre Koffman, chefs who taught White, Ramsey, et al. Oliver is not a chef, he is a lucky chancer who got his break because some TV producer thought he was a 'cheeky chappy'. All he does is mess up other people's (i.e proper chef's) good recipes.

[@PiousMoltar]

"I won't be trying it, because I know it's going to be gross" Based. Although, that is how I used to feel about black pudding. I am now in the "Still haven't tried it, but am open to the idea" phase.

[@ZhukovsBoots]

Black pudding is amazing, a fried breakfast without black pudding is an abomination.

[@Puppy_Puppington]

It’s nice to be open minded and try stuff. Life is too short.

[@GothicOctopus]

My English family taught me that if food is brown, overcooked, and oversalted, it’s great. I still follow that rule sometimes. It’s a me problem. I love it.

[@cowgurlbebop]

Love this! Please do more deep dives on culinary culture in the UK.

[@nicholaslim9956]

A Full English Breakfast is a hearty and traditional British meal. Here's how you can make it at home: Ingredients (serves 2): 2 sausages (pork or your choice) 4 rashers of bacon 2 eggs (fried, scrambled, or poached) 4 slices of bread (toasted) 1 cup baked beans (store-bought or homemade) 1 tomato, halved 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 2 hash browns (optional) Black pudding (optional) Butter (for frying) Salt and pepper, to taste HP Sauce or ketchup (for serving) Instructions: 1. Preheat oven (optional): Preheat your oven to 200°C (400°F). You can keep items warm here as you cook each component. 2. Cook the sausages: Heat a little butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the sausages, turning frequently, until browned and cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). Transfer to the oven to keep warm. 3. Fry the bacon: In the same skillet, cook the bacon until crispy to your liking. Transfer to the oven. 4. Sauté mushrooms and grill tomato: Add the sliced mushrooms to the skillet and cook until browned and softened. Season with salt and pepper. Place the halved tomatoes cut-side down in the skillet and cook until slightly softened and caramelized. Keep warm in the oven. 5. Prepare the eggs: Fry, scramble, or poach the eggs, depending on your preference. Season lightly with salt and pepper. 6. Heat the baked beans: Warm the baked beans in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. 7. Cook the hash browns and black pudding (if using): Cook the hash browns and black pudding in the skillet until crispy and heated through. 8. Toast the bread: Toast your bread slices and butter them generously. 9. Assemble and serve: Arrange everything on a large plate: sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomato, beans, hash browns, and black pudding. Serve with toast on the side and a dollop of HP Sauce or ketchup. Enjoy your classic Full English Breakfast with a cup of tea or coffee!

[@silvesta5027]

Ayo the editing goes crazy

[@sapphoculloden5215]

Just FYI - medieval people drank ale because they liked it, and because it was nutritious. They also drank water, and even wrote about the benefits of drinking water.

[@BestgirlJordanfish]

I love the honesty of the importance and contributions for foreigners and immigrants moving inland. Soooo much flavor and culture blasted inside from that

[@ravilagro7896]

Loved this long form video man. Naming Jamie Oliver among British 'culinary cred' was a big mistake though 🤣

[@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131]

Jamie has tought at least one generation of Brits to dare cook their own, simple meals...

[@ravilagro7896]

@@ninaelsbethgustavsen2131 Maybe.. I've never seen Jamie make anything and not make massive technical errors and add weird flavors. Like starting fried rice with rice in a cold wok and adding water to the rice 😂 As a non-brit to us he is like the archetype of blasphemous British cooking.

[@diarmuidkuhle8181]

​@@ravilagro7896 He started off cooking actually tasty dishes. Where he went off the rails is deciding to prepare food from different cuisines based on zero preparation or learning, only his own vague ideas of what those dishes should be like.

[@ravilagro7896]

@@diarmuidkuhle8181 Yeah I believe you. He couldn't have gotten famous over bad cooking. But when he tries to put his own spin on things it's always like ying and yang 😅 I think why a lot of people dislike him as well is his dishonest school lunch program that was just good for him financially but bad for every kid at school.

[@NaviRyan]

@@ravilagro7896love uncle Roger reacting to Jamie Oliver.

[@peterturnham5134]

English, but live in France, and have travelled the world, I'm 67, When young meat and 2 veg was reality, the Veg boiled to pap, fish and chips after the pub a fabulous meal. Suet pudding with dates or currants and custard a must. This was soon after rationing kids needed calories, we even got a half pint of milk free at 11am at school to make sure we had a minimum of nourishment. When you get to the 1970s the change started, Chinese and Indian restaurants sprung up in every town, they were cheap flavorful we could afford to go there. Now I live in France near Versailles partly for the Cuisine, I have fabulous French restaurants nearby at very reasonable cost, Le table 11, La griotte, you will get a set meal for under 50 Euros (before wine) However, British Cuisine is now right up there with the best in the world. The best restaurant I have been to in the whole world is in Oxfordshire. Le Quatre Saisons . was on a mission for my work, work paying. I remember paying £25 for an aperitif. I just now looked up their lunch menu.... £220 per head before wine. OK you think I'm cheating, the Head chef is Raymond Blanc a French Megastar. However, I've been to India and if you want the best Indian food in the world, go to London. If you want the best Chinese food in the world go to London, you can choose restaurants from at least 4 different regional cuisines. The local English chefs (many immigrants) are integrating fabulous spices and techniques into a stunning new British cuisine that apologizes to nobody. Hey, it's not even new go cook a Kedgeree, Scottish breakfast, it arrived two centuries ago, from where? One of my favorites.

[@Ryysight]

Modern British food is actually pretty good and due to the rich diversity of ethnicities in the UK has evolved through the fusion of cultures mixing in the right way, though the food was basic and bland during wartime and in fairness the rest of the 20th century, British food has evolved, most people don't realise that chicken tikka masala wasn't born in India, it was born in the UK and is the national dish, most people don't realise that the UK has almost as many Michelin star restaurants as the US despite being a tiny nation compared to them... The immigrant population of the UK is currently 14% and the influx of tastes from India, The Middle East, China, Eastern Europe, Africa and in particular Korea recently, which has become very popular in the last few years has massively impacted British tastes as a whole

[@denys-p]

- Why do people saying that British cuisine is bad? We have a bunch of Michelin star restaurants here! - And which cuisine they serve? - French…

[@bingobongo1615]

THANK YOU! The video is not wrong - there is a strong renaissance of British cuisine ongoing with great improvements(especially in Northern Britain it seems, London went mostly fusion) but that does not change the fact that traditional British food - while not awful - is anything but special and the taste not distinct from other Northern European cuisines...

[@327legoman]

I'm glad you made an attempt at this video! Though I do wish you'd re-visit it again after your long format video making skills are more up to par. I love you stuff but the editing in this video was super wonky and the volume level on the mic was going up and down like mad. Best of luck with making videos in the future! Would love to chat too if you ever wanted the thoughts of a jaded Brit who's lived in Japan (Supposed the holy land of good food according to every American influencer) for 3 years!

[@someguy2135]

He didn't mention marmite! I hated it at first but I developed a taste for it by dipping one time of my Fork into it and got the smallest amount possible to taste and then work my way up from there. Now I love it!

[@ThePariahDark]

I mean, when "british" often means to take a different nations dish and putting frozen peas into it (looking at the likes of Jamie Oliver here) it is easy to see why many believe the stereotype.

[@ZhukovsBoots]

How on earth did you not mention Ainsley Harriott in the Celeb chef section, he deserves it way more than Jamie Oliver!

[@terrynicoll5443]

I love Curry, Sunday Pot Roast, and Yorkshire Pudding with brown gravy. Getting hungry! 🇬🇧

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Been making toad in the hole, I'm getting really good at it.

[@Ricky911_]

I spent some of my youth in the UK, doing Year 5 through Year 8 there. I've been living here in Italy for the past 7 years and I still miss British food every once in a while. Personally, I have breakfasts more similar to British ones. I always have eggs, milk and/or some form of meat. Typical Italian breakfast, however, is just milk and biscuits, though they might sometimes shop for croissants. As it turns out, insulin spikes first thing in the morning are not good for your health so I know older family members that are now starting to eat eggs and/or meat for breakfast instead due to health reasons. This morning, at 9:00am, I felt super hungry so I decided to have some burgers with eggs and a housemate of mine asked if I was having lunch all while she was, in fact, eating biscuits and milk lmao. I don't think people realise just how bad sugars are first thing in the morning. Up to this day, I still crave fish and chips as well as beef Wellington very often but it's hard to find anything here. Not to mention that I love dairy and, while Italy does have mozzarella and parmesan, I also miss British dairy. In fact, I mostly use butter over olive oil, I still dine at 6:00pm (Italians dine at roughly 8-10:00pm) and I am actually drinking tea as I am watching this. While it may be true that the UK has a high obesity rate, that's largely because of processed foods, like KFC, McDonald's or just the fact that people like to stuff their mouths with food. However, because of the sheer number of snacks here in Italy, there is actually a higher rate of child obesity here than in the UK. From personal experience, I can tell you that British people are just not afraid of trying out different foods. Brits didn't ditch their food because it was bad, it's just that people from countries like China, India, Thailand, Italy etc. where moving in and people just liked these options. Here in Italy, if you dare to say you like curry over pizza, people will look at you weird. British people don't judge and just eat whatever they want. British people just absolutely don't care and that's what I miss about the UK. Lots of cooking in the UK isn't necessarily about making complex things but making something your taste buds will enjoy. A lot of British food can just be described as comfort food and I like that. I don't care what anyone says but sausages on a pie go hard as hell 😂

[@younghusband2202]

All I get shown is these huge potatoes with cheese and 4 cans of baked beans all over em. 🤢

[@nwrth]

Beans on toast is actually going to be one of my meals tomorrow. Dunno which one yet, but I've decided to figure out why it's so popular myself. Wish me luck.

[@MostlyPennyCat]

Some advice: 1) Stove top, medium heat, don't let it boil. Microwaves don't get them hot without a disproportionate amount of effort 2) Well browned toast, don't skimp on the butter 3) taste your beans while cooking, adjust seasoning as needed, enhance the flavour without making it salty. 4) Optionally add some butter to the beans 5) If they look a little thin, reduce the sauce a bit until they thicken up 6) Optionally season with worcestershire sauce 7) put beans on toast, few turns of black pepper and optionally serve with grated cheddar.

[@Pudddle]

​@@MostlyPennyCat I second all these tips, although cheese is mandatory for me

[@nwrth]

@MostlyPennyCat @Pudddle Thanks for your advice. I happen to have a piece of delightful Snowdonia cheddar in the fridge, which will definitely turn it into a worthy meal. 😄

[@nwrth]

@@MostlyPennyCat Alright. I think I can see the point now. I didn't have the genuine Heinz beans at hand, so some cheap Italian baked beans in chilli sauce had to suffice, but in the end, it made for a hearty and filling meal with nothing screaming "this is wrong" in it. As advised, I spread some butter on the toasts, added a squirt of Worcester sauce into the beans, and topped it all up with a pinch of fresh black pepper, and a fair amount of mature cheddar. Very nice.

[@MishapsychosYT]

⁠@@MostlyPennyCatI always have them with Worcestershire sauce 13:08

[@DDD3m]

I'm from Balkan and must say that I LOVEEE Britsh food. My whole family love GB food. Scotch egg at the 1st place. Cornish pasty, Beef Wellington❤, fish and chips, cottage pie, sunday roast.... are the best. And new British foods as chicken tikka masala, sandwiches...njamiii😊😊😊 British sweets are 🎉 P.S. What to say about black pudding? We have the same thing here "KRVAVICA" (KRV=blood) and we love to eat😅

[@rustyhowe3907]

My granny was 100% British, raised as a kid during the Depression while I was kid born and raised in Australia. My father was the brat always complaining and she'd pelt him with the wooden spoon for being so fussy. To me there was nothing wrong with her cooking, it was just a different style for a different climate well away from the Indian/Rest of Asia cuisines that had become the norm to us Aussies, I have a deep respect for all styles thanks to understanding not *everyone* had the spoilt for choice fancy ingredients as a part of their culture, by default.

[@anonymousbloke1]

>Black Pudding Not only is it not originally british (brought in by Romans), it also exists in literally every other European country, including Italy (sanguinaccio) and even Russia (кровянка)

[@royasturias1784]

Asian / Pacific Islander example: dinuguan, that is more soup than sausage

[@Zivilin]

Because it's pretty basic and humans have always tried make the most out of the food we had available.

[@Марта-й7е]

И в България.

[@AxelPoliti]

Wonderful edifying and instructive. Go ahead!

[@jgkitarel]

The World Wars left an impression, given how varied the food of the United Kingdom had grown to become by the Edwardian Era. The rationing required due to disrupted shipping cause British Foods to become a lot plainer and back to using everything available to fill one's plate. It took the UK awhile, but they're getting their culinary diversity back. Not that it ever went away, but it definitely got lessened for a time due to rationing and the habits that lent to people.

[@edbane1656]

I always say if you can't appreciate the taste of potatoes, no amount of seasoning can save your taste. Bragging about having to use more spices than actual ingredients to even beging yo taste your food is not the victory a lot of people think it is.

[@ChristopherDraws]

Thanks for the effort you put into this video. As others have indicated, the AI artwork was a poor choice and some examples could even mislead a viewer as to what some dishes are or how they are served. Class and social factors have been hugely relevant to British food culture (in particular related to the industrialisation of the country during the 18th and 19th century), as these both seem to be aspects that have influenced a lot of the opinion about British food: notably how, for many centuries, the aristocracy and monarchy identified much more strongly with continental Europe (and particularly France) so even within our borders, "British" food was dismissed as food of the poor, whereas French food was aspirational. This attitude pervaded society so much through to the mid-20th century that the general population discarded a lot of the food culture they inherited from their forebears (and it wasn't recorded, due to most recorded history being the preserve of the wealthy) and aspired to the cuisine of continental Europe and further afield.

[@Puppy_Puppington]

What

[@RepublicofGilead-br4uv]

For years, I assumed that British cuisine was bland. I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered historic English desserts such as soul cakes and figgy pudding, which are spicy, fruity, and delightful!

[@andyszlamp2212]

Former PM Harold Wilson added Brown (HP) sauce to everything. HP sauce is made from salt, sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and dates mostly. And British people still do that to this day, whether it be stew, pies, toad in the hole, bacon/egg/sausage sandwiches, or any breakfast really, even I still add it to baked beans on toast, some people add it to cheese on toast, some people even add it to spaghetti bolognese.

[@roderickgreig111]

As a Scot, it dissapoints me that EVERY bloody pub/bistro has the same bloody boring menu of garbage! There IS a whole possible selection of British cuisine, if chefs are allowed to be chefs, but no - every bar/bistro is EXACTLY the same badly cooked boring trash. There are great pies, but too often what you get is a bland stew with puff pasty plonked on top. Shout out to Old Blackfiers on Blackfriars Bridge, London, for GREAT proper Steak and Ale Pies, or Seafood Rrstaurante, St. Andrews, for amazing seafood dishes cooked to perfection.

[@OliverRPendle]

We live rent free in Americans' heads and all they can do is say the SAME 'jokes' over and over

[@enisra_bowman]

and then they eat something that has more common to a Plasticbag than something fit for Human Consumption and have a healthcare system that doesn't leave them debt ridden

[@hartmann3288]

colonising their minds 🇬🇧 🇬🇧

[@carltonlambert7608]

You saying living rent free in heads proves it.

[@Wazzen563]

We say the same jokes over & over because they continue to be valid. 💀

[@Wazzen563]

​@@carltonlambert7608proves what? Lol

[@chuckblaze5147]

3:00 in Eastern/Central Europe they also have that black pudding but it's generally loved by locals! It might be because it doesn't have a gross name and it uses less blood and more grains and cooked liver chunks. This makes it less of a black pudding and more of a grey liver and grits sausage.

[@Agra586]

Great video! Of all the 'worst foods' items I've heard of that jellied eel has got to be the worst

[@Megadehalen]

Shepherd's pie is pretty much what we call "Escondido de carne" here in Brasil. One of my favourite dishes!

[@deborahwilliams2044]

American here. Have never, ever understood why people complain so much about British and Irish food. I'm not going to tell you I've never been served something weird, but on the whole, it's as good or better than American food (and often more to my taste).

[@crimsonlion2333]

would love to see this guy dive more into welsh cuisine as its seen as a delicacy in the uk even me living in wales is surprised by how much more expensive welsh produce is compared to normal food also any authentic welsh restaurant in wales and I mean the ones that serve traditional welsh food have much higher price tags and still get loads of customers due to the food being of higher quality and taste as traditional welsh food is now quite uncommon to see in the uk and I genuinely enjoy seeing foreigners enjoy my countries cuisine [many of who i know are from America]

[@PizaBred]

You look like my dt teacher

[@hsjshdhsjshsh958]

Yeah I agree he does look like your dt teacher

[@RockCreag]

Yh a lot of similarities

[@harrietbarron347]

So your DT teacher is fit then

[@PizaBred]

You’d find him fit

[@Centervillejim]

I wish he were my teacher. 😈

[@arliss35]

I'm from the USA, but one of my buddies is from the UK. He knows how to make Yorkshire pudding, and that stuff is amazing. Top tier food, so despite the ridiculous name, adding sausage and gravy to it to make that toad in the hole dish also sounds really damn good. As far as the baked beans go, we have them here as well, though they're more associated with back yard cook out food, like hotdogs and hamburgers. Saying one food should only be for breakfast or dinner is silly, so I see nothing wrong with eating baked beans to the start of the day.

[@tamaratamtammorris8151]

Great video! Informative and entertaining. More content like this!

[@baseman2002]

My parents came to UK from Jamaica. I was born here. Everything here was bland we would season everything. Even beans. To this day I season everything shop bought. Everyone loves my cooking.

[@guyfaux3978]

I can recall an episode of Upstairs Downstairs in which Mrs. Bridges, the cook, was making Italian food, but drew the line at Italian cheeses. Not for her pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano!

[@FiatMultipla]

Here before 1 billion

[@TCh-f8f]

6:45 the welsh rarebit evolved into the Welsh in northern France. They had the ham, a egg with the dish in a small "plat à gratin"

[@NBK1122]

Mushy peas must taste better than they sound

[@tobiasschwabe1670]

3:00 here in northern Germany we have "Grützwurst" a grain, grinded meat leftovers and blood sausage. It tastes a lot like black pudding

[@Марта-й7е]

И в България имахме подобен колбас с кръв и като дете ми харесваше, за съжаление сега не се приготвя.

[@goonhoongtatt1883]

When you need to add canned food into your national cuisine, that's when I stopped watching.

[@yieeeeeeeeeeeeee]

also to add: - baked beans are of indigenous american origins and was eventually commercialize by canning it. -"tea-time" culture is actually asian origin though minus the time concept and more of how it is practiced (tea with snacks usually of sweet and savory combo often enjoyed during breaks or offer for the guests) - milk tea and tea with jam are also of Asian origin

[@midnightmosesuk]

Hello. I'm your friendly local pedant. Not moderninity but modernity. Not imigration but immigration. My work here is done. On to my next mission, pedant away!

[@PhillyCh3zSt3ak]

I'll say as an American who rips on British cooking: it's a meme. We laugh at the absurd things in the same way that people rip on American cuisine's... specialness (the absurd stuff).

[@jonathanreno8958]

As an American, when someone says British food, I think fish and chips, bangers and mash, sunday roasts, shepherd's/cottage pie, beef wellington, and those massive breakfasts. If those are bad, then I like bad food.

[@Reddotzebra]

I had no idea... I have been toying with the idea of trying some baked beans for over a month now and I've discounted the idea of just buying some Heinz since I assumed that it was the usual copycat canned goods. And then it turns out they were the ones who invented the stuff.

[@Amanda-zn7ox]

For some reason, my Londoner nana started putting ketchup on shepherd's pie. I'm thinking that once she moved to the US, she subscribed to the belief that "Americans put ketchup on everything." I have been told numerous times how much of an atrocity it is. She and my grandpa both served in WWII.

[@Hullj]

Thank you for pointing out that the UK was under rationing from the early teens until 1955, minus a couple of years between the wars. I adore British cuisine. All the comfort foods and pub grub. But yeah- during rationing you did with what you had

[@MrWillyMrBrightside]

People really do forget that unlike America, the majority of people in Britain had very limited options for food for different reasons. The First World War led to food shortages, after that unlike America there was no great economic uplift in the 1920s, compounded by the Great Depression, and then by the Second World War and rationing which went on for nearly twice as long as the war did. So that's four decades of limited food options for many people. Okay it's an excuse the French, Italians and Spanish could have as well but don't, but for a lot of people born in the 50s and 60s, all they'll have known growing up was crap, unseasoned food

[@whome9842]

I don't buy these excuses. British empire was the biggest empire in history with territories in the Americas, Asia and Africa so historically they had access to many ingredients and techniques meanwhile Japan also went through famine and rationing, destroyed in war but had much more limited access to other ingredients and their cuisine is considered one of the bests of the world. Japanese cuisine often focus on making the best of limited ingredients, one of their most famous dishes is raw fish with no spices or other ingredients besides some soy sauce.

[@MartynPS]

@@whome9842 Its not like Japan didn't have a substantial empire too. If that theory held then other empires would show as much impact by the countries they ruled over. I think most of the influence went the other way. Japan was rebuilt by the west, mostly for the west. Their international cuisine is probably more tailored to a western palette that it would otherwise have been.

[@whome9842]

@@MartynPS When did Japan had colonies in the Americas, Africa and Oceania? Potatoes, tomato, corn and many other things came from the Americas. UK couldn't have fish and chips without their colonies.

[@MrWillyMrBrightside]

@@whome9842 You're ignoring the biggest thing Nibbles didn't really go into, Britain's extremely rigid class system. The working class didn't have access to the imported goods of the empire. The peasant farmers who raised cows spoke Anglo-Saxon wheras the nobility who ate the meat of cows called it beef because they spoke French, this continued for centuries.

[@MartynPS]

@@whome9842 IIRC it was the Spanish who introduced the Potato to Europe, and the Portuguese who have the earliest example of fish and chips. I don't recall either being part of the British Empire. 'Modern' changes British food, like much of Europe, is influenced by its neighbours via the upper classes. Until globalization started kicking off most new foods and techniques were out of reach of most of the population.

[@lemdixon01]

We British tend to be self-effacing, so if you say something bad about is, we'd probably be quick to agree.