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History Of Food In England
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HappyIdiotTalk
Posts: 1,443 Forumite
I watched an episode of Heston Blumenthal's - Perfection recently when he did Trifle. During this episode he mentioned that the French (back in the 18th century) had a term they used for us, something like 'the rose beast' or something. And this was because we showed them how to roast meat I think. I found that quite intriguing and I'm quite interested in how this came about and what else we were good at. I've not been able to find anything on the internet so was wondering if anyone here knew of any suitable books on the subject? Any ideas?
SIMPLE SIMON - Met a pie man going to the fair. Said Simple Simon to the pie man, "What have you got there?" Said the pie man unto Simon, "Pies, you simpleton!"
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HappyIdiotTalk wrote: »I watched an episode of Heston Blumenthal's - Perfection recently when he did Trifle. During this episode he mentioned that the French (back in the 18th century) had a term they used for us, something like 'the rose beast' or something. And this was because we showed them how to roast meat I think. I found that quite intriguing and I'm quite interested in how this came about and what else we were good at. I've not been able to find anything on the internet so was wondering if anyone here knew of any suitable books on the subject? Any ideas?
Not sure if this is correct, but I think you might mean that the French call us Rosbifs (roast beefs )0 -
There's a BBC article on the term rosbif as an insult here -
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2913151.stmApril Grocery Challenge: £250/£127.530 -
Ahh Rosbif! Sorry I wasn't listening closely enough. I'm surprised reading that article though, Blumenthal defintely made it sound like we had a good thing going with our roasts and that we passed it onto the French. He didnt make it sound as though there was anything negative in it thats for sure. I'm a bit confused now.SIMPLE SIMON - Met a pie man going to the fair. Said Simple Simon to the pie man, "What have you got there?" Said the pie man unto Simon, "Pies, you simpleton!"0
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HappyIdiotTalk wrote: »He didnt make it sound as though there was anything negative in it thats for sure. I'm a bit confused now.
It's a bit like frogs/frogs legs. It's one of those not really very nasty names you call people like when you call a newbie a n00b. Sorry but that's the best example I can think of.0 -
It's a bit like frogs/frogs legs. It's one of those not really very nasty names you call people like when you call a newbie a n00b. Sorry but that's the best example I can think of.
To add to the collection of albeit not too derogatory terms for foreigners, based on food, we also have "kraut" (short for sauerkraut) for the Germans.The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in my life.
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My favourite books on traditional English cookery are Dorothy Hartley's Food In England and Kettle Broth to Gooseberry Fool by Jenny Baker. The former is about everyday food that the ordinary people would have eaten and is absolutely stuffed with information (published in 1954). The second is much more recent and a practical recipe book for all those traditional dishes. It is full of spices and herbs, alcohol and fresh seasonal fruit and veg, lots of fish and game- not at all the bland, heavy over-cooked fare that foreigners often associate with our cooking. I recommend it highly- there's a good review of it on Amazon too.
If you look at the list of books 'also bought by customers' on the Amazon page for Food In England (most of which I also have) you will find lots about the history of our cooking.0 -
Ni, I don't think it's begative either, it's just a bit of ignorance (in a nice way) on the part of foreigners. We British call the French ''frogs'', because we think they eat frogs legs all the time and they call us ''les rosbeefs" because they think we eat rost beef all the time. They still think we eat full cooked English breakfast every morning and we think they eat croissants all the time - not true! Over here it is foreigners that eat the croissants for breakfast. The French eat ''tartines'' i.e. slices of bread with usually jam on, that they eat with their morning milky coffee.0
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There's a book by Sara Paston-William called 'The Art of Dining' that you might find interesting. I'm not sure if it's in print anymore but you'll definitely find it secondhand, and it's a National Trust book so it's full of beautiful pictures. I used to work in a job where I got to recreate historical food and this is one book I used to use a lot, it's good for a basic overview. If you're interested in Tudor food (an interesting period in food history, IMO) then I'd really recommend anything by Peter Brears. There's also a good book by Colin Spencer, called 'British Food', that's interesting too. 0
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My MIL bought me "Taste. The Story of Britain through its Cooking" by Kate Colquhoun for Christmas. It's a facinating read (try the library) and if you want a recipe book then The Art of British Cooking by Theodora Fitzgibbon is great
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b/203-6146855-8299103?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+art+of+british+cooking+theodora+fitzgibbon&x=11&y=22
published 1965 but with adaptations of and original recipes from the previous 400 years or so. Easy to follow instructions and a nice style, plus little extras like a list of English cheeses and descriptions of them, lists of popular spices and their uses etc.0 -
thriftlady wrote: »My favourite books on traditional English cookery are Dorothy Hartley's Food In England and Kettle Broth to Gooseberry Fool by Jenny Baker. The former is about everyday food that the ordinary people would have eaten and is absolutely stuffed with information (published in 1954). The second is much more recent and a practical recipe book for all those traditional dishes. It is full of spices and herbs, alcohol and fresh seasonal fruit and veg, lots of fish and game- not at all the bland, heavy over-cooked fare that foreigners often associate with our cooking. I recommend it highly- there's a good review of it on Amazon too.
If you look at the list of books 'also bought by customers' on the Amazon page for Food In England (most of which I also have) you will find lots about the history of our cooking.
I went and had a look - right up my street as they say, lol. Had to have a giggle though at the quote from Delia on the Food In England page considering her recent offerings.
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