Food Vocabulary: British Grub

Broaden your food vocabulary by reading about some ‘exotic’ British grub recipes (grub = slang for ‘food’). Any words that are new for you will be explained in the vocabulary glossary at the end of the blog

Over the past 10 years the amount of British food and drinks exported to France has doubled. The French now buy more of our cheese, whisky and beer than ever before. It seems that British food is finally becoming internationally recognised.

In this short video clip some local Parisians sample a few of of our British specialities. Watch and see which you recognise:
 

 
The video featured:

Scotch eggs
Cheese and pickle sandwiches
Bakewell tarts
Pork pies

But what are they?

The Scotch Egg

This is a small snack which consists of a hard-boiled egg covered in sausage meat which is coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried.

Scotch eggs are often eaten during picnics and can be bought in high street supermarkets like Sainsbury’s.

Interesting fact: The Scotch egg was created as a quick snack made from leftovers for poor people which was easy to carry around.

Here’s the recipe

Cheese and pickle sandwiches

We British love our big sandwiches and they don’t come better than with a cheese and pickle filling. This sandwich has a couple of slices of cheese and pickled onions or gherkins, some also add sliced ham. The combination is a wonderful blend of flavours.

This sandwich is extremely popular and can be seen in packed lunch boxes everywhere. We have a keen interest in pickled vegetables. Pickled onions are very common . In fact, we pickle lots of vegetables by putting them into vinegar and spices and leaving them.

Interesting fact: Some studies show that people who eat this sandwich generally have a higher IQ than those who eat others.

And here’s the recipe by Jamie Oliver

Bakewell tarts

Pastries and cakes are common in the UK. We all have sweet teeth (and fillings). Probably the most typical though is the Bakewell Tart. It’s a small shortcrust pastry covered with jam sponge filling with almonds. The most classic version is recognised due to the glacé cherry on top and why it’s often called the Cherry Bakewell.

Interesting fact: It’s so popular that you can find it as a mini cupcake, a small tart, a bigger pie-sized tart or even seen as big as a loaf of bread.

Make one for yourself with this recipe

Pork pies

Traditional British meat pies are still eaten across England, made and sold in butchers and even supermarkets. The most traditional is the pork pie, consisting of chopped pork and pork jelly cooked in a crust pastry.

Pork pies are eaten as a snack, with a salad or even with mushy peas, called pie n’ peas.

Interesting fact: There is an annual pork pie competition  held in Yorkshire to find the best pork pie every year.

Here’s an easy recipe:
 

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Food Vocabulary

hard-boiled egg

an egg that has been cooked in hot water for a long time

sausage meat

minced meat that is often used to make sausages

coated in breadcrumbs

covered in small pieces of bread

deep-fried

cooked in lots of oil

picnics

a meal eaten outside, often with cold food on the grass

leftovers

food which has not been eaten which can be eaten for the next meal

pickled onions

onions left in vinegar and spices for a long time

gherkins

a small green vegetable which is a variety of cucumber

sliced ham

thin cut pieces of dry meat, normally from the leg

packed lunch boxes

prepared meals for midday put in small containers

sweet teeth

an adapted version of ‘sweet tooth’ which means someone who likes sweets and cakes

shortcrust pastry

a crumbly pastry used as the bottom of tarts

jam sponge filling

a light cake mixture which contains jam

glacé cherry

a cherry preserved in syrup

cupcake

a small cake often made for children

pork jelly

a soft substance made from boiling animal parts

mushy peas

green peas soaked overnight and boiled until like a thick
soup

Posted by Phil Wade on Oct 24 2012. Filed under Vocabulary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry