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. Here is some typical British grub explained.

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:   [poll id=’52’]

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

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