When the first inhabitants of northern Spain provinientes reached the English coast 10,000 years ago they realized (too late) that the environment was more conducive to settle. As there was no plan to go home to stew for accoutrements, had to make do with what they found there, which was not much. Based on eating only roots and tubers, got a Overdeveloped salivary glands, from then began the English tradition of cooking anything that can not escape the cauldron.Any self-respecting Englishman has ever taken a plate of Naked Beans.AijiruAñadida by Aijiru
Apart from the ability to digest even stones, excess saliva produced by these glands has a curious side effect, pushing the British who are in a difficult situation to say humorous comments. This attitude is called British phlegm and is key to understanding the philosophy behind the cuisine. A famous eighteenth century English chef, whose name has not come to us, succinctly: "There is nothing that you can not swallow, if we take it easy and a lot lot lot lot lot of salt seawater and gentlemen In the Middle Ages, King Henry VIII issued a series of British food laws, among which stood out as doing a good breakfast and everything should have more calories than a ton of blubber.
Food and beverages we wanted to highlight in this blog are:
Monday, November 22, 2010
Drinks
TeaWeeds stuck in boiling water with sugar and some milk, one of the quintessential English specialties. The English often called oldchai "(Old Tea). Who can resist such a delight?
Ale
English Helping ugly to have sex since 1337.FiloctetasAñadida by Philoctetes
Stout-flavored toast. Idle invented by O'Neal, Irish drunk after losing all appreciation for life to be played God in his underground laboratory. Its main feature is the lack of gas, which produces very little foam cane, know that the British feel cheated if the waiter dares to serve a beer that has a layer of foam over an inch thick. It is rumored that a bad beer served in a pub on the coast was the main reason of the Hundred Years War.
No beer Ale
When you finish the barrels of ale, a good English will better any other type of beer while it is warm. In case of no warm ale or beer, a good English always accept any other type of beer regardless of their state.
Cider
Isotonic drink made of apples mainly. May contain traces of alcohol, except after the nineteenth cup at this point is more likely that the alcohol containing traces of apple.
Thames Water
It is said that when you drink this water has already passed through the digestive systems of four and two swans before yours. A London children are baptized in these waters, this is why they have tentacles and devour kittens, but that's another story. It is the most consumed beverage by the british who from time to time to take a shower in it.English citizen enjoying lunch.LAR99Añadida by LAR99
Tea
What can be said of tea has not been said already? Absolutely nothing.
Café
The English often drink specialty coffee. The feature that makes it special is that it has little coffee and lots of water from the River Thames. With a couple of drops of milk coffee becomes almost white. As you know so bad, the English prefer tea. For foreigners who do not drink tea that strange they have no other choice but to take the English coffee diarrhea.
Sunny Delight
Orange juice is the official England. Is believed to contain two drops of orange juice every ten bottles. It is manufactured by the multinational "Procter & Gamble" responsible for other best sellers such as Ariel detergent, Mr. Proper, Old Spice, Pringles, Pantene shampoo, toothpaste, etc.
Little Roasted Spaniards
After the death of Mary I of England, the nation was plunged into utter chaos. The religious wars broke out everywhere and to settle the matter Anglophiles Protestants decided to put to the stake Hispanophile Catholics. To celebrate this occurrence so bold, a cook in a suburb of the East End went on sale roasted rats with Roasted Little affectionate nickname of Spaniards or put another way, españolitos Roasts. The success was such that King Philip II sent a letter to the British Embassy in Madrid (actually a pub) urging him to take steps to solving this embarrassing situation, one week after the English queen ordered to replace the rats snakes in a gesture of goodwill. In the eighteenth century, the recipe was forgotten and today is only an anecdote that tour guides discussed with curious amusement to the visitors from abroad, although it is rumored that in dark restaurants in the suburbs (where unsuspecting tourists are lightened their portfolio) that is more than just a legend ...
Steak and Kidney Pie
Shepherd's Pie
Typical dishes
... although some people understandably always dieting.FiloctetasAñadida by Philoctetes
This variant of pudding should be a kind of cupcake-shaped pasta made with eggs, flour and milk, all put in the oven, but recent studies have shown that often it is a piece of wheel tractor-ray treated grapes. Often used as accompaniment to roast beef, which makes it doubly bad. As a curiosity, we can say that if left outdoors for a week acquires the hardness of cement, so that in the English countryside was formerly used to build walls against the siege by the Normans.
The Dinner
Before the dinner, in many places (home and restaurants) is often an aperitif, with a glass of wine, beer or other soft drink). This is usually done on the eve of place goes to dinner (home or restaurant).
At this meal, apart from the appetizer, it is common to take two courses, or a great entree accompanied by side dishes (salad, vegetables, potatoes, etc.)..
Apart from the typical dishes of English cooking, it is noteworthy that the British are several centuries internationalising their dishes. So it is often the case, from time to time, the introduction not only of European specialties (French, Italian ...) but the rest of the world (China, India, American ...), which provides a variety and really exotic attractive to the food culture in the UK.
As in Spain, each region or area in the UK has its own specialties and traditions, although some dishes very popular throughout the country.
The Lunch
Being a light meal, designed to enable further work later, is one of the most important cultural clashes between Spanish and English. However it is easier than it looks in both directions.
Useful information regarding the lunches English:
* The lunch salads. The dishes are very comprehensive and generous in quantity to provide a wide range of components (chicken, ham, cheese, pasta, etc.) and varied, with sauces that make one is really good (sometimes even satisfied). Many people choose to make a single dish salad for lunch.
* Sandwiches. I must say that they are really delicious. The bread and other ingredients that actually makes it a pleasure to take them. The variety is enormous: chicken, pork, veal, baicon, tuna ... are some of the most popular varieties of sandwiches. The variety in the types of bread is also great: sandwiches, panini, etc. Served with salads and other accessories (eg chips).
* The baked potatos. This is a huge baked potatoes. They add butter and served with salad or other ingredients (cabbage salad, German, tuna salad, etc.)..
* Apart from these three popular options are pasta dishes, meats, etc. But opting for what it chooses to remember that this is a light meal, often without dessert, especially if you have taken a main course of some entity.
Breakfasts in England
The components of a good English breakfast:
* Scrambled eggs with bacon. We must emphasize the good bacon is ham bacon, ie it has less fat, and is usually roasted, toasted and being more crisp, more flavorful and less fat, as this will melt in the heat of the oven.
* Juices (orange, grapefruit, etc.). Perhaps the most original contribution to English breakfasts are the forest fruit juices "the berries", which are abundant in the United Kingdom.
* Grains. To mix with milk and some other typical working as pourridge a preparation of milk (or water) and oatmeal.
* Toasts. Wonderful bread with many variants (bread, cereal, onion, raisins, fruit, etc). All of them are generally excellent. This coupled with the excellent butter and jam extraordinary (especially berries ... and the traditional bitter-orange marmalade-) makes toast with butter and jam will become something really special about the English breakfast.
* Cakes and the like. As things would cite the mouffins characteristics (large muffins with different fruits), some butter cookies, oatmeal, etc (really delicious the Prince Charles' Duchy Originals).
* Coffee, tea, milk ... We must draw attention to the wide variety of coffees and teas imported from all over the world can be found in any supermarket in English, with very different qualities and varieties. It is very useful in the labels of the cafes, apart from the country of origin, the rating from 1 to 5, indicating a gradation that goes from smooth to sharp.
THE TYPICAL AFTERNOON TEA IN LONDON
Between three and five in the afternoon, equivalent to our snack time (although located a couple or three hours before) there is tea time. In the past it was restricted to the upper classes, now is the national drink. This is the moment of the day to discuss the problems of everyday life and sweetened with good biscuits, scones with butter, or sandwiches of various kinds.
The English are still dragging part of the tea tradition began in the seventeenth century.
We still see well-dressed matrons taking their tea and stiff following a protocol worthy of the court. Also, those belonging to the working classes, still have the tic of offering a cup of tea when things go wrong.
The importation of tea to Britain began in 1660, when the wife of King Charles II, took to the beverage taste and spread to the rest of the court. From then on trade with Asia began to import the old port of London the different types of tea stored in the "warehouse" located on the banks of the river, now converted into lofts-class reach all points this country.
Types of tea:There are morning and afternoon: Breakfast and Afternoon teas teas.
The highlights include breakfast teas, of course Inglés Breakfast tea and Assam.El Inglés Breakfast is a black tea, usually mixed with milk and sugar, has a great body and robust flavor.The Assam tea, named the same name to its production site in India, is a black tea grown at sea level, which gives a strong flavor and a bright color.
The Afternoon teas are Earl Grey, Darjeeling and Ceylon.The Earl Grey tea is known for its citrus and bergamot flavor.Darjeeling tea is the tea belonging to the region with the same name in India. Maybe tea is more reputation among the other black teas, is light in body and floral aroma.Ceylon is another type of black tea from Sri Lanka (country known as Ceylon before). Tea is a major citrus aromas
If you want to enjoy a good tea, stroll through the thousands Coffee shops that fill this city.
For those who want to investigate in more detail the types of teas and coffees and history, come the Brahmah Tea and Coffee Museum and taste the most exquisite and exotic types of tea accompanied by trays of up to three floors full of pastries and sandwiches.
WHAT TO DO IN A PUB IN LONDON - THE SECRETS OF PUBS
Forget land in a pub around eleven, unless you want to hear the final bell indicating the last drink. If you want to enjoy a pub as the locals, go to the six o'clock in the afternoon and sip one of the local tradition cervzas of import.
If you're traditional, you may find some Spanish as San Miguel. If you want to experience the multicultural brewing option that this great city has to offer, let yourself be seduced by the waiters and head towards the Belgian Stella Artois, the Danish Carlsberg, Fosters Australian or Queen of the ales, the Irish Guinness.
If you want to soak up local tradition, try the ales (London Pride) and bitter (John Smiths), which differ from the blonde (lager) on fermentation, temperature and mode of service.
One of the new entertainment that offers the capital's pubs routes, also called pub crawl.
The best known are those of Dick Wittington, covering different districts in the city in which the end of them, if you were able to drink you 6 pints, they give you a shirt.
If you want to know the historical pubs, decantate by the oldest areas of the city, including the City and Theatreland.
Despite being great entertainment, there are many pubs outside those routes that are worth a visit either by their age, The Spaniards Inn (XVI century), for his story, The Ten Bells (where the prostitutes murdered by Jack the Ripper took their pints), for its interior decoration, Blackfriars (Nouveau) or by their views of the Thames (The Doggett).
To taste the real English food, the pub is the place where you can not miss. The food that all foreigners known to excellence is the popular fish and chips, but the variety does not end there. Tends to be in all pubs lamb, pork and veal, always accompanied by steamed vegetables and some English mustard imprescindoble. Just do not forget that the kitchen closes at 9.
Now it's your hands stroll around London with their eyes open to discover the pub waiting on every corner. If your case is that dwell in the city, try to visit them all, is a utopia ...
RESTAURANTS, BARS AND PUBS OF LONDON
Like everything else, eating is very expensive in London, especially if it comes to fine dining. However, there are many options at lower prices and some really cheap places.
To begin the day, if you stay at a hotel, we recommend you take advantage of good breakfast. This will vary depending on the hotel category, but if you choose a buffet breakfast can make enough energy to take part of the day. Usually the typical English breakfast with fried eggs with bacon or sausage, scrambled eggs, beans (which are a spicy vegetables), pastries, toast, cereals, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, sausages ...The Cola Cao does not exist and the Hot Chocolate making is not very good.
If your hotel has no breakfast you can try a Inglés breakfast in a pub.
As for lunch and dinner there are millions of possibilities.
Every few steps there is a fast food establishment type Pizza Hut, Kentucky Chicken, Mc Donalds, Burger King ... Are known and affordable options for everyone. There are also many unknown chains in Spain, especially pizza buffet, which are easy to find and have excellent quantity / price.
Very common are also the exotic local cuisine. There are many such buffets at very competitive prices, to improve even if you order takeout. They are usually of Chinese, Thai, Bengali, indonesia ... and requires stomachs prepared for this type of flavors. In this sense the Chinatown in Soho is a mecca for London's Asian cuisine, with restaurants of all tastes and categories.
There are also national chains of grilled meat and fish and chips "and specialized in sandwiches and salads, like" EAT ", which are good to eat something happened but you can leave hungry.
Those who miss food from home will find some Spanish food establishments. Highlights such as the cafeteria "Tapas" in Harrods or "Casa Garcia", in the Portobello Road in Notting Hill, who is also a supermarket for food and Spanish products.
The list of possibilities for eating with thousands of Italian restaurants, American (Planet Hollywood), Turks, Greeks, and higher level institutions with international cuisine and price, of course, high.The most pubs offer food. The best and worst is yet almost all have reasonable prices.
For tea is missing from the cafeteria typical London we have in Spain. By contrast, millions of "Starbuck Coffee" and the like as "Nero" or "Costa". Although no products have bad misses the cozy atmosphere of Parisian cafes.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Apple Pie
Ingredients:2 cups. sifted flour.2 sticks butter.1 stick margarine.100 gr. sugar.1 cup cold water.1 egg.1 kg of apples.Preparation:In a large bowl mix thoroughly plastic holders with two butter with the flour until it becomes a regular dust.Make a well in the mix and start slowly to cold water, stir slowly with a wooden shovel to prevent sticking Layer with flour, as this well-stirred, proceed to strokes with enough flour to prevent sticking both to the table and the rolling pin. Once you've expanded the place the tortilla dough in greased and floured pan fret can be glass or aluminum, about 3 or 4 inches tall.Fill out the contrast with layers of apple (and ears peeled, and seeded), coffeemakers and entredeje few tablespoons margarine and sugar, to finish second place tortilla dough and pinch along the shore. Meanwhile can beat the egg with a fork and spread it over the pie, and make minor puncture with a fork over the entire surface.Cook in the oven preheated to 180 degrees and put the pie down to 150 ° half-hour wait until you feel golden egg layer on the pie, insert a knife and if it does not stick the dough is ready. Cool slightly and break them into slices. (Preferably do not store in refrigerator, cover with cloth or aluminum on the table at room temperature.
Meat Pie
Ideal for a strong food rich in proteins, meatloaf can easily get us out of trouble at such meetings in the last minute. When your family or your friends feel your scent and then see it take over the center of the table, not wait to invite them to serve! Need the following to make this wonderful home:
ingredients1 / 2 kilo of ground beef (the steak, not the "special")1 / 2 package of margarine4 loaves2 onions chopped girls often1 cup milk2 eggsChopped parsleySalt and pepper to tastepreparationWe begin by soaking the piece of the bread crumbs in hot milk. Meanwhile, put in a pan one tablespoon butter and then fry the onion.Knead the meat with crumbs, fried onions, egg, parsley, salt and pepper.To take it to the oven we grease a rectangular pan. Preparation put into it and sprinkle with pieces of margarine.We heated oven (350 degrees) for 30 minutes. To serve, accompany with plenty of roasted potatoes, steamed vegetables or rice.
Roast Beef
Ingredients (4 people)1 kilo beef tenderloin.½ teaspoon mustard quality.½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.1 tablespoon olive oil.1 clove of garlic.
A pinch of rosemary.Pinch paprika.Pinch nutmeg.SalBlack pepper.Side dishes (grilled vegetables or steamed and then fried).How is made:Clean piece of possible pieces of fat.This preparation is of a piece of loin of veal or beef, cooked and consumed whole pretty pink inside, almost raw appearance.For its production mix mustard, salt, Worcestershire sauce, oil, pepper, rosemary, paprika, nutmeg and clove of garlic.Season the meat and placed in the refrigerator overnight.The next day put them on a rack oven rack and put it on a baking sheet.Bake 60 minutes at 150 º C.Before slicing, let stand for 10 minutes in the oven off.The meat is eaten cold, warm or hot, accompanied by its own juices in a small roasting pan and lightened with a little beef broth and thickened enough with a little cornmeal.Can be served without any sauce and accompanied by some vegetables cooked and then fried in a pan with a little olive oil.Should be cut with electric knife as being very pink meat inside right through the center fibers are harder and some work hard to break them with a carving knife.Sauce: no
Fish & Chips
Quantity4 servings.
PROCEDURE- Wash the potatoes well and dry skin.- On a tip plate coarse salt covering the entire base, then arrange the potatoes whole with skin and cook in preheated oven at 100 ° C for about 30 to 40 minutes or until tender but firm. After cooking, remove and let cool, then cut the skin half and each half into three wedges.- Cut the fish back into coaching and remove the skin, then cut into sticks slugs.- In a bowl place the flour, cornstarch, salt and half of beer, mix well with a whisk, then season with freshly ground black pepper and add the remaining beer, continue mixing until a homogeneous mass.
Armed
- Place the fish sticks into the dough and let stand a few minutes.- In a saucepan with plenty of warm neutral oil, fry the potato slices until golden brown, then remove and drain on absorbent paper. Season with black pepper.- In another pan with hot neutral oil fry until golden fish sticks, then remove and drain on absorbent paper.
Presentation- Serve in a dish potato wedges and fish sticks.
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