For the purposes of this little internet experiment in international cookery, singling out the British Isles for some sort of special focus seems an odd choice. After all, those little islands aren't particularly well-known for being culinary hotspots; in fact, they are actually known for being culinary wastelands — foodie laughingstocks, the butt of many a tasty joke. If I really want to highlight a country, why not pick a one with a long, storied food tradition, like France, that mecca for food lovers?
Well, there a few reasons. For one, I find French food — or, more accurately, people who like to talk about French food — almost unbearably pretentious. Not all of them, of course, but as a whole, people who bring up French cuisine in food-related discussions always seem desperately insufferable. I also don't much care for French food; in my experience, it's not terribly vegetarian-friendly, but even when it is, I find it all very dull. I love watching Julia Child, but I don't know if I've ever seen the finished product of one of her shows and thought, "Yes, eating that seems like a very good idea."
Of course, the same thing could be said about the Two Fat Ladies, originators of both one of my all-time favorite cooking shows and some of the most terrifying foods every committed to film. Seriously — peas with lettuce? Lobster and mayonnaise? Jugged kippers? You should not be allowed near a kitchen if your recipe for a delightful breakfast dish is, "get smoked herring, put herring in a jug, pour boiling water over said herring, let sit, drain, serve."
NO. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.
Not all British food is terrible. It's true that, during my semester abroad in London, I subsisted primarily on corn flakes, clementines, digestives, and Cadbury caramels, but that's just as much a product of preferring to spend my limited money on sightseeing as it was quality of food. Yes, things like black pudding are horrifying, but pasties (which I've discussed before) and shepherd's pie and fish and chips are perfectly tasty things. I had a delicious cock-a-leekie soup on the Orkney Islands, and the haggis I had in Edinburgh was...all right; it wasn't bad, but I was surprisingly unimpressed and don't really feel the need to visit that stop on the Sheep Innards Express again any time soon.
One of the things that the British Isles excels at, in my opinion, is anything to do with fruit, specifically jams and desserts. The climate is perfect for an abundance of brambleberries (blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, etc.); the best blackberries I have ever eaten were those gathered along the side of the road during a hike in the Scottish highlands, wherein I stumbled into two different thunderstorms and got lost (all was well in the end, though — I found my bus stop and got to ride back to town with a belly full of berries). I just may get over my fear of baking fruit-based desserts for the purposes of this challenge.
Maybe it was my love of all things British that inspired me to set these countries apart. Perhaps this is my way of correcting my past food mistakes from back when I was in the UK. Or maybe I'm just a masochist who enjoys a challenge. But that's kind of the entire point of this little exercise in food geography: to explore new dishes, to abandon my culinary comfort zone and preconceived notions and try something new. Maybe I'll discover a wealth of treasures hidden amongst the organ meats and gravied vegetables that populate British food.
Or maybe I'll just get weirded out by all the herring recipes and bake five different types of scones.
Well, there a few reasons. For one, I find French food — or, more accurately, people who like to talk about French food — almost unbearably pretentious. Not all of them, of course, but as a whole, people who bring up French cuisine in food-related discussions always seem desperately insufferable. I also don't much care for French food; in my experience, it's not terribly vegetarian-friendly, but even when it is, I find it all very dull. I love watching Julia Child, but I don't know if I've ever seen the finished product of one of her shows and thought, "Yes, eating that seems like a very good idea."
Of course, the same thing could be said about the Two Fat Ladies, originators of both one of my all-time favorite cooking shows and some of the most terrifying foods every committed to film. Seriously — peas with lettuce? Lobster and mayonnaise? Jugged kippers? You should not be allowed near a kitchen if your recipe for a delightful breakfast dish is, "get smoked herring, put herring in a jug, pour boiling water over said herring, let sit, drain, serve."
NO. THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.
Not all British food is terrible. It's true that, during my semester abroad in London, I subsisted primarily on corn flakes, clementines, digestives, and Cadbury caramels, but that's just as much a product of preferring to spend my limited money on sightseeing as it was quality of food. Yes, things like black pudding are horrifying, but pasties (which I've discussed before) and shepherd's pie and fish and chips are perfectly tasty things. I had a delicious cock-a-leekie soup on the Orkney Islands, and the haggis I had in Edinburgh was...all right; it wasn't bad, but I was surprisingly unimpressed and don't really feel the need to visit that stop on the Sheep Innards Express again any time soon.
One of the things that the British Isles excels at, in my opinion, is anything to do with fruit, specifically jams and desserts. The climate is perfect for an abundance of brambleberries (blackberries, raspberries, loganberries, etc.); the best blackberries I have ever eaten were those gathered along the side of the road during a hike in the Scottish highlands, wherein I stumbled into two different thunderstorms and got lost (all was well in the end, though — I found my bus stop and got to ride back to town with a belly full of berries). I just may get over my fear of baking fruit-based desserts for the purposes of this challenge.
Maybe it was my love of all things British that inspired me to set these countries apart. Perhaps this is my way of correcting my past food mistakes from back when I was in the UK. Or maybe I'm just a masochist who enjoys a challenge. But that's kind of the entire point of this little exercise in food geography: to explore new dishes, to abandon my culinary comfort zone and preconceived notions and try something new. Maybe I'll discover a wealth of treasures hidden amongst the organ meats and gravied vegetables that populate British food.
Or maybe I'll just get weirded out by all the herring recipes and bake five different types of scones.
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