The following highlights some of the popular Traditional English Foods. If you manage to be in an English restaurant or you are visiting England, I recommend the following:
1. Yorkshire Pudding
Yorkshire pudding is often part of the traditional roast dinner and is nothing like an American pudding. In fact, Yorkshire pudding is very much like a giant popover. It looks puffy and appetising as if it were sweet. But don’t let its friendly appearance fool you. It is not a pudding at all. Like 95% of all British cuisine, it is made entirely of eggs, flour, milk and fat.
2. Toad In The Hole
This hearty dish is another easy recipe to prepare at home; it includes sausages dipped in Yorkshire pudding batter and is often served with gravy and vegetables. Its name can be translated as ‘toad in the hole’ because the shape of the dish bears some resemblance to the animal peeping out of a hole as it tries to hunt its prey, but it was not always called this.
3. Scotch Egg
This dish consists of a boiled, shelled egg that is lined with sausage meat, either on its own or in a batter, and then deep-fried in plenty of oil. They are usually served as a picnic dish, always cold, or as part of a brunch with the famous French toast, pancakes and eggs Benedict. They are always accompanied by a salad and a sauce based on pickles or cooked vegetables. In any case, they can also be eaten hot, accompanied by a sauce.
4. Fish And Chips
Perhaps one of the most famous foods associated with the British Isles, Fish ‘n’ Chips can be found all over England, and are especially popular in seaside towns. Thick chunks of chips, most often soaked in vinegar and sprinkled with salt, are served with a large piece of battered fish, sometimes accompanied by mushy peas, tartar sauce or a generous slice of lemon. Cod and haddock are the most common types of fish, but you’ll also find other varieties, such as plaice, rock salmon and haddock.
5. Steak And Kidney Pie
This pie is one of the favourite dishes of the British and is included among the typical meals in England. It consists of beef, kidney, fried onion and gravy. All these ingredients are wrapped in a dough and baked in the oven to give an appetising result that you must try when you visit England.
6. Eccles Cake
Not technically a cake, Eccles cakes are a traditional cake from the town of Eccles, part of Greater Manchester. Round and flat in shape, they are prepared by filling a disc of butter pastry with nuts and spices and then flaky golden brown. These cakes are a delight for afternoon tea, are very easy to make and go very well with cheese even if they are usually eaten on their own.
7. Bread And Butter Pudding
Bread and butter pudding is a popular traditional dessert in UK cuisine dating back to 1728. It is made with slices of buttered bread and some sultanas in a baking dish, a mixture of egg and milk, nutmeg, vanilla or other spices. Some people serve it with custard or cream, although the pudding is often juicy enough inside to eat without sauce.
8. Cullen Skink
Cullen skink is a typical food soup made from smoked haddock fish, potatoes and onions. The soup is often served as an hors d’oeuvre at lunches. The name is believed to originate from the Dutch word skink, meaning ‘shin, knuckle’ or ‘beef game’.
9. Black Pudding
Black pudding is a type of regional sausage very similar to black pudding, originating in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is made from pig’s blood or fat, or beef suet, plus a cereal: oats, oatmeal or barley. The high proportion of cereal, together with the use of certain herbs such as pennyroyal, serves to distinguish it from other black puddings or sausages eaten in other parts of the world.
10. Laverbread
Laverbread is like Welsh caviar, made from an edible seaweed from the sea, which is eaten as part of the local traditional cuisine. It is soft in texture and forms thin sheets, which cling to the rocks. The main variety is red seaweed which tends to be brown, although when prepared it is reduced to a dark green pulp.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional European Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.