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brIDGe | September | 2010

Yorkshire Pudding with Tikka Massala

English food has been described as bland¹ and boring. But honestly, what do you know about it? Leave your prejudices² aside and let me introduce you to some typical English recipes.

Fish and chips

A lot of what we think of as traditional English food wasn’t actually eaten until the 19^th century. The well‑known English take‑away fish and chips have only become popular in the last hundred years or so. After all, chips are quite a recent invention, attributed to³ the Belgians. Fish and chips used to be given to miners and factory workers, as it was a filling⁴ meal that could easily be carried and eaten at work. The invention of railways brought the cod⁵ , the fish usually used in this dish, to the people who didn’t live near the sea.

Puddings: sweet or salty?

yorkshire pudding is a traditional side dish, which was primarily eaten in the county of yorkshire. It is made by pouring batter⁶ (made of lard⁷ , milk and flour) into a baking tin⁸ and then baking it at a high temperature until golden brown. Traditionally, it’s eaten with gravy⁹ and served with roast beef. Because yorkshire pudding was a part of a meat dish, it appeared mostly on the tables of the rich.

A pudding in English can also mean dessert, a heavy, soft dish made from a kind of batter. There is a huge variety of puddings, most of which are steamed¹⁰ – placed in a bowl over a saucepan¹¹ of boiling water for a long time until they are cooked. There are steamed jam puddings, chocolate puddings (this isn’t a traditional one!), lemon puddings, Christmas pudding and the traditional fruit puddings, like spotted dick*. The name is

probably responsible for the decline¹² in popularity of this one!

Scones are another old dish. Originally from Scotland, they are a type of bread made with milk and butter. They can be plain¹³ , or filled with cheese or sultanas¹⁴ .

Current English tastes

A recent survey¹⁵ suggested that the most popular dish in Britain is chicken tikka

massala*, which comes from India. Italian and Chinese food is very popular, too. A lot of English people don’t actually eat much English food any more! In Scotland, a new dish has been invented – deep fried¹⁶ Mars bars¹⁷ , so the British taste for heavy food is still alive and well. Alex Jordan (uK)

Listen to a chat about a dinner party on the Bridge CD!

VOCABULARy

1 bland [bl&nd] – bez chuti

• 2 prejudice [“predZUdIs] – předsudek

3 to attribute to [@“trIbju;t] – přičítat, přisuzovat

4 filling – sytý

• 5 cod – treska

6 by pouring batter [“pO;rIN

“b&t@] – nalíváním těsta

7 lard – sádlo

8 baking tin – forma na pečení

9 gravy [“greIvi] – štáva z masa

10 steamed – vařený v páře

• 11 saucepan [“sO;sp@n] – rendlík

12 decline – úpadek

13 plain – bez náplně

14 sultanas [sVl”tA;n@z] – sultánky (druh rozinek)

15 survey – průzkum 16 to deep fry – fritovat

17 bar – čokoládová tyčinka

*

gLOSSARy

spotted dick – a pudding made of currants, which give it a distinct look; dick is short for Richard, and also a very offensive word chicken tikka massala – an Indian dish consisting of chicken pieces in a creamy tomato sauce

fooD 21

brIDGe | September | 201 0

Unexpected Tastes of the World

Look in most textbooks and you’d think all Americans eat hamburgers and the British stuff themselves on fish and chips. What about Australia, Canada, and South Africa? Here is what some of Bridge’s contributors said when asked to name a typical dish from home.

south africa: Biltong and Boerewors

There are two things that every South African longs for¹ when away from home. First, biltong, which is beef, ostrich² , or game meat³ that is cut into long strips⁴ , marinated, and then hung up to dry. Biltong is tastiest when really dry and flaky⁵ .

The second specialty is boerewors, Afrikaans for “farmers’ sausage”, which originates from the time when the Dutch settlers trekked⁶ into the interior, preparing sausages for their long ox-wagon

trip⁷ . The traditional recipe uses minced beef⁸ , mutton⁹ and veal¹⁰ , pork fat and spices. Pearl Harris

australia: vegemite

No, we don’t sit down to a hearty¹¹ meal of kangaroo. Well, not often. Our most popular food is a spread¹² called Vegemite. This black paste made from yeast extract¹³ is regarded as a national icon by Australians, while the rest of the world says it is like salty boot polish¹⁴ , tar in a jar¹⁵ , or simply inedible¹⁶ .

Vegemite is eaten in sandwiches, but it’s best spread over hot toast with butter. Some people even like it with cheese. The attachment to¹⁷ Vegemite is so strong that many Aussie travellers take a jar or two with them when they go off to see the world. Many of us even know the jingle¹⁸ to the product commercial better than our national anthem. Ryan Scott

Canada: habitant* pea soup

usa: s’mores

A popular camping dessert¹⁹ in the US is the s’more. S’mores are made by roasting²⁰ a marshmallow on a stick²¹ over the campfire. When it gets brown and soft, you put it between two graham crackers* and a piece of chocolate to make a sandwich. Be sure to squish²² the sandwich together because the heat from the marshmallow is supposed to melt the chocolate. Why are they

called s’mores? ’Cause if you have one, you are gonna want some more (s’more)! Jacy Meyer

Cold days and warm duvets²⁴ are both typical for a real Canadian winter. Beating the chill²⁵ is important and what better way to do that than with some hot soup. More specifically, the

French-Canadian pea soup that helped feed the troops during the First World War.

This heart-warming soup is known as habitant pea soup because of its French-Canadian origins and is made with yellow peas, pork fat and spices including bay leaf²⁶ and thyme²⁷ . The soup quickly became a staple²⁸ in households across Canada and the United States, and has even been sold in a can. Hana Škrdlová

VOCABULARy

SOUTH AFRICA

• 1 to long for – toužit po něčem

• 2 ostrich [“QstrItS] – pštrosí maso

• 3 game meat – zvěřina

• 4 strips – proužky

• 5 flaky [“fleIki] – loupavý

• 6 to trek – putovat

• 7 ox-wagon trip – cesta volským povozem

• 8 minced beef – mleté hovězí maso

• 9 mutton – skopové

• 10 veal [vi;l] – telecí maso

AUSTRALIA

• 11 hearty – vydatný

• 12 spread [sprEd] – pomazánka 13 yeast extract [ji;st “Ekstr&kt] – výtažek z kvasnic

• 14 boot polish – krém na boty

• 15 tar in a jar – asfalt v zavařovací sklenici

• 16 inedible [In”EdIb(@)l] – nepoživatelný

• 17 attachment to sth – náklonnost k

• 18 jingle – reklamní znělka

USA

• 19 camping dessert – tábornická

• dobrůtka

• 20 to roast – opéct

• 21 stick – klacek

• 22 to squish – zmáčknout

CANADA

23 pea – hrášek 24 duvet [“du;veI] – peřina

• 25 to beat the chill – vyzrát nad chladem

• 26 bay leaf – bobkový list

• 27 thyme – tymián

• 28 became a staple – stal se důležitou potravinou

*

gLOSSARy

graham cracker – a thin biscuit that tastes like a Bebe cookie habitant – a French settler in Canada