MODULE 7

British Isles and other Western Cuisines

Lesson 1: Cultural Foods in the British Isles

The British Isles is very close to Europe, France as its nearest neighbor and The English
Channel between them. The biggest island referred to as Great Britain consist of England,
Scotland and Wales with the Irish Sea separating Ireland that lies in the Atlantic Ocean. The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are countries in Western Europe and
member of British Commonwealth. Commonly known as United Kingdom or UK, it is made up of
four parts. Three of these – England, Wales and Scotland are located on the island of Great
Britain and are considered state in their own right. The last part is the Northern Ireland which is
located in the island of Ireland which is a province of United Kingdom. In 1992 left United
Kingdom and formed their own country which they call Republic of Ireland, however its Northern
part remains part of United Kingdom.

England
It consists mostly of low hills and plains with a coastline cut into bays, coves and estuaries. The
highest point in England is in the northwest while the northeast includes rugged landscape of
the Yorkshire moors.
.
Wales
It has varied geography with strong contrast. The southern part has flat coastal plain
which give ways to valley, then to ranges of hills to mountains in mid and north Wales.
Scotland
It is located in the north of Great Britain. The Scottish Lowland and Borders are areas of
gentle hills and lowland, contrasting the rugged landscape of the Highlands in the north.

Northern Ireland
Northeast coast which is separated from Scotland by the North Channel and is bordered
by the Republic of Ireland in the west and south. It has low hill landscape.

Wales:
National dish of Wales is cawl. It is a classic one- pot meat of broth or soup. It is made
of bacon, lamb, cabbage, new potatoes and leeks. Wales is known for cheeses.

Umami dish Cawl

1.Laverbread: It is a traditional Welsh dish made from edible seaweed known as laver. It is
usually eaten sprinkled with oatmeal, warmed with hot bacon fat and served with bacon. It is
usually served during supper.

Eatweeds Laverbread

2.Welsh rabbit: It is a dish of melted cheese mixed with ale, beer, milk, spices served over
toast.

Best Food Welsh Rabbit

Scotland:

Scottish food is simple but has heavy emphasis on meat. Main meals consist of roast
lamb, roast beef and steaks from Aberdeen- Angus cattle served with potatoes and bread.
Mince and tatties is similar to English Shepherd’s pie. It consist minced beef, onions, pinhead
oatmeal are first fried then mixed with vegetables and braised in gravy. The dish is served with
boiled potatoes. Fine shortbreads made with butter are famous in Scotland.

Go Cook Yummy Mince and Tatties

a.Cullen Skink: it is a thick stew like soup made from smoked haddock, onions and potatoes.

The Spruce Eats Cullen skink

b.Stovies: It is made from leftover cooked meat and potatoes. It is similar to corned beef hash.
It is usually served with oatmeal and milk.

Allrecipe Stovies
c. Clapshot: It is not a main dish rather an accompaniment to meat dishes. It is a mixture of
mashed potatoes, turnip, and onions.

Scotsman Food and drink Clapshot

d. Clootie Dumpling: It is a mixture of fruitcake ingredients combined with spices, molasses,
and suet wrapped in cloth and simmered in water for four hours.

Wordpress.com Clootie dumpling

e. Cranachan: It is a traditional harvest dish and is consider as a luxurious dessert. Oatmeal,
cream, honey, whiskey, and raspberries are all laid in the table and everyone can serve
themselves of the ingredients available in the table.

BBC Classic Cranachan

f. Black bun: It is made from fruit cake baked inside the pastry case.

Alamy Black Bun

Ireland:
The Irish diet change after famine. Potatoes are still consider to be an important crops.
Cheap cornmeal was brought by American. This cheap cornmeal can be fed to both pigs and
poultry. This led to increase availability of meat and eggs. These serve as source of income of
farmers and as their food. Bread, potatoes, and oatmeal are staple of food here. Bacon and
eggs become foods for breakfast. The main meal includes meat, vegetables and potatoes.
Vegetables usually are cabbage, carrots, turnips, parsnip or peas.
Fish and mollusks are available in the coast and is made into stew. Game, cattle, pig,
goat are available in inland.
Irish stew is a classic one made from mutton, potatoes, onions, and flavored with parsley and
thymes.

The Spruce Eat Irish Stew

Traditional Foods in Scotland:
1.Brack: It is a cake made from dried fruit, eggs, lard and flour.

The Irish Time Brack

2. Colcannon: It is a dish made with potato, wild garlic, cabbage or curly kale.

Downshiftology Colcannon
3. Champ: It is a combination of mashed potato and egg chopped scallions is mixed then.

Karen’s Kitchen Story Champ Clean Green Simple Scallions

4. Carrageen moss: It is a seaweed that is collected and dried. The dried material is then
boiled, strained and the liquid left to cool which forms jelly like substance.

Beyond Tectrix Carrageen moss

Stout: it is a black beer in Ireland

Sporked Stout

United Kingdom:
Food Ways: History of Food:

 About 8th century BC, Celtics ( group of Indo- European) introduced how to domesticate
poultry ( hens, ducks and geese).
 The Roman Period started animal farming in about 50 to 400 AD.
 1066- 1485: Medieval Period: The Normans brought apples, pears. Berries, cherries,
plums and quinces. Medieval gardens grew herbs and salad plants.
  1485- 1688: Elizabeth Period: Cider making from Normandy and cheese- making was
intensified.
 China introduce tea
 Indians: curries, chutney and spices mixed with English dishes.
 After World War I, food preservation by drying and canning became more common
 1950s agriculture became mechanized and fertilizers, selective breeding of livestock
were methods of increasing food supply
 Fastfoods and frozen foods remained popular

Foodways
Foodways of many country is believe to be influenced by British when it ruled the British
Empire. England start take out foods (take away in British term) and fastfoods restaurant with
their fish and chips combination. They are known as “beefeater” and roast beef. Yorkshire
pudding is the usual Sunday dinner.
It has abundant supply of fish and seafood both from sea and freshwater rivers because
it is an island country. Smoked fish is specialty in England. Fish and chips is a traditional
England take out food. Fish such as cod, haddock, huss and plaice are deep – fried in flour
batter with chips and dressed in malt vinegar. It is also known for dairy product like rich clotted
Devon cream from the country’s southwest. They are also known for the world- class cheeses.
Typical menu includes: bacon, ham, steak, homemade sage sausage, bratwurst, corned
beef hash, scrapple, fried smelt, finnin haddie, fried perch, home fries, baked stuffed tomato,
fried green tomatoes, fried butternut or kabocha squash, fried squash blossoms, and broiled
baby zucchini.

The country cook Corned beef hash Frugal Nutrition Home made sage sausage Elevated white Fried white perch

Drive me Hungry Fried Kobacha Pinterest Fried Squash Blossom Eating well Fried baby Zucchini

Pubs are popular for lunch where they enjoy “ploughman’s lunch”. It consist of bread,
cheese, pickles, sometimes cold meat with glass of ale. Cornish pastry is another simple and
popular lunch. It consist of pastry turnover filled with chopped meat, potatoes and vegetables.
The Spruce Eats Cornish Pastry

For supper or “high tea”. Traditional England dishes are Shepherd’s Pie, Gammon
(ham) , it is steak with egg and Lancashire Hotpot. Sandwich is also a popular snacks here.
Fruit desserts are popular, pies and fruit crumbles., trifles and summer pudding made with fresh
berries. Cakes flavored with spices or dried fruits or filled with jam or cream

Factors that Affect Food Culture:

Geography and Climate:
British Isles is surrounded by bodies of water. There are plenty of variety of salt fishes.
Abundant supply of crops like potatoes, wheat, barley, rye and oats; fruits, sugar beets and
many kinds of vegetables due to its rolling terrain and adequate rainfall.
During wintry days, beverages that give warmth are consumed (hot tea, ale, stout and
beer). Stews, jugged meat cubes (simmered for a long time in a clay pot) and broths that are
pipping hot are popular. Assorted puddings end the meal.

Favorite Foods and Drinks:

They like fried foods such as fish and chips, butter and cream and concentrated sweets
(jellies, marmalades, candies).
Cheeses: Cheddar, Stilton and Cheshire. Salt fishes such as salmon from Scotland,
shrimps from North Sea, sole, trout and lobster around Dublin. Sausages and bacon are popular
breakfast.
Potatoes and mushrooms are eaten frequently. Other favorite vegetables are; cabbage,
Brussel sprouts, parsnips, peas and asparagus. Popular pies are apple and rhubarb. Other
common baked goods are English muffins, scones, biscuits (shortbread), ginger bread, assorted
cookies and cakes, rolls and breads, puddings and custards. Fruits such as apples, oranges,
peaches, pears, grapes, currants and other berries are grown here.
Beer is the national beverage both of commoners and royal class. Meats include; beef,
poultry, lamb and mutton. Internal organs like kidneys, liver, heart and lungs are enjoyed by
Britons. Known preparation for this are kidney pies and haggis. Haggis is made up of sheep
liver, heart and lungs which is traditionally served on Buns Night on January 25 when Scotland
celebrates the birth of the most famous poet Robert Buns.

Greatbritishchef.com Haggis
Steak -and- kidney pie is a signature dish of the United Kingdom Black Bun is the national
dessert and is very rich fruit cake made with dark raisins, currants, cinnamons and generously
sweetened brown sugar.
Worcestershire sauce originated in England, It is a blend of soy sauce, vinegar,
molasses, tamarind extract, cloves, onions and garlic. Horseradish sauce is another favorite
condiments usually accompaniment to roast beef.

Traditional English Dishes:

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/traditional-english-food/ Alison Ensign February
21, 2020
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/only-in-britain/the-15-most-british-foods-ever/Scotchegg/
April 25, 2020
1.Yorkshire Pudding: It is a light and airy bread and staple in English cuisine. It is a batter dish
made with eggs, flour and milk or water and eaten with gravy.

Thedailymeal.com
2. English Pancakes: These are thin pancake comparable to French crepe. Traditionally rolled
up and eaten with sugar and lemon.

Familysearch.org. English Pancake

3.Sheperds Pie: This dish is made of meat such as beef or lamb and topped with mashed
potato.

Delish.com Sheperds pie

4. Toad in the holes: It is a Yorkshire pudding made tastier by adding sausages to the batter
and serving it with vegetables and onion gravy.
Bbcgoodfood.com Toad in the hole
5. Steak and kidney Pie: It is a traditional pastry/ pie with salted beef broth thickened with flour
or cornstarch and often with ale or stout added. Crust filled with kidney, chunk of steaks and
gravy. It is British comfort food.,

Dreamstime.com Steak and kidney pie

6. Scoth Egg: Hard - boiled egg is traditionally wrapped in sausage meat and coated in bread
crumbs baked or deep fried.

Lovefoodies.com

7. Lancashire Hot Pot: It is a casserole of meat (lamb or mutton), onions and vegetables
topped with sliced potatoes and left to bake in the oven on low heat.

Git.macropus.org.
8. Bubble and squeak: It is usually made up of left over vegetables from traditional roast dinner
( potato, cabbage, carrots, Brussel sprouts) fried in hot pan.

Recipesformen.com Bubble and squek

9. Black Pudding: It is sausage, made with onion, pork fat, oatmeal, and congealed blood.

Gridironmeat.co.uk Black Pudding

10. Full English Breakfast: Breakfast meals usually consist of bacon, sausage, eggs, beans,
toast, mushrooms, tomatoes tea or coffee.

Recipes.sainsburry.co.uk
11. Eccles Cake: It is a small round cake made with flaky pastry and filled with currants.

Christinebailey.co.uk

12. Laverbread: It is a traditional Welsh dish. To make this seaweed is boiled, then minced or
pureed and sometimes rolled in oatmeal before being fried.
 Telegraph.com.uk Laverbread

13.Cullen skink: It is a thick Scottish soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes and onions

Lavanderandlovage.com

14. Fish and chips: It is a classic combination of breaded fish and fried potatoes which
originated in England.

15. Haggis: It is a savory dish of minced sheep;s heart, liver and lungs with onions, oatmeal,
suet (raw hard fat of beef or mutton found around the loins and kidneys) spices and salt.

New England Dishes

1.Baked Beans: dried beans cooked with molasses and salted pork
2. New England Boiled Dinner: meat and vegetables cooked together until tender
3. Clam chowder: creamy soup with potatoes and clams.
4. Maple syrup: perfect hot cakes
5. Clambake: deep pit in which a fire has burned down to coals. On top of these coals, layer
seaweed still full of the sea. Between seaweed layers, put clam, lobsters, corn of the cob even
fish.

Activity 1:
Prepare one American Cuisine

Activity 2:
Prepare one Western Cuisine

Self-check:
1.Did I perform well in my 2 activities. Assessed yourself

Self – Reflect:
1.Are there things that need to be improve in term of my cooking style and taste? What are
those?
References:

Hilario, Jose, Zaguirre, Arnold, Tabuena, Richard D. and Catchillar, Gerry C.(2014). Getting
Started in cooking international cuisine. Bookd Atbp. Mandaluyong City

Dwyer, Helen. (2016, November 2). Traditional cuisine of Mexico. Retrieved from
https://www.chimuadventrues.com/blog/2016/11/cuisine-mexico.

Gaskel, Katja. Top 10 foods to try in Mexico Retrieved from

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foods-try- mexico.

Cohn, Lindsay. (2017, May, 2). 8 Traditional Mexican Dishes that are a must- try.
Retrieved from https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/traditional-mexican-dishes.

Ensign, Alison ( 2020, February 21). Traditional English dishes and the history of English foods
Retrieved from https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/traditional-english-food.

2020, April, 25. The 15 most British foods ever. Retrieved from
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/only-in-britain/the-15-most-british-foods-ever.

Claudio, Virginia S. Ruiz, Adela J., De leon, Sonia J. and Chavez, Libia D. (2014) Basic Foods
for Filipinos 5th Edition. Merriam and Webster Bookstore, Manila, Philippines