English food and the qualities it is often criticized for

It is accepted that Britain and good food are the two things that can’t be associated. Moreover, it is really very difficult to find English food in England. In Greece you can eat Greek food, in France—French, in Italy—Italian, but in England in any High Street it is easier to find Indian or Chinese restaurants than English ones. Besides, it is not only in restaurant that foreign dishes are replacing traditional British food. Go to any supermarket and you will see that sales of pasta and pizza are booming there. Why has this happened? What is wrong with the English cooks that they prefer cooking lasagna to shepherd’s pie? Anyway, English food was not always disgusting and tasteless; it was not boiled to death or swimming in fat.

Actually, the British have always imported food from abroad and foreign trade has become the major influence on British cooking. English cuisine like English language absorbed ingredients from allover the world—chicken, rabbit, apples and tea. All of these and more were successfully incorporated into British dishes. Another important influence on English cooking is certainly weather. The good old British rain gives them rich soil and green grass, which means that the Englishmen are able to produce some of the finest varieties of meat, fruit and vegetables. And there’s no need to fancy sauces or complicated recipes to disguise their taste. For comparison, abroad poor soils mean more discovery, searching for food and invention. That is why it is wrong to claim that British food is terrible. On the contrary, English cuisine is wonderful, still it has a great minus—it is very time–consuming. For example, making a Christmas cake should start a few weeks beforehand. And it takes about half a year for a Christmas pudding to mature. Yet, it is so delicious that it really worth waiting.

Actually, the British believe that basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavor that there’s no need to invent complex recipes. For instance, nothing can be compared with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled and served with butter. So, I am absolutely convinced that there’s the only explanation why most visitors consider British food awful: they simply haven’t had an opportunity to sample English home cooking. Probably, they either eat out a lot or (mostly in cheap restaurants) or they eat too much fast food. Nobody will deny that such places are definitely not those where real British cuisine can be found, because English cooking which involves a lot of time doesn’t suit the quick preparation that is required there. British food is found in the home where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection. Apart from that British pubs are often the best places to eat well and cheaply— luckily they still increasingly try to serve tasty British food.

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