Atestat Engleza.docx

COLEGIUL NAŢIONAL ,,ANDREI ŞAGUNA’’ BRAŞOV

LUCRARE PENTRU OBŢINEREA ATESTATULUI LA LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

A HOTPOT OF BRITISH GASTRONOMY

ELEV: NEGREA BIANCA

PROFESOR COORDONATOR: BANU DIANA

Argument

Throughout the centuries, many people have raised questions about how the mixture of people that became the British come to have such definitive culinary tastes. Of course this kind of question can be atributted to all nations but of the British we can also ask: which were the reasons that stood behind the dire degradation of their particular style of food and how is it now climbing back into eminence? The first time I went to Britain, it struck me how keen the british people actually were on their culinary experiences and the importance they paid to respecting the old culinary traditions their ancestors used to practice. Having seen these, I could not help but become excited to look up this topic and find out more about the earliest recipes and medieval origins from which the tasteful and contemporary dishes of today’s Great Britain have surfaced. As each generation is proved to express a desire of knowing more about their predecessors and reviving different aspects of the past, so I have found my subject of interest and inner willing to reveal the innovations and contributors that laid the foundations of modern British gastronomy.

Norman Gourmets: The Earliest Recipes

Greatly debated by many historians, the roots of British cuisine are now believed to have begun far earlier than previously thought, in the sophisticated cooking of the Anglo-Saxon court. This cooking style was to reach maturity soon after the Normans colonised these islands, bringing along recipes, ingredients and spices that they had learnt from the Mediterranean shores. Once the conquered territories were consolidated, the Normans started focusing on revolutionising the food that the nobility ate, leading to more sophisticated, fragrant dishes, and creating various new methods of cooking. The earliest extant recipes were written down sometime before 1280 and were most likely passed down from master cook to apprentices over centuries. Many of them showed a high degree of gastronomical sophistication and were especially made for the nobility and royal households, as indicated by the large amounts of proteins they included. Some of the marvellous dishes consisted of highly spiced foods. Veal stew simmered in almond milk with cinnamon, sugar and galingale (ginger) was one such specialty, along with poached chicken simmered in broth with parsley, ground ginger or grapes. In terms of desserts, chefs expressed their gastronomic brilliance through unusual ingredients. This is best expemplified by the Rose Pottage, which consisted of almond milk flavoured with ground rose petals, a mixture of pistachio or pine nuts, simmered in wine, sugar, honey and cloves. To this day, many recipes still include quite a few of these ingredients, as exemplified by the notorious Christmas Pudding or Hot Cross Buns.

The Food Timeline

The English Breakfast 

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Ever since the Middle Ages, when the consistency of the only two meals of the day was shortly reduced to bread, cheese, some cold meat and ale, the tradition of breakfast started to expand, especially during the Georgian and Victorian times, when the lavishing parties the gentry used to host revolved around the variety of breakfast dishes, displayed on opulent silverware, the estate would offer, particularly on show to impress the host’s guests. The main ingredients that brought together the classic combination of the English breakfast were eggs and bacon, as well as edible remains such as kidneys or tongues. Later on, as the Industrial Revolution emerged, the heavy, physichal labour and long hours of work in the factories demanded a highly nutritious meal, thus leading to the good, old English fry-up being the meal almost half of the adult population began their day with, even as late as the 1950’s.  Nowadays consisting of sausage and eggs, accompanied by baked beans, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, toast and even black pudding, the English breakfast suffers various addaptations, acorrding to the regions and customs of England,but its appetizing flavours are wellpreserved nonetheless, which is probably the main reason why this dish remains so popular and shouldn’t be skipped over while in Britain, despite being against the health conscious world.

Lunch 

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Sometimes called more formally ‘luncheon’ is the meal eaten in the midst of the day, most of the times between 12:30 and 14:00 and mostly consist, during the working days, of the classical sandwich, Cornish pastry or sausage roll. The weekends, however, stand for a home-cooked meal, such as the Sunday roast, that resides in the tradition of roasting beef, turkey or pork along with parsnips,potatoes, Brussels sprouts, peas and other vegetables topped with gravy and most common, cranberry sauce. .

The Five O’Clock Tea 

Although the concept first appeared in England in the mid 19th century, the afternoon tea is the most quintessential of the English pastimes and definitely a must-try when visiting the big cities of England. Tracing back to the early 1800s, when dinner used to be served fashionably late, the afternoon tea represents the routine Anna Russel, the Duchess of Bedford, followed day to day in order to avoid the grueling hunger caused by the large gap between meals. In this context, she arranged to receive a tray of tea, scones and clotted cream at five o’clock, which she usually consumed by herself. Eventually, her habit would be taken up by a growing number of her acquaintances, who went on to spread the custom throughout all of Europe. To experience this pastime at its fullest, tourists should partake in the offerings of the grandest establishments in London, such as the Ritz, Dorchester or Harrods.

Supper Despite having undergone substantial transformations in the gastronomy department over the past few centuries, the list of classic dishes that define the words “comfort” and ”homemade” has been well preserved. Recent studies have shown that the typical British citizen would opt for a traditional home-cooked meal, such as the Shepherd’s pie, rather than the gourmet alternatives that fancy restaurants offer.  Also reffered to as ‘cottage pie’as it was meant for rural workers with modest dwellings, the Shepherd’s pie came about late in the 1700 and aimed to put any kind of meat leftovers to good use, along with the affordable potato, resulting in a delicious, simmered mixture of carrots, peas, celery, gravy and flavours.  Originated during World War I, the popular pub dish steeped in both Irish and British history, Bangers and Mash is a staple of the country’s overall cuisine and consists of the meat shortages and mashed potatoes. Right around the end of the WWI, the meat sources have become rather scarce, thus resulting in the need for meat products to be filled with cheaper substitutes, water being primordial. In fact, this was the reason that stood behind the dish’s nickname, as ”bang” was the sound they made while cooking in the pan. Even though nowadays the meat quality has improved and no longer contains the audible element, the popular name has stuck.