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While this meme is suburb, I assume you’re aware that the legacy of bland British food is heavily influenced by WW2 and post-war rationing. It had an impact even here in the US, but a much stronger one in the UK where they were rationing well into the 50s if I remember right.
Culinary history is a fun branch.
Is that why the Midwest was addicted to canned vegetables, “casseroles”, and why they’re allergic to anything more flavorful than salt and pepper?
Partly.
I’d say that impacted the entire US. The SNL skit Coneheads was all about this with “mass quantities”.
Keep in mind the impact of the Depression on people too. Quality isn’t a concern when you’re not even getting enough to eat (my parents, but especially grandparents can/could speak to this). My father was always hungry until he was drafted.
Studs Terkel’s Hard Times should be required reading today.
Twentieth century food production was a godsend to anyone born before the 1950’s.
Plus the Midwest was heavily settled by Nordic folks and Eastern European, bringing their food traditions with them.
Yeah my family is from the Midwest. On my mom’s side we’re 4th gen Norwegians who founded a town in Kansas (pretty sure it’s Kansas). They arrived just before the depression and I’m pretty sure my family’s legacy of bland cooking is partly a result from that and our Norwegian heritage. We still make kumla every year. Good stuff (minus the canned veggies. Seriously Midwest, it’s ok to use fresh vegetables)
Kumla looks pretty good. Now I really wish I had picked up lingonberries when I was at IKEA last weekend. Unfortunately I decided I didn’t know what I’d do with them. Now I know
Oh boy, kumla looks good!
So funny Midwestern farmers of all used canned veggies. But I can understand. Put yourself into Mom’s shoes at the time, 10 seconds to open a can, VS an hour to clean/chop/cook a veggie.
I highly recommend giving kumla a try! It’s very filling and will probably leave you a couple pounds heavier (don’t be shy with the butter). On the vegetable note, I can see it as a practical measure but some things are worth the extra effort imo
I’m no expert on Midwestern cuisine, there could be other factors like some central European culinary traditions, maybe religious conservatism and a general distrust of new things more common to inland cultures.
So, a factor for sure, but it’s probably complicated.
You’re probably right, I just wanted to take a cheap shot at the Midwest haha
Hot Dish!
(what most people call casserole)
(what most people incorrectly call casserole)
Ope!
By and large, yeah. Although it got it’s start with world war one rationing, proved handy during the depression and then through the second world war.
Once you’re at 30-40 years a recipe can become a “family recipe” pretty easily and then it lasts even longer.The spice thing is because in the 1800s a lot of the religions that were most prevalent in the area condemned “pleasures of the flesh” as sins only fit for “dirty, sensual Catholics enthralled to the Pope”. Looking at you, Italians. 🤨. You can see it in things like corn flakes, the cereal designed to be nutritional and the worst, or graham crackers, the least masturbatory cracker.
It’s why so many of the biggest cereal manufacturers are from the Midwest and have insane history.Don’t be too hard on the hot dish though, a lot of them have evolved towards a sorta reinvention of Shepard’s pie or scalloped potatoes.
“Minced meat with vegetables topped with potatoes” and “potatoes mixed with a thickened cream topped with cheese”.
Green bean and tuna noodle casserole are not for me though.
Dang, ppl are putting suburbs everywhere these days. First they put them in cities, then rural areas, and now they’re putting suburbs in memes too? How does that even work?
Sometimes I can’t believe it…
This is absolutely right.
Unfortunately England chose to carry on like we were rationed into the 1970s.
Stuff like that leaves a mark. It took the US beer industry 60 years to recover from prohibition and start making actually good beer again. We still have depression era dishes, like Anything Chili. We just were lucky to have peppers that grew natively.
Oh, I’ve always assumed that the bland British food jokes are because a few of the less exciting offerings are just so easy to make fun of, like beans on toast, not an actual paucity of culinary culture.
Alternate take: this meme is expired, because all of the foods on that plate are only bland if prepared by a bad cook.
Toast with butter is a delight. It’s not gonna knock your socks off with complexity, but good bread with good butter shouldn’t be bland. Heck, good bread by itself shouldn’t be bland. Same with fried fish - a nice juicy piece of flaky white fish fried in a properly-seasoned batter is an absolute delight, not bland at all unless you’re using bottom of the barrel ingredients and don’t know what you’re doing. And canned beans are absolutely loaded with spices, salt, and acidity, they’re probably the most complex thing on that plate.
Food guide;
- British food is tasteless
- French food is pretentious
- italian food takes all afternoon
- American food is poisonous
- Indian food is special because it uses something called “spice” and no one else does apparently
- asians eat rice
- anyone east of Berlin eats either turnips or caviar
What did I miss ?
American food is poisonous
American food is grease and sugar. Pure grease and sugar. Sometimes combined. God, I want a funnel cake right now.
Dammit, I just realized I haven’t had a funnel cake in literal years. How sad.
3 things that will make anything better, fat, sugar, and salt. If your dish isn’t doing it for you, just keep adding at least one of those three, based on the dish, and eventually it will be delicious.
Acid is another magic ingredient. Lemon juice, vinegar, or even just straight citric acid from a shaker if you don’t want to add more liquid. Sometimes something will taste like it needs more salt, but adding a touch of acid is actually what it needed.
And funnel cakes are arguably Eastern European/Germanic. It’s a similar batter as Dutch Baby (think Dutch as in “Deutsch”), aka German Pancake (and also popovers). There’s a slight change for each one, but essentially an eggy batter with no leavening.
Though I’d guess every country has a version of it, and brought it with them to the US.
It’s fair season. I’m sure you can find a carnie slinging a funnel cake nearby.
Unfortunately, my limited mobility (and income for that matter) put the kibosh on that. Or at least make it more trouble than it’s worth. I’ll have to make one myself one of these days.
Indian food is special because it uses something called “spice” and no one else does apparently
Was in Hyderabad for work a few times about 10-15 years ago and in fairness, India is the absolute GOAT of spicing food. Like every dish is flavourful but not necessarily spicy. Office canteen food costing about 40c served on a prison tray - Incredible. Hell even the airport food was delicious.
If you want more vegetarian dishes that aren’t just soy pretending to be a meat dish (and usually disappointing), try out some Indian dishes. A decent portion of their population is vegetarian for religious reasons and they’ve made the best of it. I went to a vegetarian Indian wedding once and didn’t miss having meat at all.
I make dol as part of my normal rotation and even my daughter loves it when I was expecting her to be disappointed with what was mainly lentils and spinach served with flatbread. But the little bit that isn’t lentils and spinach is just as important.
It’s not just India, many Southeast Asian countries have spices in their dishes.
As an Indian I approve of this message
Mexico also loves their spices. And the Middle East. And Nepal and China (not sure if they both count as Southeast Asian or if that’s mainly the peninsula South of China).
Apparently the British did use spices until world war 2. Then it was decided that shipping is limited and spices were a luxury when the island needed an unending supply of food and guns.
Then instead of starting right back up in 1946, food remained an issue for the British through the 1950’s. So the lack of spices became more accepted. It’s the same reason America still has depression era dishes like chili.
Britain is actually starting to use spices again, just like the American beer scene is finally recovering from prohibition.
If chili is a depression food then bring on more depression food I say.
Well there’s always been the idea of the anything soup or stew. Chili is really just the American take on it. It’s popularity right now though is very much tied to the depression.
I always thought that chili was from the cowboys of the old West. The one that existed, not Hollywood’s/ Italy’s version.
Stuff like chili often already exists somewhere before it gets popularized. The depression certainly didn’t invent American style spiced beef stew. But much like cowboy breakfast (beans, salted pork, coffee) it was simple, cheap, and could stretch protein to feed a whole family.
Wikipedia gives a decently quick tour of chili’s evolution.
I’ve been spouting about the “chili queens” of old San Antonio as the origin, but it sounds like they were more significant as an early analog to food trucks that drove chili across cultural gaps. The origin of that food sounds like it originated back, at least, to indigenous peoples and does sound like a staple of cowboys/vaqueros long before the Great Depression.
Then there’s Cincinnati-style chili, “developed by Macedonian and Greek immigrants, deriving from their own culinary traditions”, so that merging of another style under the same name might muddy the water when it comes to talking about the origin of spiced meat bits.
Also a pretty easy meal if you have depression
Yup, I can vouch for that. Actually it’s about time I made some again…
Is it 3am where you are?
Isn’t it always? Don’t tell me you get to see the sun?
Ha ha “starting” to use spices again lol
Nice info from 60 years ago
This is the best use of this meme I have ever seen. It hit me in all the right spots xD
It’s a shame so many people don’t get to experience flavourful British food, or go with stereotypes, since there’s a bunch of really nice stuff.
I even have a book from the 1700s detailing the use of various herbs.
I even have a book from the 1700s detailing the use of various herbs.
do you ever lend it out to the other brits to read? ;)
Give other Brits such an old book? What if they put it in their personal collection?
“Cheers pal, straight to the British Museum. Come, you can read the plaque about how the recipes used to be yours.”
Nah, although that’s older than the US it’s not an old book by our standards. That one’s probably just a first edition of one of Mary Berry’s books.
Sounds like you’ve never had a lincolnshire sausage, or a nicely made shepherd’s pie. Pies and pasties are often seasoned too.
well i was joking mate.
Pies and pasties are often seasoned too.
“often” seasoned?
i’m just messin my man.
I went to Scotland recently and I’m not sure how representative that is of UK food over all, but they definitely seasoned and spiced their food. So if that tracks for the UK over all they are recovering, it’s just one hell of a hang over. The US had to do the same with the depression era.
Maybe those flavorful recipes are just too modern for most Brits
Well, 300 years is recent to Brits. Give em time to try it out, and circulate their favorites.
Tomatoes were from America brought to Europe during the 16th century and add umami flavor to baked beans, not sure if that counts
Everyone is always mocking Britain’s cuisine, but some of their food is good, like Shepard’s Pie.
You know who doesn’t get enough hate? The Belgians.
The Dutch (Netherlands) and the Belgians are not the same…
I have only known Belgians to admit to eating sprinkles on untoasted white bread with unmelted butter, I guess the dutch are guilty too.
Belgians gave us good fries and fat waffles though, for that, as a grease-besotted American I can’t bring myself to hate them.
Good fries is an understatement.
Belgian fries are amazing !
Yeah, leave our cuisine alone. You haven’t lived until you’ve had tripe or a faggot in your mouth.
Edit: I feel this might need some additional info
For money
What good is money if it cannot bring you flavor?
They use the money to buy other cultures cuisines. They got it figured out.
They specifically invented tikka masala for that
and for what!?
Ultimately? For humble pie.
The British were so hangry, so incredibly hung-over, so fed-up with the limited cuisine at home, that they colonized half the planet in search of a proper meal like their very lives depended on it. And for a time, the spice did indeed flow. But that quest cost countless lives, started many wars, and ultimately, ended in defeat. In the end, some people from those far off lands, now liberated, emigrated to their conqueror’s homeland of their own free will and brought their pantries with them. In so doing, perhaps with a spicy side of defiance, meals are served in London daily that provide a reminder of how the surrounding kingdom is a mere shadow of it’s former self.
PLEASE PUT BEAN IN TITLE!
“All that colonizing didn’t amount to a hill of beans”
from what I understand the majority of spice trade man then was for dyes and perfumes rather than seasoning food.
Yeah you should try a British vindaloo, absolutely no spices in there. That’s why if you ever come here and try one you need to ask them to make it “properly spicy” just so you get some spice :)
The hand adds flavour
Don’t be throwing shade at beans fish fingers and bread Classic beige Brapas
