Traditional British and American Food

Hello! My name is….. We are from school №32 in Podolsk, class 8 G. Today we are going to tell you about Traditional British and American food.

British cuisine has several national and regional varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh cuisine. This explains the diversity of local and regional dishes.

The history of Britain has played an important role in its food culture.

 Romans introduced cherries, cabbages, peas and of course, wine, which they tried to produce in southern England.

Vikings brought the techniques for smoking and drying fish which are used in the North East coasts of England and Scotland.  

In Tudor times, new kinds of food started to arrive due to the increase in trade and the discovery of new lands. Spices from the Far East, sugar from the Caribbean, coffee and cocoa from South America and tea from India.

What food was "invented" in England?

Do you know that a sandwich was invented in England in 1762 by John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich? According to the legend, he was a passionate gambler. Only one thing spoiled his pleasure that from time to time he had to stop the game to go to eat. The invention of sandwich allowed him to eat with one hand while he was gambling.

British people have three main meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

English breakfast

The traditional English breakfast which is called The Full English breakfast consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, fried bread, baked beans and mushrooms, a cup of coffee. Nowadays, however, a typical English breakfast is more likely to be a bowl of cereals, a slice of toast, orange juice and a cup of coffee.

English lunch

For many British people lunch is a fast meal. In big cities there are a lot of sandwich bars, fish and chips shops. Many children at school and adults at work have a 'packed lunch'. This typically consists of a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink.

English dinner

British people have dinner at about 7 o’clock. As a rule, a typical dinner is meat and vegetables. It can be roast chicken or lamb with potatoes, or steamed vegetables with meat.

Sunday Roast dinner

Most families in the UK have a tradition to meet together for a big roast dinner every Sunday. The traditional Sunday Roast consists of roast meat, two different kinds of vegetables and potatoes with a Yorkshire pudding. Special sauce Gravy is poured over the meat.

Fish and chips

Fish and chips is the classic English take-away food and the traditional national food of England.  It became popular in the 19th century when railways began to bring fresh fish straight from the East Coast to different cities. The dish was nutritious and cheap that’s why people throughout the country enjoyed it.

Puddings and pies

Puddings and pies are also very popular in Britain. Not all puddings are sweet, some are eaten during the starter or the main course like Yorkshire Pudding and Black Pudding.

The English tradition of meet pies dates back to the Middle Ages. There are many types of pies in Great Britain: Shepherd’s pie- made with minced lamb and vegetables topped with mushed potatoes. Cottage pie- made with minced beef and vegetables topped with mashed potato. A pork pie consists of pork and is normally eaten cold.

Now I  would like to tell you about American traditional food.

The cuisine of the United States has a history dating back before the colonial period when the American Indians had a rich and diverse cooking style. With European colonization, numerous new ingredients and cooking styles were introduced. 

A strong influence in American cuisine came from the African slaves. The Americans inherited from them many foods, one of the most popular was barbecue.

The Southwestern cuisine has Mexican and Spanish influences. The corn, beans and chilies are a proof of how Mexico affected the style of cooking.

The people from Southern Italy began to immigrate at the end of the nineteenth century. The first Italian foods that gained popularity in the United States were spaghetti with tomato sauce. Pizza also became famous and spread all over the country. "Chicago pizza" is one of the best known variations of this food.

American breakfast

 In the morning Americans prefer to have cereal or scrambled eggs, milk or orange juice. 

American lunch

Chicken or fish, fried potatoes, vegetable salads and dessert: this is the most common menu for lunch.

American dinner

For dinner, Americans usually have meat, fried or baked potatoes with ketchup or sour cream, corn, peas.  Ice-cream, fruit or cake – for dessert. 
Turkey, ham and apple pie are traditional for Christmas and Thanksgiving Day dinners. 

American cuisine and fast food

Cooking in the USA is not just hamburgers, pizza and fast food!  But Fast Food is certainly available all over the USA and is very popular, however is not very healthy. There is a wide variety of fast food restaurants serving all sorts of dishes from American style hamburgers, hot dogs and fried chicken to Italian pizza, Mexican tacos, and Chinese egg rolls.  

Thanksgiving turkey dinner

The turkey is one of the most famous birds in North America. Thanksgiving turkey dinner is supposed to resemble the meal of settlers shared with natives after the first harvest. They were thankful and decided to celebrate Thanksgiving day. Cranberry sauce is turkey`s  favorite thanksgiving feast partner.

   Apple pie

Apple pie is the most iconic item on any American menu. It came to the U.S. by way of British, Swedish, and Dutch immigrants where it was a staple of colonial diets for more than a century thanks to its cheap preparation. During World War II, apple pie became linked to American culture.

Barbecue Ribs

Barbecuing food has been one of the country’s oldest traditions with bbq fanatics and lovers all over the country. But the style of barbecue is totally different from state to state. Barbecue Ribs are very popular among Americans.

• To conclude, we would like to say that:
• British and American cuisine has a rich history and diverse cooking styles.
• British and American people have traditional dishes for special celebrations, such as Christmas, Thanksgiving Day.
• Nowadays in both countries are introduced cuisines from all around the world including Chinese, Indian, French, Italian, Japanese, Mexican and so on.

Thank you for your attention.