Country Life
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Is English custard the original recipe for France's crème anglaise?
Credit: Alamy Stock Photo
British food has often been the butt of jokes, but the reach — and popularity — of our island's food is more global than you might think.
Britain has always been a culinary melting pot. From the fish and chips brought by Jewish immigrants to the East End of London to the tikka masala that is now widely held to be the country’s favourite meal, our island’s cuisine has been shaped and vastly enriched by centuries of newcomers.
The Romans brought cabbages, peas and, of course, wine, the Vikings arrived with fish-smoking techniques and the Normans bequeathed us a dictionary’s worth of food names (anyone for mouton?). Kedgeree, now thought of as the most quintessentially British of breakfasts, came home with members of the East India Company in the 18th century. But of course, that isn’t always the direction of travel.