# The British and their odd ways **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 18, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390 "2014-04-18T03:45:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/142 "2014-05-02T21:35:22Z")
> [@Gary\_Kumquat](#): > > I’m not sure what decade you’re basing your stereotypes on now, but frankly it doesn’t matter. Much could be written about the effects of 15 years of rationing on UK cuisine, and the damage it did to UK cuisine. You could also write a fair bit about the effect the rise of the US as a cultural influence on the UK that then saw some very poor attempts to copy in the UK, but suffice to say that up to about the mid 80s you’d probably have had a point about both poor standards of food, and a lack of national cuisine. But that was 30 years ago, so here’s a few pointers for food in the UK in the current millenium: Even in the bad times (except maybe _actually during_ rationing) the good British food has always been there to be found. Basic stuff, perhaps, but things like good pie and mash shops have been around a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/143 "2014-05-02T21:39:41Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > As far as I remember, the modern ploughman’s lunch, as found in a British pub, is a faux-traditional concoction dreamt up as a means of increasing sales of cheese. I think the cheese/milk marketing board didn’t invent it - they revived/promoted it after the end of wartime rationing. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/144 "2014-05-02T22:11:10Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Even in the bad times (except maybe _actually during_ rationing) the good British food has always been there to be found. > Basic stuff, perhaps, but things like good pie and mash shops have been around a very long time. Meat pies I find gross. Probably because of the frozen chicken pot pie my Mother fed me. Names like “mash” and “toad in the hole” don’t help the reputation, either. Patrick O’brien’s characters are eating steaks, roasts, potatoes and parsnips in butter, stuff that I like. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/145 "2014-05-02T23:28:52Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Names like “mash” and “toad in the hole” don’t help the reputation, either. Don’t forget [“spotted dick”](http://www.britishfooddepot.com/Heinz-Spotted-Dick-Sponge-Pudding-114.htm?gclid=CP_OuNCxjr4CFS9o7AodHioALg). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/146 "2014-05-03T00:32:19Z")
It appears that the ploughman’s lunch was not a “thing” until it was promoted by the Cheese Bureau in the U.K. in 1956. The various food items included certainly existed before and once again became easily available after the rationing ended in the 1950’s, but they weren’t thought of as being part of a specific meal before 1956. There’s even a certain amount of general knowledge in the U.K. of the inauthenticity of the meal. A 1983 film was called _The Ploughman’s Lunch_ because it was about the attempt to pass off something new as being something traditional: > **[Ploughman's lunch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ploughman's_lunch)** > > A ploughman's lunch is an English cold meal based around bread, cheese, and fresh or pickled onions. Additional items can be added such as ham, green salad, hard boiled eggs, and apple, and usual accompaniments are butter and "pickle", which in Britain denotes a chutney-like condiment. As its name suggests, it is most commonly eaten at lunchtime. It is particularly associated with pubs, and often served with beer. > Beer, bread, and cheese have been combined in the English diet since antiquity,... Incidentally, I love Stilton, even if you can’t chase it down a hill. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/147 "2014-05-03T00:55:04Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Don’t forget [“spotted dick”](http://www.britishfooddepot.com/Heinz-Spotted-Dick-Sponge-Pudding-114.htm?gclid=CP_OuNCxjr4CFS9o7AodHioALg). And drowned baby. ---
**Author:** ![Megas\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Megas\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Megas_P)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/148 "2014-05-07T09:05:17Z")
Since we are discussing English food, do you know which is the briefer book in the world? English cuisine; a complete list. What about the second briefer book? Great English lovers. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/149 "2014-05-07T09:51:18Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > But is it Stilton? Stilton? Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/150 "2014-05-07T12:42:44Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It appears that the ploughman’s lunch was not a “thing” until it was promoted by the Cheese Bureau in the U.K. in 1956. The various food items included certainly existed before and once again became easily available after the rationing ended in the 1950’s, but they weren’t thought of as being part of a specific meal before 1956. Agreed - it certainly it looks as though it was only branded and formalised in the 50s, but bread, cheese, beer and pickle are obviously ancient staples of pubs, inns and almshouses. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/151 "2014-05-07T12:45:31Z")
> [@Megas\_P](#): > > Since we are discussing English food, do you know which is the briefer book in the world? > > English cuisine; a complete list. > > What about the second briefer book? > > Great English lovers. Please come back in another three years and entertain us again! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/152 "2014-05-07T12:50:52Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > Stilton? Well, we don’t get much call for it around here, sir. Brie, Roquefort, Pol le Veq, Port Salut, Savoy Aire, Saint Paulin, Carrier de lest, Bres Bleu, Bruson…? ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/153 "2014-05-07T13:01:02Z")
I’m still not seeing “The British and their odd ways” as a viable reality show. ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/154 "2014-05-07T14:14:38Z")
Fuck them, and the Mayflower they sailed in on\*! \*“in on”? ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/155 "2014-05-07T15:11:06Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > Fuck them, and the Mayflower they sailed in on\*! > \*“in on”? My Dad says that you get on a boat, but in a ship. He’s been known to make stuff like that up, though. ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/156 "2014-05-07T15:33:05Z")
> [@Megas\_P](#): > > Since we are discussing English food, do you know which is the briefer book in the world? > > English cuisine; a complete list. > > What about the second briefer book? > > Great English lovers. I think “briefest” maybe the word you’re struggling for, my dear old chap. I recently purchased your esteemed tome “The wit and wisdom of Megas P”. 500 sheets of blank paper (£2.99 at Rymans), it’s a big seller over here in Blighty. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/157 "2014-05-07T15:48:08Z")
> [@mascaroni](#): > > I think “briefest” maybe the word you’re struggling for, my dear old chap. > > I recently purchased your esteemed tome “The wit and wisdom of Megas P”. > > 500 sheets of blank paper (£2.99 at Rymans), it’s a big seller over here in Blighty. Touche’. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/158 "2014-05-07T17:31:20Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Touche’. Touché. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/159 "2014-05-07T20:58:17Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > Touché. Toosh! ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/160 "2014-05-07T21:55:08Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Toosh! Eh? ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390/161 "2014-05-07T22:17:45Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Toosh! Bless you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-british-and-their-odd-ways/686390.md?page=9)