QA：为什么英国食物在世界上不那么受欢迎？

Derek Fancett
two main reasons come to mind:
Traditional British food is intended to do precisely the opposite of what most nutritionists say is good for you today. It’s intended to put as many calories into you as possible. British weather is cool, wet and windy and if you are working outdoors, as about 90% of working men used to do, you burn a huge amount of energy. An agricultural laborer would probably burn 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day. This, combined with a lack of southern european fruit, vegetable oils and other produce, means that traditional British food was rich in animal fats eg we used to use lard for deep frying foods, not the ‘lighter’ olive and sunflower oils. In addition, the much shorter growing season (NB the UK lies between 50 and 59 degrees North) means that the commoner vegetables were pulses, not leafy salad vegetables. Cheese, butter and milk also feature hugely in recipes, these are avoided in many cuisines.
Many of our traditional meals are very similar to French dishes, but French recipés seem to be more to modern tastes. An English beef stew will be cooked in beef stock, a French beef stew will be cooked with wine and herbs (to reduce both dishes to their simplest). The fact that many chefs and domestic cooks are nowadays trained more in the French tradition than the English/British one has.
There are other differences, British recipes often call for long slow cooking which used to be easier in houses that had to keep a fire in all day long; this technique is not much liked by modern restaurants and the short-of-time domestic cook. Others have mentioned the different quality of some traditional British produce (especially meats) to the less reliable quality found nowadays; a simple slow roasted beef joint with plenty of fat tastes completely different to most modern beef when it is cooked the same way. Finally, it is also true that as Britain industrialised and urbanised a lot of cooking skills and recipes were lost, leading (in my youth) to some truly horrible domestic cooks whose ‘take’ on traditional recipés was often less than appetising.
 
有两个主要原因：
如今，英国传统食物的营养价值与大多数营养学家所说的有益健康恰恰相反。这些传统食物仅仅会让你摄入尽可能多的卡路里。英国的天气凉爽、潮湿、多风，如果你像过去90%的工人那样在户外工作，你会消耗大量的能量。一个农业工人一天大概要消耗4000到5000卡路里。再加上缺乏南欧的水果、植物油和其他产品，这意味着传统的英国食物富含动物脂肪，例如我们过去在油炸食品中使用的猪油，而不是“淡的”橄榄油和葵花籽油。此外，在英国更短的生长季节(英国位于北纬50度至59度之间)意味着更常见的蔬菜是豆类蔬菜，而不是绿叶沙拉蔬菜。奶酪、黄油和牛奶也在食谱中占有重要地位，许多菜肴都避免使用这些材料。
我们的许多传统菜肴都很像法国菜，但法国的菜谱似乎更符合现代人的口味。英国炖牛肉是用牛肉高汤煮的，法国炖牛肉与葡萄酒和香草一起煮(将这两道菜简化到最简单的程度)。事实上，如今许多厨师和家庭厨师更多地接受法国传统训练，而不是英国传统训练。
还有其他不同之处，英国的食谱经常要求长时间的慢炖，这在过去在需要整天生火的房子里更容易慢炖；这种方法不太受现代餐馆和没有多少时间的家庭厨师的欢迎。另一些人提到了一些传统英国农产品(尤其是肉类)的不同质量，如今质量已不那么可靠了；当以同样的方式烹饪时，一个简单的慢烤牛肉，有大量的脂肪，味道完全不同于现代牛肉。最后，随着英国的工业化和城市化的发展，很多烹饪技巧和食谱都消失了，导致(在我年轻的时候)出现了一些非常糟糕的家庭厨师，他们对传统的食谱的“借鉴”做出来的菜往往没有那么诱人
 
Alex
I have enormous fondness for my time in the United Kingdom. My grandfather was English and emigrated to the United States at age 19.
I attended University in southern England for a year starting 1985. Let me say that I did enjoy a lot of the food I ate. The English breakfast (minus the tomato) is a great start to the day. A good shepherd’s pie in a nice pub was a pleasure.
And though it is fast food, the Fish and Chips was outstanding —when I was there, served in newspaper, steaming hot, for a quid. (Remember I was a student with little money.)
And British beer (in my book a food) was superb—if anything, underrated next to those on the Continent. British chocolate (Aero Bars), British desserts (Spotted Dickey) were excellent, excellent, excellent.
But having said all that, yes there was a sort of perfunctory and insular quality to a lot of the dishes. When I later traveled to New Orleans, I found the food to generally very good, because it was expected to be. I had the opposite experience in England—there didn't seem to be big expectations for the food, and therefore no disappointments. “The French live to eat, the British eat to live” went the old saw.
Maybe what is most telling is how other country’s cuisines were done. Coming from Southern California, we are a hundred miles from a country whose food haunts my dreams—and you can find many superlative examples right here. But when I went to London, except for Indian cuisine (very good) most of the non British food appeared to be not great. (On the other hand, you can’t to my knowledge get good Mexican in New York today, so maybe that is not a fair comparison.)
I was in Britain in the 1980’s and I am sure times have changed. The food here in the U.S. at that time was not nearly so fresh as now, and that was probably true of Britain as well. Also, I was a student without the wallet for high cuisine.
On the other hand, I was a teenager, constantly hungry, and I would uncritically eat near anything.
 
我非常喜欢我在英国的时光。我祖父是英国人，19岁时移民到了美国。
从1985年开始，我在英格兰南部上了一年大学。我得说，我确实喜欢我吃过的很多食物。英式早餐(不含番茄)是一天很好的开始。在一家不错的酒吧里吃上好的牧羊人馅饼是一种享受。
虽然这是快餐，但炸鱼和薯条非常棒——当我在那里上学的时候，它们被夹在报纸上，热气腾腾，只要一英镑。(记得我那时还是个穷学生。)
英国啤酒(在我看来是一种食物)非常棒，如果说有什么不同的话，那就是与欧洲大陆的啤酒相比，英国啤酒被低估了。英国巧克力，英国甜点都非常棒，非常棒，非常棒。
但说了这么多，是的，很多菜都有一种敷衍和孤立的品质。当我后来去新奥尔良的时候，我发现那里的食物一般都很好，因为这是人们所期望的。我在英国的经历正好相反—人们似乎对食物没有多大期望，因此也没有失望。有句老话说:“法国人活着就是为了吃，英国人吃是为了活着。”
也许最能说明问题的是其他国家的烹饪方法。我们来自南加州，离这个国家有一百英里远，那里的食物一直是我做梦也想吃的—你可以在这里找到很多最好的例子。但当我去伦敦时，除了印度菜(非常好)，大多数非英国菜似乎都不太好。(另一方面，据我所知，如今在纽约你找不到好吃的墨西哥菜，所以这个比较可能不公平。)
20世纪80年代我在英国，我相信时代变了。那时美国的食物远没有现在新鲜，英国可能也是如此。而且，我当时还是个学生，没钱去吃高级料理。
另一方面，那时候我是个十几岁的孩子，经常挨饿，我会不加挑剔地吃任何东西。
 
Matt Ali
Food in the U.K. (not just English food , but also the food in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland) is generally excellent.
Not only are the native cuisines outstanding, but the U.K. has a very diverse food culture, embracing foods from around the globe. We were lucky enough to learn about foods from across the globe centuries ago, before the age of easy and accessible international travel and communications; During the media period, English food in particular was often lavishly spiced with exotic spices from the Middle and Far East.
You see, as a nation we embrace good food, often incorporating foreign dishes into our nation’s culinary lexicon.
As to why the food isn’t internationally renowned; who knows? Maybe the poor reputation it earned during the last two world wars, when shortages and rationing were the order of the day has been responsible.
I can only tell you that the food enjoyed on these fair islands is of very high quality and an absolute delight to experience. If you’re not from the U.K., please be welcome to come and visit us and partake of the cuisine so you know for yourself.
 
英国的食物(不仅是英格兰的食物，还有北爱尔兰、威尔士和苏格兰的食物)一般都很好吃。
英国不仅本土美食非常出色，而且拥有非常多样化的饮食文化，包括来自世界各地的食物。我们很幸运地了解了几个世纪前世界各地的食物，那时还没有便捷的国际旅行和通讯；在中世纪时期，英国的食物经常大量添加来自中东和远东的异国香料。
你看，作为一个国家，我们拥抱美食，经常把外国菜纳入我们国家的烹饪词汇。
至于为什么这种食物没有国际知名度；谁知道呢？也许是在过去两次世界大战期间，当短缺和配给成为日常秩序的时候，它赢得了糟糕的声誉。
我只能告诉你，在这些美丽的岛屿上享用的食物质量非常高，体验起来绝对令人愉悦。如果你不是英国人，欢迎你来我们这里做客，一起品尝这里的美食，这样你自己就知道了。
 
Dick Selwood
In the 1940s and 50s food available in British restaurants etc was not of paarticularly high quality. This was mainly due to rationing. Food in many private houses was not as bad.
From the late 1950s things began to change and have steadily improved in both the public and private realm and there is a wide range of restaurants serving food based on British ingredients
in 2021 there are
7 Three Michelin Star restaurants
20 Two Michelin Star restaurants
158 One Michelin Star restaurants
Not all of these serve purely British food but even when they are serving , for example, French style they are drawing on the wonderul ingredients that are available.
 
在20世纪40年代和50年代，英国餐馆的食物质量不是特别高。
这主要是由于配给的原因。许多私人住宅的食物也没那么差。
从20世纪50年代末开始，这种情况开始发生变化，并在公共和私人领域稳步改善，有很多餐厅供应以英国食材为原料的食物。
2021年有
7家米其林三星餐厅
20家米其林星级餐厅
158家米其林一星餐厅
并非所有这些餐厅都提供纯正的英国菜，但即使是法式餐厅，它们也会利用现有的美味食材。
 
Tim Newberry
I regularly cook my American wife British food. She loves an English Breakfast (inc beans and black pudding but not fried tomato).
But these are the “basic" British foods. There are a zillion other dishes I would be happy to serve The Queen or the President. (As an aside, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has SUCH finesse as a diplomat that she served TRump lamb. That is as stylish a putdown as I can think of).
There is one family recipe I introduced that my wife's (large) family has now adopted as a Thanksgiving tradition. And many others I've been asked for the recipe.
As with all cuisines, English food can be very tasty or very bland. It's more the cook than the food.
 
我经常给我的美国妻子做英国菜。她喜欢英式早餐(包括豆子和黑布丁，但不包括炸西红柿)。
但这些都是“基本”的英国食物。我很乐意为女王或总统做无数道菜。(顺便说一句，作为一名外交官，伊丽莎白女王非常有策略，她给特朗普上了羊肉。这是我能想到的最时髦的贬低)。
我介绍了一个家庭食谱，现在我妻子的大家庭已经把它作为感恩节的传统。还有很多人问我食谱。
和所有的菜系一样，英国的食物可能很好吃，也可能很清淡。菜好不好更重要的是看厨师，而不是食物。
 
David Osofsky
While there are some amazing gems that you are less likely to find abroad, such as scotch eggs, sticky toffee pudding, Cornish pasty, and steak and ale pie, …
remember where the sandwich got its name. apple pie have their origins in England. The most popular cheese in the world is cheddar.
And, by the way, the chocolate bar was invented in England.
 
虽然这里也有一些在国外不太可能找到的美味佳肴，比如苏格兰蛋、粘乎乎的太妃布丁、康沃尔馅饼、牛排和苹果派
记住三明治的名字是怎么来的。苹果派起源于英国。世界上最受欢迎的奶酪是切达干酪。
顺便说一下，巧克力棒是在英国发明的。
 
Nick Von Bergen
Tourism only started off in the 1950’s where the more affluent could go further than their county, state or country. England was not the hotspot due to its weather and perception. People wanted to go to the sun and “fun” countries.
France was always a tourist destination and french couisine….
When I was sent to an english boarding school in 1977 I was aghast at the bland quality, and lack thereof.
Generally people made fun of the Brit cook boiling the meat and garnishing everything with butter.
I have last travelled through England and Scottland 6 years ago, after a 20 year hiatus, and the food had improved tremendously.
I suppose it comes down to demand creating the supply.
But I suppose it will still take some time that you will find a English restaurant, next to a Italian, Czech and French in Dar es Salaam
 
旅游业只是在20世纪50年代才开始的，富裕的人可以去比他们的县、州或国家更远的地方。由于天气原因和人们的认知，英格兰并不是热点地区。人们想去充满阳光和“有趣”的国家。
法国一直是旅游胜地，有法国美食....
1977年，当我被送进一所英国寄宿学校时，我对学校的乏味和缺乏品质感到震惊。
通常人们会取笑英国厨师煮肉还把黄油当做配菜。
我上次去英格兰和苏格兰旅行是在6年前，时隔20年，当时那里的食物有了极大的改善。
我想这归结为需求创造了供给。
但我想，在达累斯萨拉姆，你仍需要一段时间才能找到一家英国餐厅，旁边是一家意大利、捷克和法国餐厅
 
John Ferguson
Like the industrial revolution and football, Britain’s principal culinary innovation was gifted to the world, picked up and improved by foreigners.
I give you the humble sandwich.
The urban legend has it that Lord Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich (and a hefty gambler) concocted this simple yet effective solution to eating his dinner while engaged in a lengthy card game in 1762.
Of course, Montagu was standing on the shoulders of giants with his idea of sticking meat between two slices of bread, with Greece (one of Montagu’s favourite destinations) the likely source of the idea. But just like when Steve Jobs “invented” the MP3 player and the smartphone, it’s not who goes first, but who markets it better, and with the explosion of interest and subsequent global export of the “The Sandwich”, Montagu is the Steve Jobs of the sandwich world.
With around half a billion sandwiches eaten worldwide every day, one could make the case that British food is actually the most popular cuisine on Earth
 
就像工业革命和足球，英国最主要的烹饪创新被外国人带到了世界，并得到了改进。
我给你一个不起眼的三明治。
坊间传说，1762年，桑威治第四任伯爵蒙塔古 (他是一个强壮的赌徒)想出了一个简单而有效的解决办法，一边玩漫长的纸牌游戏一边吃晚饭。
当然，蒙塔古是站在巨人的肩膀上，想出了把肉夹在两片面包之间的主意，而希腊(蒙塔古最喜欢的目的地之一)很可能就是这个主意的发源地。但就像史蒂夫·乔布斯“发明”MP3播放器和智能手机一样，不是谁先“发明”，而是谁营销得更好。随着人们对“三明治”的兴趣激增，以及随后“三明治”的全球出口，蒙塔古成了三明治世界的史蒂夫·乔布斯。
全世界每天大约有5亿个三明治被吃掉，可以说英国食物是世界上最受欢迎的美食
 
Claire Jordan
Most of the UK has a very temperate and lush climate which results in very high-quality produce which doesn’t need to travel far, and which has traditionally been cheap enough to be available even to most of the poor. British cooking therefore tends not to use many spices and herbs, because it gets its flavour from having superb-quality, fresh ingredients.
 
英国大部分地区气候温和，郁郁葱葱，不需要长途跋涉就能生产出高质量的农产品，而且传统上非常便宜，即使是大多数穷人也能买得起。因此，英国烹饪往往不使用很多香料和香草，因为它的味道来自于优质、新鲜的食材。
 
Avett Jaxzan
"I miss Sunday lunch with my family,'' I once told a very polite Japanese man I was tutoring. "Mm", he nodded. "But, I think maybe...British food is quite...terrible?" When pressed on the subject, people will generally describe their impression of British food as bland Soddy, over Cooked and visually unappealing
English food has a bad reputation. Despite gifting humanity with delicacies such as the Yorkshire pudding, mushy peas and mince pies, English cuisine receives a lot of criticism for being “bland” or just plain weird.
Americans ridicule English gravy-based dishes, while Europeans joke that English cuisine is overcooked.
 
“我想念周日和家人的午餐，”我曾经告诉一位非常有礼貌的日本人，他是我的家教。“嗯”,他点了点头。“但是，我想也许……英国食物很……糟糕？” 当被问到这个问题时，人们通常会说英国食物淡而无味，煮得太熟，而且看起来没有吸引力
英国食物名声不好。尽管英国烹饪给人们带来了美味佳肴，如约克郡布丁、豌豆糊和肉馅饼，但它还是因为“平淡无奇”或怪异的味道而受到了很多批评。
美国人嘲笑以肉汁为主的英国菜，而欧洲人则开玩笑说英国菜煮过头了。
 
Zsarynika Tschetter
I am sorry you are not better informed. When you come to UK, it is not only English food, but an adoption of foods from all around the world. English Breakfast, Brunch, Tea, High Tea, Dinner, are all meals that can be enjoyed with relish when is prepared traditionally. American Thanksgiving dinner. Not unlike the English Traditional Family Sunday Dinner. If English food was so unpopular, why are there so many English cafe’s??
 
很遗憾你没有更好地了解实际情况。当你来到英国，你会发现不仅仅是英国的食物，而有来自世界各地的食物。英式早餐、早午餐、茶点、下午茶、晚餐，都是按传统方式烹制的美味佳肴。美国的感恩节晚餐。就像英国传统家庭周日晚餐一样。如果英国菜这么不受欢迎，为什么还有那么多英国咖啡馆?
 
Alice Gordon
I guess it is the same as Jewish food. Universally no one likes things flavored with garlic and salt only, and cooked to death without gravy or cream products including butter. People do not universally like British food as it seems to be heavy, uninteresting and bland.
US cuisine is fast food. It is bland too but it is universal becauser it is cheap and fast. No one takes their whole family to celebrate Christmas with this.
 
我想这和犹太食物是一样的。普遍来说，没有人喜欢只加大蒜和盐调味的食物，没有肉汁或奶油产品(包括黄油)就会被煮烂。并不是所有的人都喜欢英国食物，因为它们的味道似乎很重，索然无味和清淡。
美国菜是快餐。它也是无味的，但美国快餐也到处都有，因为它是廉价的而且食用起来也很方便。但没人会带全家去用这些快餐庆祝圣诞节。
 
Misinterpreted Questions
Chances are that they have never been to the country or experienced the cuisine in any authentic way. I don't know of any foreign visitor who has not been totally blown away by the place.
 
他们很可能从来没有去过这个国家，也没有真正体验过那里的美食。据我所知，这个地方的美食会彻底震撼来这里旅游的所有外国游客。
 
John Baker
Most cuisine concentrated on sauces and spices to mask the flavour of some quite indifferent ingredients. English food is much more about sexting good fresh ingredients and cooking them well.
Basically you can put anything in a curry and it will taste the same but without the sauce there is no way to mask poor quality produce.
 
大多数菜肴都是用酱汁和香料来掩盖一些不怎么起眼的配料的味道。英国食物更多的是选择好新鲜的食材并把它们煮熟。
基本上，你可以在咖喱里放任何东西，味道都是一样的，但没有酱汁，就没有办法掩盖劣质食物的味道。
 
Shing Chan
Most British people can’t cook and use prepackaged food.
mostly the microwave to prepare their food. You can tell when people hardly cook because the kitchen knives are small and blunt which is virtually all the ones I have come across in British kitchens.
 
大多数英国人不会做饭，也不会使用预先包装好的食物做饭。
他们主要是用微波炉来准备食物。你可以发现人们不怎么做饭，因为厨房里的刀又小又钝，我在英国厨房里见过的几乎都是这种刀。
 
Chris Judge
Sure there's a vague influence from the colonial era as regards some foods, but South Africa has far superior raw materials, a totally different climate which makes many English dishes unpalatable, and just as much influence from Dutch, Indian, Malay cuisines.
Nobody goes out to English restaurants apart from the odd pub, whilst Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Chinese, and local-inspired restaurants are all far more popular and thus numerous.
 
当然，有些食物受到了殖民时代的影响，但南非拥有优质得多的原材料，完全不同的气候使得许多英国菜很难吃，同时也受到了荷兰菜、印度菜和马来菜的影响。
除了奇怪的酒吧，没有人会去英国餐馆，而意大利、希腊、葡萄牙、中国和本地风味的餐馆都更受欢迎，因此这些餐馆数量众多。
 
Chris Judge
Every Guest House and Hotel I've stayed in in South Africa has served bacon, eggs, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and toast for breakfast. Together with marmalade, Marmite, and lots of hit milky tea.
The best restaurant I visited in Jo'berg was the Butcher's Shop in Mandela Square, Sandton. Steak and chips is typical British fare.
 
我在南非住过的每一家宾馆和酒店早餐都有培根、鸡蛋、香肠、蘑菇、番茄和吐司。还有橘子酱，马麦酱，还有大量的奶茶。
我在去过的最好的餐馆是曼德拉广场的肉店。牛排和薯条是典型的英国食物。
 
David Polychronis Goldman
Wimpy, and a chain of American food items, is hardly British. The double bacon cheeseburger isn't an English invention.
Yes, a fry-up is the epitome of British cuisine but nobody eats in SA, not when boerewors is so damn good. And it's just as often served with a fat steak, something that doesn't happen in Britain.
As to marmite and milky tea, they're included in the “Sure there's a vague influence from the colonial era as regards some foods" part of my previous answer.
As to claiming steak and chips, People have been grilling meat and frying potatoes long before England existed.
Next time try the steak. And then take a good look around and see how many English restaurants you see.
 
Wimpy，是一家美国食品连锁店，在英国几乎找不到。双层培根芝士汉堡不是英国人发明的。
是的，煎炸是英国美食的缩影，但在南非，没有人会吃这些，尤其是当南非香肠这么好吃的时候。它通常和肥美的牛排一起上，而这在英国是没有的。
至于马麦酱和奶茶，它们被列入了我之前回答的“当然，有些食物受到了殖民时代的影响”。
至于牛排和薯条，早在英国出现之前，人们就已经开始烤肉和炸土豆了。
下次去尝尝牛排吧。然后仔细看看周围有多少英国餐馆。
 
Chris Judge
Wimpey. Before that the HQ was in London, before the chain was bought by Famous Brands of SA. Both the bacon and chedar cheese used in a double bacon cheeseburger originated from the UK. The hamburger originated in Hamburg, where it is called Frikadelle. The Americans merged them all together.
Potatoes were in use before England existed, yes — but only in Peru!
British cuisine is popular all round the world. From apple pie in the USA to roast lamb with mint sauce in New Zealand. I remember having an excellent afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches, scones and cream with fancy cakes in the Castle Hotel on Kilindini Road in Mombasa.
 
Wimpey，在此之前，总部设在伦敦，连锁店被SA旗下的著名品牌公司收购。双层培根芝士汉堡所用的培根和切达奶酪都起源于英国。汉堡起源于汉堡，在那里被称为肉圆。美国人把他们全部合并在一起。
是的，土豆在英国出现之前就已经在使用了，但只是在秘鲁！
英国菜在全世界都很受欢迎。从美国的苹果派到新西兰的薄荷酱烤羊肉。我记得在蒙巴萨克林迪尼路的城堡酒店享用了一顿美味的下午茶，有黄瓜三明治、烤饼、奶油和奇特的蛋糕。
 
David Polychronis Goldman
You can't seriously be trying to claim hamburgers as Brtish. Nope, sorry.
It matters not where the businesses are based (it's Joburg) nor where they source ingredients from. I also find the claim that bacon and cheddar were imported from Britain implausible; high (100%+) levies and duties on imports during the embargo and sanctions era would have made it unprofitable. And why would they import such basic items that can be made just as well domestically? Can't see that happening.
And again, yes some of the colonies have maintained English influences. Or else wheel them out for the British tourists. So what? How many other cuisines have influenced these places equally or more strongly?
It's braai. And tell me where in Britain you've seen meat taken to the level you've just described.
 
你不会真想说汉堡是英国的吧。对不起，不是的。
这些企业的总部基地在哪里，原料从哪里来，都无关紧要。我还发现培根和切达干酪是从英国进口的说法是不可信的；在禁运和制裁时期，对进口产品征收100%以上的高关税将使其无利可图。为什么他们要进口这些可以在国内生产的基本的物品呢？这是不可能发生的。
是的，一些殖民地仍然受到英国的影响。或者把它们推给英国游客。那又怎样？有多少其他菜系同样或更强烈地影响了这些地方？
烤肉野餐。告诉我你在英国哪里见过肉类达到你刚才描述的水平。
 
Chris Judge
I'm not claiming Hamburg is in Britain. I know it's in Germany. That's a country I lived in for 15 years. I know about German cuisine, which is no worse and no better than in the UK.
 
我不是说汉堡在英国。我知道是在德国。我在那个国家生活了15年。我知道德国菜，和英国菜相比，德国菜不算很差，也好不到哪里去