Im slightly worried the UK is losing its traditional cusine style

Automatic Washer - The world's coolest Washing Machines, Dryers and Dishwashers

Help Support :

Hi Nick. I remember spending summers in Hastings, Sussex. I loved Sainsbury's pork pies and sausage roll. When I lived in New York City, in my area I had a German butcher, an Italian butcher, and a great fish store. Since I moved west, you cannot find a good butcher shop and have to take what is available in the supermarkets. It is not as good as what was available in the butchers back east.

Ross
 
And I think our international friends should know, here in NYC is where many many immigrants first land and stay, each contributing their awesome food palate to the American food "scene".

All kidding aside it is hard to get the quality and variety of food found here in other parts of the country. The sheer volume of inhabitants ensures demand.; Our city has 8 million poeple in it with 12 million in the metropolitan area. The entire State of Connecticut has 3.5 million people.

There are entire stores that sell just specialty light bulbs, beads, condoms etc., any one type of thing, because there is adequate demand.

Frequntly when one leaves NYC we shake our heads and say "off they go to REAL America" TSK TSK TSK.
 
anyhoo..what is the advantage of heating elements on the sides of the oven cavity? Is it just/ mainly a Brit thing?

Any recipes forthcoming? Please......

Our upper element, when used alone is a broiler/grille....
Hidden elements here don't seem to have any advantage in that the majority of ovens are now self-cleaning (pyrolytic), so an unobsturcted top or bottom is not such a big deal..

AHHHHH WAIT.. I suppose one can put a tray of food to cook on the BOTTOM of a Brit cooker (botom ov oven cavity) and on multiple shelves? EUREKA! LOL
 
Our oven has various cooking modes:
It can heat using the fan (sorrounded by elements), using elements in the sides, top and bottom.

You select which cooking mode you want. I only ever use fan or fan+grill (broiler) to brown things.

Bought an induction hob and would *never* go back. It's the most amazing appliance ever. You can control the temprature of a pot/pan absolutely perfectly and it's able to heat things incrediably quickly too. E.g. I can boil a giant pot of water for past far faster than 3KW kettle can boil and a pan is ready to fry in about 10 seconds.
Yet for things like sauces, you can produce the most gentle heat ever.

I think it's even more reactive than gas!

As for British cooking, I have to say I have never been a fan of things like steak and kidney pies. Irish traditional cuisine tends to be probabally less pie-oriented. However the genuinely traditional cuisine has pretty much died out and been replaced by "Celtic Fusion" which basically re-invented the entire concept of Irish food, using traditional ingredients (local meats, cheeses etc) in much more interesting ways.

If you want to take a look at some modern Irish recipes :
http://www.rte.ie/tv/rachelsfavouritefood/Rachel Allen, Ireland's current major TV chef.

There's a link there to a load of recipes.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/rachelsfavouritefood/
 
German ovens

German ovens do not have only hidden elements!
the upper element was/is often a grill element and only the lower one is hidden - which makes more sense than the american open ones:
1. things that cook over do not effect the heater element
2. it is much easier to clean when there's no element in the way
3. the allocation of the heat is more evenly when the whole bottom is hot
4. you can cook things in the oven by putting it onto the bottom for preparing jam in an open pot, sterilise jars, etc.

The english element aside produce a constant heat-flow from bottom to top and top to bottom - a kind of fan-oven without a fan and more long lasting than those...smile!

Ralf
 
Nick, funny I should come across this thread after just trying to find liver in the market while doing my mom's shopping over the weekend. She's 92 and doesn't get out much, legally blind and I've been doing her shopping since my dad passed away 10 years ago. What I've found is that the major chain supermarkets simply don't stock liver, other than Foster Farms chicken livers. Foster Farms has all but cornered the market on fresh chickens it seems, and probably makes deals with the stores to also put the livers on the shelves too.

Only the local independent markets regularly carry liver but I can't remember the last time I saw kidneys, or a veal or pork chop with the kidney attached--wow, I had all but forgotten about those! I hated liver as a kid but enjoy it once in a while now. My dad used to fry up kidneys for breakfast and that's how I learned to eat those. On a plate or just wrapped in a slice of bread. Sweetbreads are my absolute favorite though. Once in a while you'll see them on a menu. Too much work to prepare at home.

I feel that corporations like McDonald's have played havoc with the modern diet. So many kids that won't eat anything but burgers and fries and turn their nose up at any home cooked meal, and a lot of those kids are adults now and perpetuating that practice with their own kids. Only recently has there been any pressure on the fast food industry to make their products more healthy and less deadly.

The restaurant industry is exactly the opposite. When I was growing up, you couldn't find decent Italian food in any local restaurant. Now there are Italian chains that make sauce that comes real close to what my grandmother made. Alice Waters started Chez Pannise restaurant in Berkeley and things finally began to change and the American shift to a more sophisticated palate began. It seems that if you want anything outside of the mainstream for dinner, you need to go to a restaurant because the supermarkets just don't have any selection anymore. I've begun boycotting the big chain markets for a number of reasons and will continue to support the local guys who still have meat departments with live butchers to wait on you. I usually can find what I want there.

Your pie looks delicious Nick. Now I'm hungry for kidneys!

Ralph
 
Maytagbear,

Yup she certainly is. She's TV Chef Dorina Allen's daughter-in-law.
There's a whole dynasty of them now!
 
Funny you say that Ralph because I find that the grocery stores here carry a staggering selection of imported/foreign foods than they ever did in the past and it gets better all the time. And some of them are the same chain as in the US like Safeway, A&P. I'll have to nip over to the A&P or Kroger in Michigan and see what sort of selection they have.
 
I just got back from

my favourite supermarket, Acme Fresh Market. This is NO relation to the Philadelphia area chain. This is an Akron based, family owned chain, founded in 1891!

I have found that finding a good market, getting to know the staff, treating them with respect, and going regularly will reap BIG dividends.

Yes, some things are "special order", but since I am known, they always come through for me. It may be useful to remember this supermarket business saying: "For every customer who asks for a product, there are three who want it, but won't ask."

Link is to the chain, not just my local store.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

http://acmefreshmarket.com
 

Latest posts

Back
Top