British Cuisine

Definition of cuisine: ‘a style characteristic of a particular country or region where the cuisine has developed historically using distinctive ingredients, specific preparation and cooking methods or equipment, and presentation or serving techniques’.

UK culinary traditions

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are the three standard meals of the day.
Baking, grilling, roasting, stewing, frying and boiling are all common cooking techniques.
Electric/gas ovens are used to bake or roast foods; pans are used to cook foods on stoves.

Traditional ingredients

Fruit - apples, blueberries, strawberries and rhubarb.
Dairy - milk, cheese, yoghurt and butter.
Eggs - chicken eggs.
Vegetables - broccoli, peas and carrots.
Fish - mackerel, salmon and cod.
Meat - pork, beef and lamb.

Sauces and vegetables

Traditionally, main dishes incorporate meat/fish, potatoes and vegetables.
Forks, knives and spoons are used.
Hot meats are usually accompanied by a sauce (e.g. gravy).
Hot desserts are often accompanied by a wet sauce, like chocolate ice cream, vanilla custard or double cream.
Lots of modern dishes try to do 'fusion' between British and foreign cultures. Examples of this would be:
- Chorizo pork sausage with garlic mashed potato (bangers and mash).
- Croissant bread and butter pudding (traditional bread and butter pudding).

Classic Dishes by Country

Each UK country has staple dishes. Here are some examples:

England

Cottage pie (mashed potato on top of minced beef).
Fish and chips.
Toad in the Hole (sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter).
Steak and kidney pie.
Bread and butter pudding (buttered bread in sugar, eggs and milk).
Fruit crumble (crumbly biscuit or oat on top of stewed fruit).
Bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potato).

Northern Ireland

Ulster fry (fried breakfast).
Pastie (ground pork or beef, potatoes, onions, and different seasonings).
Irish stew (meat, potato, root veg and onion casserole).
Wheaten bread (brown sofa bread).
Fifteens (cake containing digestive biscuits, marshmallows, coconut and cherries)
Crubeens (battered fried pigs' feet).

Wales

Cawl (traditional soup, containing Welsh lamb, leeks and potatoes).
Welsh cakes (flat cakes containing raisins).
Cowny muscles.
Bara Brith (speckled bread, made with self raising flour, tea, dried fruit and mixed spices).
Laverbread (seaweed paste).
Bara brith (fruit cake).
Welsh rarebit (toasted bread in cheese sauce).

Scotland

Bannocks/oatcakes (savoury biscuit made from barley and oat flour).
Haggis (savoury pudding made with lamb/beef, onion, oatmeal etc.)
Scotch broth (red meat-based soup).
Colcannon (soup/stew dish from Western Scotland. Made from boiled cabbage, carrots, turnip and potatoes).
Shortbread (sugar, flour and butter-based biscuit).
Neeps and tatties (oily, mashed swede and potatoes).

1Food Preparation Skills

1.1Food Preparation Skills

1.1.1General Practical Skills

1.1.2Knife Skills

1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment

1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine

1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating

1.1.6Dough & Pastry

1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough

1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures

1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1

2Food, Nutrition & Health

2.1Macronutrients

2.1.1Proteins

2.1.2Proteins 2

2.1.3Fats

2.1.4Carbohydrates

2.1.5Carbohydrates 2

2.2Micronutrients

2.2.1Fat-Soluble Vitamins

2.2.2Water-Soluble Vitamins

2.2.3Minerals & Water

2.2.4Minerals & Water 2

2.2.5End of Topic Test - Macro & Micronutrients

2.3Nutritional Needs & Health

2.3.1Informed Choices for a Balanced Diet

2.3.2Informed Choices for a Balanced Diet 2

2.3.3Energy Needs

2.3.4Nutritional Analysis

2.3.5Diet Modifications

2.3.6Diet-Related Problems

2.3.7Diet-Related Problems 2

2.3.8End of Topic Test - Nutritional Needs & Health

3Food Science

3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer

3.1.1Reasons for Cooking & Heat Transfer

3.1.2Water-Based Cooking Methods

3.1.3Fat-Based Cooking Methods

3.1.4Dry Cooking Methods

3.1.5Dry Cooking Methods 2

3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food

3.2.1Proteins & Carbohydrates

3.2.2Fats & Oils

3.2.3Raising Agents

3.2.4End of Topic Test - Food Science

4Food Safety

4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination

4.1.1Microorganisms & Signs of Food Spoilage

4.1.2Enzymes & Signs of Food Spoilage

4.1.3Food Poisoning

4.1.4Bacterial Contamination

4.1.5Microorganisms in Food Production

4.2Principles of Food Safety

4.2.1Temperature Control

4.2.2Ambient Foods & Food Labels

4.2.3Preparing, Cooking & Serving Food

4.2.4End of Topic Test - Food Safety

5Food Choice

5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice

5.1.1Factors Which Influence Food Choice

5.1.2Food Choices

5.1.3Religious Food Choices

5.1.4Food Labels

5.1.5Mandatory Food Labels

5.1.6Optional Food Labels

5.1.7Marketing Influences

5.1.8End of Topic Test - Food Choice

5.2British & International Cuisines

5.2.1British Cuisine

5.2.2Japanese Cuisine

5.2.3Japanese Ingredients & Dishes

5.2.4Spanish Cuisine

5.2.5Spanish Ingredients & Dishes

5.3Sensory Evaluation

5.3.1Taste Receptors & Olfactory Systems

5.3.2Sensory Testing Methods

5.3.3Sensory Testing Methods 2

5.3.4End of Topic Test - Cuisines & Senses

6Food Provenance

6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food

6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming

6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops

6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food

6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food

6.1.5Food & The Environment

6.1.6Food & The Environment 2

6.1.7Sustainability of Food

6.1.8Sustainability of Food 2

6.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts

6.2Food Processing & Production

6.2.1Primary Food Processing

6.2.2Primary Food Processing 2

6.2.3Secondary Food Processing

6.2.4Fortification

6.2.5Additives

6.2.6End of Topic Test - Food Processing & Production

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