I find many British food dishes taste of virtually nothing without the addition of salt, pepper, vinegar, gravy, mustards, mint sauce ketchup or other condiments.
There are exceptions of course, with some bacon, sausages, breads, Yorkshire puddings and fish dishes. We also do fantastic dessert dishes in Britain, but many meals we do are just boring.
Boiled potatoes, Mashed potatoes, cabbage, boiled carrots, etc. Boiling in particular tends to boil the life and taste out of much of our food. Some British meals taste like a plate full of stodge. I find myself attracted to Indian curries, Italian pastas & Pizzas, and Chinese cuisines because they offer food that affects the taste buds rather than bi-passing them.
Presented with the exotic, many in my family retreat from the very suggestion. Calamari, (squid) Frogs legs, strong chilli burritos from Mexico, garlic. Even Scottish haggis or its English cousin Black Pudding tends to frighten many diners I find myself with at meal times.
British food is safe but dull. I tend to end up saturating even the cardboard turkey of a Christmas dinner in cranberry, apple and other sauces.
Some nights I get to the dinner table at my Mum’s feeling ravenous only to lose my appetite when the food is put before me. I know it will involve twenty minutes of dull consumption and swallowing. My mum feels insulted if I add sauce to her dishes.
I end up over-indulging in sweets and cheap quick to buy, quick to eat junk-foods because they taste like something. I can never get enough of a good strong curry or a decent kebab. I am adventurous enough to seek out new foods to taste but many people around me have limited diets.
I still love good old fashioned fish and chips of course. Whatever you are eating tonight, bon appetite.
Arthur Chappell