Post by tomsgirl on Oct 5, 2006 22:08:42 GMT 1
Lucy was doing a feature on GMTV last week promoting British favourite foods for British Food Fortnight which was part of their 1 minute show ( can't remember what it is called)
Here is the web details
www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=22573
Actress Lucy Pargeter, aka Emmerdale's Chastity Dingle, reveals some fascinating facts about the nation's favourite foods
Fish and Chips
Over half of you reckon fish and chips is your absolute favourite takeaway. So it's no surprise that we have over 11,000 chippy's in the UK.
Ketchup is the single most popular topping, except in Scotland where brown sauce is a favourite.
Long gone are the days when we enjoyed eating fish and chips from newspaper. Modern day hygiene standards have put paid to that.
Nobody knows where this famous culinary delight originates from. However, we do know it was actually the French who invented chips. They appeared in Britain for the first time during the 17th century and somewhere along the line found their home with fish.
Fish and chips became such a British institution, that during World War II the Minister of Food declared them the only food not to be rationed.
Sunday Roast
Fry-ups, tea and Sunday roasts are the top three foods missed by Britons living abroad, according to a recent survey.
Here in the UK, 1 in 2 of you say a roast dinner is the best meal to cheer you up.
It was back in the 18th century when roasted meats, especially beef, became Britain's unofficial national dish.
However, did you know the dish we today call a 'roast' isn't actually a roast at all? In the 18th century true roasts were cooked on a spit in the heat of an open fire. Now, we just pop them in the oven, so really we should rename it 'Sunday bake'!
Whatever you call it, you can't have roast beef without Yorkshire pudding. Though the truth is, Yorkshire puddings were originally invented as a first course filler for poor people who couldn't afford much meat. Now they're a British delicacy.
Tea
We British really do love our tea and drink 165 million cups every day!
We've been drinking tea in Britain for over 350 years but have you ever wondered where your favourite cuppa originates from?
According to legend, in 2737 B.C.E. the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servants boiled water and some plant leaves from the tree blew into his water and it created what we now know as tea.
Tea is always the first thing to be offered after a long day out, or in the event of bad news. In fact we see "a nice cuppa tea" as the answer to all our problems.
Something else I bet you didn't know about tea - without milk there's no calories whatsoever!
Baked Beans on Toast
Even though baked beans are actually an American invention this dish really has become a British institution.
So much so that we Brits buy a staggering 97% of the world's tinned baked beans. Which is an amazing figure since they've only been around in the UK just over a century.
Always a last resort meal but beans on toast is surprisingly tasty!During the 1990's the humble baked bean was the reason behind one of the biggest ever price wars amongst supermarket retailers and some were actually selling tins at just 1 pence!
While beans are just youngsters, toast has been around a staggering 6000 years. It might be one of life's simple pleasures now but in ancient times toasting bread was a means of preserving it.
Fry-ups
There's nothing like a good old British fry-up for curing that hangover!
You might think you're being naughty indulging in a fry-up but eggs are rich in cystine, an amino acid which helps purge toxins via the liver. But do go easy on the oil.
The fry-up is actually a 19th century creation and was meant to fuel up agricultural and factory workers who expected to be spending a long hard day at work.
Back then a typical fry-up consisted of bacon, eggs, sausages, kippers, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
It didn't take long to become a great British icon, even Queen Victoria was apparently partial to the odd banger, or two!
Banger! That's a strange old word isn't it? Well sausages developed their nickname during World War II because they contained so much water they exploded when fried.
Here is the web details
www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=22573
Actress Lucy Pargeter, aka Emmerdale's Chastity Dingle, reveals some fascinating facts about the nation's favourite foods
Fish and Chips
Over half of you reckon fish and chips is your absolute favourite takeaway. So it's no surprise that we have over 11,000 chippy's in the UK.
Ketchup is the single most popular topping, except in Scotland where brown sauce is a favourite.
Long gone are the days when we enjoyed eating fish and chips from newspaper. Modern day hygiene standards have put paid to that.
Nobody knows where this famous culinary delight originates from. However, we do know it was actually the French who invented chips. They appeared in Britain for the first time during the 17th century and somewhere along the line found their home with fish.
Fish and chips became such a British institution, that during World War II the Minister of Food declared them the only food not to be rationed.
Sunday Roast
Fry-ups, tea and Sunday roasts are the top three foods missed by Britons living abroad, according to a recent survey.
Here in the UK, 1 in 2 of you say a roast dinner is the best meal to cheer you up.
It was back in the 18th century when roasted meats, especially beef, became Britain's unofficial national dish.
However, did you know the dish we today call a 'roast' isn't actually a roast at all? In the 18th century true roasts were cooked on a spit in the heat of an open fire. Now, we just pop them in the oven, so really we should rename it 'Sunday bake'!
Whatever you call it, you can't have roast beef without Yorkshire pudding. Though the truth is, Yorkshire puddings were originally invented as a first course filler for poor people who couldn't afford much meat. Now they're a British delicacy.
Tea
We British really do love our tea and drink 165 million cups every day!
We've been drinking tea in Britain for over 350 years but have you ever wondered where your favourite cuppa originates from?
According to legend, in 2737 B.C.E. the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was sitting beneath a tree while his servants boiled water and some plant leaves from the tree blew into his water and it created what we now know as tea.
Tea is always the first thing to be offered after a long day out, or in the event of bad news. In fact we see "a nice cuppa tea" as the answer to all our problems.
Something else I bet you didn't know about tea - without milk there's no calories whatsoever!
Baked Beans on Toast
Even though baked beans are actually an American invention this dish really has become a British institution.
So much so that we Brits buy a staggering 97% of the world's tinned baked beans. Which is an amazing figure since they've only been around in the UK just over a century.
Always a last resort meal but beans on toast is surprisingly tasty!During the 1990's the humble baked bean was the reason behind one of the biggest ever price wars amongst supermarket retailers and some were actually selling tins at just 1 pence!
While beans are just youngsters, toast has been around a staggering 6000 years. It might be one of life's simple pleasures now but in ancient times toasting bread was a means of preserving it.
Fry-ups
There's nothing like a good old British fry-up for curing that hangover!
You might think you're being naughty indulging in a fry-up but eggs are rich in cystine, an amino acid which helps purge toxins via the liver. But do go easy on the oil.
The fry-up is actually a 19th century creation and was meant to fuel up agricultural and factory workers who expected to be spending a long hard day at work.
Back then a typical fry-up consisted of bacon, eggs, sausages, kippers, tomatoes, mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
It didn't take long to become a great British icon, even Queen Victoria was apparently partial to the odd banger, or two!
Banger! That's a strange old word isn't it? Well sausages developed their nickname during World War II because they contained so much water they exploded when fried.