Substantial English breakfast
Since vegetables are cooked with little or no heat treatment, they retain vitamins and natural flavor. Meat and fish are also not fully boiled or often underdone. This gives reason to describe English cuisine as perhaps somewhat monotonous, but by no means poor in vitamins.
English vegetables and fruits from Kent, where they are grown in small gardens, are of high quality. Most famous are strawberries, Victoria plums, Williams pears, and apples.
As for the preparation of fish and other sea creatures, England has no rivals. Everything – from smoked herring to selected oysters – is of the highest quality. Any gourmet will enjoy crabs, lobsters, smoked haddock, herring, halibut, plaice, Dover sole, fresh salmon, and trout.
Lobsters are caught on many coasts, but English ones are reputed to be the best in the world. In coastal areas, fish and chips are excellently prepared.
Among typical English dishes, the most famous are beefsteak (usually medium-rare), rump steak, and roast beef. Little or no fat is used in their preparation.
Tender meat of young lamb, Norfolk turkey, Aylesbury duck, and fried pasties – dishes for gourmets. Very popular is steak and kidney pie – a pie made of kidneys and fillet. Typical English products include Dorset sausages and Wiltshire sausages.
Along with early vegetables, a favorite side dish for fish is Yorkshire pudding (a baked batter dish). It is poured with gravy – a sauce made from broth.
The sandwich also traces its origins to England – its inventor is considered the Duke of Sandwich. In England, it is offered in its original form – fish, sausage, salad, eggs, cheese, or other filling between two slices of bread.
Unfortunately, for economic reasons, most tourist establishments and hotels offer foreign guests a 'continental breakfast' of tea or coffee and a bun with butter or jam. Whereas the famous substantial 'English breakfast' consists of a 'starter' (tea, cornflakes or oatmeal in warm milk, orange or grapefruit juice, or smoked fish – kippers) and a 'main course' (fried eggs (sunny side up or scrambled) with bacon or ham, sausages, and tomatoes). It is served with white bread, rolls, toast with butter and marmalade. Marmalade is citrus marmalade; everything else is jam.
Lunch, as a rule, is quite simple. It may consist of sandwiches or a simple dish served on a plate.
The main meal is dinner between 7 and 8 p.m. Often afternoon tea and dinner are combined into one substantial High Tea at about 6 p.m. It usually includes sandwiches with butter, cold meat and cheese, as well as a hot dish.
The main drink of English cuisine is tea (mostly sweetened with milk). It is also drunk between meals. During meals, they usually drink fruit juices or beer: draft bitter (similar to vintage beer), light ale, brown ale, lager (closest to the Central European Pilsner style), stout, and porter (sweet).
Squashes and lemonades are non-alcoholic drinks. To quench thirst, they gladly drink shandy, a mixture of beer and lemonade. English wines correspond to continental standards.