The reason why I have chosen to talk about food culture for my diploma paper was [614944]

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INTRODUCTION

The reason why I have chosen to talk about food culture for my diploma paper was
because I wanted to understand better the American and English culture, what are their
similarities and also differences in terms of food. Moreover, I have chosen this topic
because I taught it will be a challenge for me to discover more about this aspect of
people’s life. Through this diploma paper I wanted to show that the food plays an
essential role in people’s life and it is an important element of a country’s culture. This
paper aims to discuss the theme of America’s and England’s food culture from
historical perspectives, from what people used to eat in the past with all its
characteristics, right up to this day. It will also discuss aspects of everyday life, what
people eat today at breakfas t, lunch and dinner, which are their traditional dishes , and
last but not least, special meals prepared for holidays, such as Easter, Christmas, New
Year’s Day and many more.
The difficulties I came across when researching information for my diploma
paper were related to finding good sources, which contained the information I needed.
Most sources that I have found were actually recipes and I could not use them because
this is not the purpose of this paper. However, when needed I also l ooked up on the
internet for specific recipes that could help me to understand better the traditional
dishes. Another difficulty that I came across was related to the terminology, especially
when talking about dishes people used to cook in the past, but as I read forward I
understood better and thus I was able to describe exactly the traditional dishes from
England and the United States of America.
The structure of the paper is the following: three main chap ters, the first
chapter having five subchapters a nd the second and the third three subchapters. The
first chapter will analyze each region from both the United States and the UK ; it will
study the main sources of nutrition in the past, the main activities of the people through
which they were getting their food, as well as the ways they were cooking it. The study
will begin in the 1700s and will follow the evolution of food and the techn iques of its
preparation. The second chapter focuses on what is specific to each culture, whether
it’s American or English, the kinds of food that best represents their culture. Thus, the
second chapter will discuss what Americans and English prefer to eat at breakfast, lunch
and dinner, how are prepared those dishes or whether they choose to eat these meals at

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home or go out. The third chapter targets traditional foods which are eaten special
occasions such as Christmas, Easter and New Year Day. The two co untries are very
different from many points of view and the special occasions offer the perfect
opportunity to compare their culture and their specific foods. Some habits are kept in
both countries, but there are, of course, many differences in terms of ga stronomy.

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1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Factors Influencing the Food Culture in England and United States

The history of food culture in any country is heavily influenced by several factors. Each
factor has contributed to form a diversified culinary culture and has been the starting
point for many dishes in history. Whether we are talking about cultural, political or
natural factors that are related to climate, soil or temperature, all these factors have a
decisive role in shaping a gastronom ic culture that is unique to every state. These factors
will be analysed in this subchapters for both countries, namely the United Kingdom and
the United States of America.
The factors that have had a great influence on America’s food culture refer to
the arrival of the people of the Old World in the New World and the ingredients and
dishes they brought with them. There are also five factors that have led to the
development of food culture in America. These are, according to Lou Sackett and David
Haynes, in their book entitled “ American Regional Cuisine ”: “the characteristics of the
land, the food culture of the indigenous people, the food culture of the first settlers,
foods and cooking techniques brought by immigrants and the last one, economic
viability.” (Sackett and Haynes 10)
The first factor refers not only to the soil on which different foods are grown,
but to all the geographic factors that contribute to the development of the food culture.
Thus, the characteristics of the land include soil fertilit y, climate, humidity, as well as
the geographical location of a region that is to be cultivated. The second factor refers
to some aspects of indigenous people’s food and these are: the ingredients used by the
indigenous people, the cooking methods and the ways of preserving the food and
people’s attitudes about food. All of these include certain ingredients that have been
preserved throughout history. One example in this way is corn which has been used in
many dishes in the modern era as well. The method of cooking used by indigenous
people was fire and among the ways of preservation were the drying and smoking.
The third factor also includes two other aspects: the first is the cuisine of the
countries of those who settled in a particular region, and the sec ond refers to the new
food culture that is formed by combining the cuisine of the first settlers and the

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ingredients used by the indigenous people. The national cuisine of those who settled in
a region has an enormous significance because people are cookin g in the style of their
homeland. Thus, in contact with indigenous people, first settlers adapt to the ingredients
used by the native people, creating new dishes, obtained by combining ingredients and
cooking techniques from both cuisines.
The fourth fact or refers to dishes obtained after the arrival of a wave of
immigrants that has a significant impact on a region. Every wave of immigrants brought
with it new ingredients and different styles of cooking. If the first settlers adopted the
ingredients used b y the existing population in a region, immigrants innovated the food
culture of a state, thus if there were more immigration waves, there would be more new
ingredients and new dishes. The fifth factor, the economic viability, refers to the use of
the resou rces of a region as much as possible, so that it can support the people’s need
for food. That means taking advantage of every piece of land that can be used for
agriculture purpose and possessing machinery and cultivation techniques in order to
obtain ever ything that is possible from a region.
If in America the food culture was mainly influenced by the arrival of the new
peoples in different regions, in Britain, the factors that influenced this culture were the
political ones. The most remarkable event that marked both the eighteenth and
ninetee nth centuries was the Industrial Revolution which caused major changes in all
social spheres of the country.
The Industrial Revolution has influenced the gastronomic culture in the sense
that it was accompanied by an agricultural revolution that made majo r changes in
people’s lives. With the industrial revolution, the population has grew rapidly, and
because of that the demand for food was bigger than before and it resulted in an
excessive rise in prices. The fact that the population grew rapidly during th is period led
to the use of new agrarian techniques that could have supported the lives and the
culinary needs of the people. Through these new techniques, farmers learned how to
use efficiently and as much as possible the land they owned. In the eighteent h century
there were two kinds of land that could be cultivated: the open field and the enclosed
one. “In the standard story of the agricultural revolution, the prime mover was the
modernization of agrarian institutions -the enclosure of open fields and the replacement
of peasant cultivation by capitalist farming.” (Allen 78)
The Industrial Revolution had a major impact on the population’s food, as the
population who worked in newly built factories did not have time to cook, because they

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worked a lot of ho urs a day and this resulted in the excessive use of agriculture and its
innovations that were necessary to sustain the need for people’s food. The agricultural
revolution, that took place during this period, contributed to the economic success
enjoyed by E ngland, by the fact that the modernization of the agricultural structures
represented an increase in the production of food and the employment of fewer people
in the enclosed farms which led to the urbanization process.
The modernization of the agrarian s tructures was in fact represented by “the
enclosure of the open fields.” (Allen 63) Thus, the food culture in England was
influenced by these two types: enclosed and open field farming. Each of them had
different characteristics that later led to the speci fic gastronomic culture in the
eighteenth century, but by the end of it, all open field farms turned into enclosed farms
and this was the most important factor influencing food in those times.
Therefore, whether we are talking about the United States of A merica or the
United Kingdom, the eighteenth century has had many factors that have greatly
influenced the gastronomic culture of the two states. Because agriculture and livestock
were the main sources of food at that time, they were the factors that had t he greatest
impact on the foods that were consumed in those times. Whether we are talking about
cultural factors, as in the case of America that has taken different ingredients and ways
of cooking from the migratory waves that came incessantly into the New World, or we
are talking about economic factors, as in the case of England, which due to urbanization
and the rapid growth of population has had to modernize their agrarian structures, these
factors have contributed to the food culture and the creation of new dishes that have
remained present in people’s lives even nowadays.

1.2 The History of Food Culture in the South and the North of United States of
America

When talking about America, it is important to delimit its regions because their
occupations b y the European are very different from the gastronomic point of view.
One part of these regions is the South. What is important about this region is its soil; it
takes advantage of a mild climate, that brings rain and thus humidity favours
agriculture. Oth er sources of food were in the past hunting and fishing. “Although early
Europeans explorers didn’t find gold and spices in the Plantation South, they were
impressed by the superiority of its soil and climate. In an era when most of the world’s

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economy was based on farming, the Plantation South was an agricultural
paradise.”( Sackett and Haynes 27)
The main source of food in this part of the country was the game meat. Among
the animals which were hunted and used for gastronomic purposes were deer, but also
bears that were especially used for their fat, this being the only source of fat in this
region. Besides all the benefits that the animals brought from the culinary point of view,
some parts of them, such as fur or bones, were used by Native Americans to m ake their
clothes or tools. Other sources of food for the people in this region were fish, which
were different in each season and which were seasoned with different wild herbs by the
inhabitants.
After the arrival of the English people in this region, s ome dishes were
preserved and adopted by the English, but the people of the Old World brought with
them their own ingredients and cooking methods which in time they imposed in the
Plantation South. “Colonial Plantation South cuisine mirrored the Old World English
cookery of the time: simple and straightforward, but not totally plain .”(Sackett and
Haynes 39) The first settlers had no choice at first and tried to conform to the food the
American Natives ate. Among them were the meat they hunted, namely rabbit s and
other animals, rich in protein, that were found in the forests of Plantation South. Natives
Americans taught the colonists to prepare this meat, as well as to cultivate certain foods
that were used in daily life such as corn, beans and squash.
After several years of colonization, certain foods specific to the Old World were
transported into the New World, leading to changes in the diet of people living in the
South of the United States of America. The chickens were among the animals raised in
this reg ion, but they were not used for their meat, but rather for their eggs, which were
an essential source of protein in people’s daily diet. Even though this region was
agriculturally beneficial, because it favoured the cultivation of some foods, the climate
did not allow the raising of cattle that would have produced the beef that the English
colonists used for the dishes they cooked in the Old World. “ Planters and small farmers
raised a limited number of dairy cattle and slaughtered them for meat only when th ey
were no longer productive. ”(Sackett and Haynes 39)
The most important source of meat, existent at that time in this region was pork.
The inhabitants used all parts of o pig to obtain different dishes, although some parts
were eaten fresh, without adding any other ingredients or wild herbs. “The liver,
kidneys, and loin were eaten fresh; meat scraps and trimmings were ground with

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additional fat and encased in the hog’s intestines to make sausage; the remaining fat
was rendered into lard .” (Sackett and Haynes 40) What resulted from the combination
of the two cuisines, namely the American Natives cuisine and that of the new English
settlers, was a hybrid cuisine, through which new dishes were created, using both
indigenous ingredients and in gredients brought from the Old World by English settlers.
Although corn was one of the most important foods grown in this region, over
time, tobacco became the most valuable source of the Plantation South. Thus, the south
part of United States of America was under the necessity of producing more and more
tobacco, but in order to do so, it needed a cheap labour resource, and this was
constituted by the slaves brought to work the land. Those who owed the plantations
were called planters. With the arrival of the slaves in the south of the country, three
different styles of cooking could be distinguished: the one of the planters, the one of
the slaves and last but not least, the cooking style of the middle class.
The planter cuisine distinguished itself from th e other two types by the fact that
on the table of those who owned the plantations, there were always many foods, rich in
protein, different dishes, that although were cooked by the slaves, could only be seen
on the planter’s table. “ They typically ate lar ge amounts of protein foods: their meals
typically focused on meat, poultry, game, or seafood. ” (Sackett and Haynes 43) Among
the foods the planters ate were: the chicken, whether fried or roasted, the food produced
by the cows, namely milk, butter or chee se, and even the best parts of a pig were on the
table of those who owned the plantations. “In addition to wines, spirits, cheeses, and
seasonings imported from Europe, planters also imported Caribbean ingredients,
including rum, cane sugar, cane syrup, mo lasses, and tropical fruits.“ (Sackett and
Haynes 43)
The slave cooking was much poorer in food than the one discussed above. This
was mainly due to the fact that the diet of those who worked on the plantations was
limited by the planters. Their diet contai ned exiguous food, low in protein, mainly
vegetables, such as dried beans, salt and corn and only a small amount of lard was
allowed by the planter, from the parts of an animal. The meat from a pig was, however,
given to the slaves who worked the plantatio ns, but only certain parts that were not in
the planters’ diet, from which they could cook tasty dishes . “When a hog was butchered,
slaves received the ribs, neck bones, ears, tails, and feet .”(Sackett and Haynes 44)
Not all families that owned land were part of the planter aristocracy. There were
families which cultivated the land themselves and grew animals like pigs or chickens.

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Thus, from a gastronomic point of view, middle class families ate not as much as
planters, but not as exiguous as slaves. They generally ate vegetables and only on
Sundays and holidays their food resembled that of the planters, rich in protein and with
different kinds of meat, seasoned with sweet potatoes or cabbage. However, the most
important source of food for these families w as corn. “Corn in all its forms —from
cornbread to hominy soup —was the staff of life.”(Sackett and Haynes 46)
Unlike the South of the country, the North is characterized by both flat land and
mountainous areas, this being possible due to the existence of th e Rocky Mountains,
which produce a harsh climate together with a rigid and rocky soil. Although this
climate dominates a large part of the North, there are portions that were used for
agrarian purposes and which over the years brought gastronomic benefits to people who
lived in this region. This stretch of land is known as the trans -Appalachian flatlands and
in the past it was a heavily forested area, but because of people’s need to eat, it was
soon transformed into an agricultural area used for nutritional purposes.
The arid area represented by the Rocky Mountains was not populated by the
Native Americans because the soil did not allow the necessary conditions to live there
nor the possibility of gastronomic development. This area was especially used by
Natives people to hunt or was exploited by the foragers. Instead, the flat area was a
place that offered many opportunities to Native Americans and the way they ate was
similar to the one used by Natives from the South. As in the South, people had to live
mainly from fishing or from hunting. They were even experts in fishing and among the
fish they used to eat were: “yellow perch, muskellunge, and walleye .” (Sackett and
Haynes 411) Even the way Natives Americans’ used to prepare the fish they caught
was an i ndicator of how they perceived their food and how they used the things they
had in order to cook several dishes. “Large lake fish frequently were cooked by the
planking method, in which sides of fish are affixed to slabs of wood and placed near a
wood fire .”(Sackett and Haynes 411)
Among those who crossed the North of the United States of America were the
French. They arrived in this region, mainly because they wanted to look for fur and
after a short period in this region, they ceded it to England. History had a major impact
on this region because at the time it was still wooded, two groups of people came there
to start an agricultural process, namely “Americans from the East Coast and immigrants
from Europe.” (Sackett and Haynes 412) The two groups set the ir stamps on the
gastronomic culture of that time in the North of the United States of America, thus

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developing a food culture characterized by different kinds of eating or different styles
of cooking.
The Americans on the East Coast who came to the North were people which
moved from the New England area because they did not make a profit from their farms
or were people who just wanted to own a farm, and over time, this region represented
the perfect place in which they created and developed their farms. “New England
farmers escaping a region where manufacturing now drove the economy and whose
farms were too small to be profitable. Others were landless farm laborers and tenant
farmers from the Mid -Atlantic .” (Sackett and Haynes 412) Among immigrants from
Europe who came to this region were German farmers, then Scandinavians and the third
migratory wave was represented by peoples from Eastern Europe.
The food in this region is characterized by a lot of protein, so in the centre of
every dish, they had a type of meat, seasoned often with potatoes. Fish was also a
culinary base, but because of the pollution that was encountered more and more often,
it gradually disappeared from the diet of the inhabitants. Among the types of meat
chosen by the inhabitants of thi s region were beef, pork and chicken and the most
common fish ate in this part of the state was walleye which was simply seasoned with
lemon juice and salt.
Vegetables also played an important role in the gastronomic culture of this
region, with food, gen erally being seasoned either by potatoes, whether they are baked
or fried, or corn which for a long time represented the basis of every dish of this region.
Cheese was also important for the preparation of various dishes “Regionally produced
Cheddar accent s starch dishes, such as macaroni and cheese, Welsh rarebit, and
potatoes au gratin .” (Sackett and Haynes 417)

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1.3 The History of Food Culture in the East and the West of United States of
America.

Representative of the Eastern Coast of the United States of America is the region called
New England by its first settlers. From a geographic point of view, this area did not
offer many opportunities to those living there because it had a fairly changing climate
because of the mountains that s tretch to this part, the influence of the Atlantic Ocean
and the fact that this region has long been afforested. Because of the presence of the
Appalachian Mountains, the soil is quite rigid, thus the agriculture could not be used
too much as a source of f ood. This is region of extremes, being influenced either by the
warm air coming from the south of the state or by the cold temperatures felt in the north.
This region was the last of those populated by the Native Americans, this being
mainly due to hard a rable soil and extremely changing weather. The influence of the
mountains had a negative impact on agriculture, because the Native Americans in this
region could not practice agriculture, as did the inhabitants of the south. The only source
of food gained from agriculture was corn that often could not support people’s need for
food and they had to fish or hunt in order to obtain different dishes from which they
could get the protein they needed. “Dishes made with corn, beans, and squash were
typically reserved for the most special occasions and ser ved to the most honored
guests.” (Sackett and Haynes 89)
The main occupation of the men in this region was fishing and hunting,
especially in the spring and in order to keep fresh the fish they caught until t he cold
season, people used salt as the main method of preserving. Some of the ingredients used
by the Native Americans were: pumpkins, (whether they were baked or boiled, often
seasoned with maple syrup) corn, (used by Native Americans as a delicacy, eate n rather
rarely or only on special occasion, but which after the arrival of the colonist gained
greater importance and was used in several dishes) beaked beans (eaten fresh or fried,
they have long been the main source of protein for people’s diet). Succot ash is a dish
obtained from the combination of dried beans with corn and is quite common in modern
New England cuisine.
Those who settled in this region were the English. They were middle -class or
upper -class people who left England for religious reasons. They left England when the
Protestant church became the national religion of the country, so they were Catholics
and separatist Protestants had to go elsewhere on the basis of their faith. A protestant

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separatist group were the Pilgrims. These were conser vative people who had certain
restrictions on different foods, so when they came in a new region they did not agree to
eat what Native Americans were eating, such as fish or plants which were found in the
indigenous people’s diet.

Less than adequate hunte rs, and unwilling to eat seafood, the Pilgrims suffered both hunger and
disease through the winter of 1620 –1621, known as “the starving time.” Of the 102 Pilgrims
who arrived in New England, half survived. The tiny Pilgrim presence at Plymouth was soon
overshadowed by a larger, more organized migration of another separatist Protestant sect, the
Puritans, that would soon become the dominant force in New England. (Sackett and Haynes 91)

The Puritans based their diet on bread and beef and the cows they brou ght from
England on ships were mainly used for their milk and their meat was only used when
they were near death. As these foods could not last long, the Puritans had no choice but
to conform to the Native Americans’ food. Native Americans taught them to c ultivate
their land, prepare indigenous food and use the three ingredients most common in this
region, namely corn, pumpkins and dried beans.
Once the trade developed and the English were able to bring from the Old World
the ingredients they used in their past diet, what resulted was a hybrid cuisine because
the settlers kept the base of the American food which they seasoned and spiced with
their own ingredients, leading to other new dishes. Thus, the maple syrup was quite
quickly replaced with molasses an d other ingredients such as onion, cloves or mustard
gave a fresh taste to dried beans dishes. Another hybrid dish is the apple pie which is
believed to be completely American. This is not true because apple was imported by
the English from the Old World i n New England.
Although at first, the first settlers did not agree to eat local fish, with time they
had no choice and conformed, so the dishes that were obtained by using ingredients
from the Old World had both a Native Americans’ influence and an Englis h colonists’
influence. Among the seafood eaten by the New England people is the cod, the cold –
water lobster, the oysters and the mussels. At the beginning of the 1800s a new wave
of migration took place in New England. Among the peoples who came during th is
period were the Italian who brought the specificity of their cuisine to the United States
of America. “American ingredients significantly altered how Italian immigrants
prepared their traditional dishes and gave rise to the Italian -American microcuisine .”
(Sackett and Haynes 102)

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The western part of the country represented by states such as Washington State
or Oregon is distinguished by two different parts from the gastronomic point of view.
“The Cascade Mountains cut through Oregon and Washington in ri dges running
parallel to the coa st, bisecting the lower Pacific Northwest region into coastal plain and
interior plateau. ” (Sackett and Haynes 603) The two distinct parts are influenced by
various climatic factors that turn the region, on the one hand in a n area that favours
agriculture being beneficial for the cultivation of different foods and on the other hand
in an arid area that is not enough favourable for cultivation.
The gastronomic base of Native Americans in this region was fish, especially
salmo n, considered even sacred in some parts of the west of the United States of
America. A regional delicacy is considered salmon cheeks that are fried in fish oil,
culinary specialty that is a gastronomic feature of this region even in the modern
cuisine. Ano ther food that the indigenous people ate fresh in the warm season was wild
berries that grew more in this area than in many other regions of the state. Some of
these berries include: “salmonberries, various traili ng blackberries, thimbleberries,
huckleberries , elderberries, beach strawberries, wild currants, and wild grapes. ”
(Sackett and Haynes 609)
Those who first settled in this region were Russian farmers who were looking
for fur when they discovered this area of the United States of America . They did not
have a significant impact on the culinary culture because their way of feeding was
primitive because of their lack of resources. After this migratory wave, there was a
migration inside the state, namely Native Americans from New England and Midwest
travelled to the West, so that the food culture was primarily influenced by these
Americans. Whether we are talking about the inhabitants of New England or those
coming from the Midwest, each brought with them their own style of cooking and
combine d it with the resources found in the region where they arrived. For example,
people from the east of the state have replaced the fish specific to their area, namely the
cod with the salmon, they seasoned it with the same ingredients as they did in their
home state, thus obtaining new tastes and dishes specific to the west.
When the West Coast became famous for its fertile soil and for the many
development opportunities, many immigrants came to this area due to the prosperity
for which it was known. Among those who came to this region and had an impact on
the gastronomic culture were the Italians. Those who emigrated to this part came from
southern Italy or were Italians who had originally settled on the East Coast. What they

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brought with them to this regio n were ingredients such as “ broccoli, broccoli rabe,
zucchini, various types of bell peppers, table grapes, and Italian prune plums —that were
considered quite exotic at the time. ” (Sackett and Haynes 413) Another people who
emigrated to this part were the Chinese who discovered prosperity in the United States
of America by opening restaurants and gastronomic businesses promoting their
specifics of food but also the basis of Western American food.
Although many peoples arrived to this side of the United Sta tes of America and
had each contributed more or less to the development of the culinary culture in the west
of the country, the main ingredients through which the various dishes were cooked were
local. Some of these were: “Yaquina Bay oysters, Columbia Riv er salmon, plateau –
raised beef and lamb, and Willamette Valley vegetables and fruits.” (Sackett and
Haynes 614) This region had some of the gastronomic strengths for which it was
recognized and distinguished from any other part of the state. These are: hig h fruit
productivity, wild mushrooms, local cheese types, farming techniques and fishing.
The west of the United States of America, more precisely the state of
Washington and Oregon is national recognized for its high apple productivity. Besides
these, f ertile soil allowed the growth of pears, sweet cherries and peanuts. Wild
mushrooms are another feature of this part. They are collected in summer, spring, as
well as in autumn and represent an extra income source for families in rural areas.
Cheese prepar ed by European model, by the peoples arrived to the west part of the
country is also nationally recognized. There is also a type of local cheese called Cougar
Gold, which is a “pale yellow sharp Cheddar” (Sackett and Haynes) and is the most
popular type of cheese from west. This region abounds in fish, owing this mainly to the
Pacific Ocean that is the home of many fish species, including cod, salmon and other
types of fish.
Although it may be thought that this region is strongly developed because the
climate conditions and the fertility of the soil allow the development of agriculture and
thus a greater possibility of culinary diversification, the gastronomic culture in this area
is not as concrete as it is in other parts of the country. This has happe ned mainly because
of too many migratory waves; too many peoples came to this part and they brought
their own ingredients and methods of cooking, so in this way, a food culture could not
be created in the west of the United States of America because of the lack of uniqueness
and consistency. Even in the modern cuisine, the western part of the country cannot
find a uniqueness that many other regions clearly have.

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1.4 The History of Food Culture in the North and the South of England.

In order to determine th e culinary differences between the regions of England, we will
take a look at some of the most representative dishes of each part, starting with the
northern part of the country. The north of the United Kingdom is dominated by some
culinary features that r epresented and still represent the basis of traditional English
cuisine. Some of the recipes used in the past are still preserved in the same form, having
as main features the simple style and the low amount of spices used in a recipe.
An important fea ture in the north of the country was the tea served after lunch,
representing for this region a whole meal and not the refreshment that was considered
by people living in other parts of the country. “a high tea served in Yorkshire in the
1860s might consis t of seed cake, bread and butter, ham sandwiches, a salad, teacakes
and muffins, all washed down with tea laced with rum. ” (Dickenson Wright 252) In the
seventeenth century, dinner was the main meal of the day, being the most consistent
and rich meal for b oth the upper class and the poor. Even though it was considered as
such, in the north of the country, breakfast was as important as dinner and contained
just as many dishes in order to sustain people’s lives. Some of the dishes eaten as
breakfast in the no rth of the country, more precisely in Northumberland were “boiled
beef and mutton, bread, butter and beer, salt fish and buttered eggs, and – on fish days
– salt fish, smoked and pickled herring, sprats and bread. ” (Dickson Wright 53)
In terms of foods ea ten on every day meals, being the ones that sustained the
diet of people living in the north, were the foods they cultivated, thus agriculture played
a major role in people’s lives and was one of the main sources of nutrition they had.
One of the most comm on vegetables in northern England was potato. But the food that
was the basis of nutrition for poor people was bread, which was sometimes eaten only
with tea and sometimes with different dishes based on potatoes. “For the poor it was
generally accepted tha t bread makes the principal part of the food of all poor families
and almost the whole of t he food of . . . large families” ( J. Oddy 3)
Some of the most representative dishes in the north of the country are described
below. O ne of these dishes originally appeared in the north of the country was the rice
cake. It was usually eaten at festive meals, especially for Christmas because its
composition was mild, and it was perfect after a rich meal. Although the rest of the
country copied the recipe, its origina l taste can only be found in the northern state .
Another famous dish in the north of the country is the Lancashire Hotpot, a kind of food

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that does not abound in ingredients, but uses only three main ingredients found in many
dishes of the English people, namely lamb, onion and the well -known potatoes.
Another important feature of the north of the country is made up of a certain
type of po tato that grows here. Since potato is a vegetable that grows in almost any
condition and from which one can cook many dishes to form the basis of a diet, it was
planted in many parts of the country. However, in the north, a special type is the potato
that has three colors: red, white and blue. This type of potato is called “Mr. Littles’s
Yetholm Gypsy. This variety was said to have been bought by William Little, a
shepherd in the village of Yetholm, from a Gypsy at the first Yetholm Fair in the 1940s,
altho ugh the variety probably existed long before then .”(Webb 208)
Among the ways of preserving the meat or other food, the English people in the
north used a method that was practiced by almost every nation in the world, namely
salting or drying. Although the first bite of a preserved dried meat is usually tasteless
and also hard to swallow, as it is eaten, the meat turns into a delicacy that is succulent
and delights the taste buds. Some of these dishes are kept even to this day in the north
of the country, b oth in local restaurants and in the homes of the inhabitants who do not
forget the foundations of traditional English cuisine.
As far as the southern part is concerned, this region is not very gastronomically
different from the north. The basics of the Eng lish cuisine are about the same, including
foods such as potatoes, diary products and corn from which bread was made, that
constituted the center of the peoples’ diet in the past. For example, during the Tudor
dynasty, many of the southern families owned a cow, thereby increasing the
consumption of cows’ milk and diminishing the consumption of sheep and goat’s milk.
Those living in the city relied on farmers for milk and butter production that at that time
represented most part of people’s diet.
Another gas tronomic trait that dominated the south eastern part of the country
in the past was the presence of fruit trees that were more successful in the southern part
than in any other region of the country. Among them were multiple apple trees, cherry
trees and m any other variations of trees that were planted around Tonbridge in Kent.
Even the famous tradition of drinking tea in the afternoon appeared in the south of the
country in the eighteenth century and after a short period it spread throughout the state,
regardless of the social class from which people came.
In the 1970s, although the northern part of the country was also hit by the
excessive price rises, people could still rely on foods such as potato or porridge, while

16

the south of the country struggled b ecause they could no longer afford the foods they
afforded in the past . “Southern labouring families, on the other hand, were barely able
to scrape a living together.” ( Collingham 95) The southern inhabitants could not afford
even the basic foods that wer e until the components of their diet such as milk or butter.
Even home -cooked soups or stews were no longer part of their daily diet, but they were
more likely to rely on an industrial ration of bread bought from a shop and sometimes
in their diet cheese a nd a piece of bacon were included.
Thus when some foods became too expensive, the inhabitants tried to find other
substitutes to replace the lack of these nutriments. Milk was soon replaced with porridge
over which treacle was sifted in order to give it so me sweet taste. Even this need for
sweetness was fulfilled by using sugar and treacle that became necessary for people’s
diet. The butter was also replaced with the treacle spread on a piece of bread, thus most
of the foods eaten before the price rises wer e replaced with sugar and treacle. “Sugar
and treacle replaced the fresh meat, milk, butter, cheese and vegetables that had
disappeared from labourers’ diets.” (Collingham 96)
In the nineteenth century the situation did not change too much for the souther n
inhabitants because they were still under pressure. However, most families had to buy
a pig from farmers, a sack of flour and a small piece of land where they could plant
potatoes in order to survive. “It depended upon having sufficient funds to obtain a pig
from a farmer below market price, obtaining credit to buy flour by the sack, and having
sufficient garden ground for planting a good patch of potatoes.” (J. Oddy 3) Even during
this period people could not make their own bread at home, but they had to buy it from
the bakery. As soon as the income of southern families has increased, meat and fat
found their place back into people’s diet.
Looking at some dishes originating from the south of the country, we may notice
that although the past was cruel to pe ople’s diet, there still exist a food culture
developed in the cities from this region. One dish that comes from the south is the Bath
Chaps originating from the Bath City. This local dish is prepared from a pig’s cheeks,
which are left for a couple of day s in salted water, boiled for three hours and then sliced
very thin and fried. Although this is a dish especially encountered at the end of the
twentieth century, even today it is prepared in some restaurants from the south of the
country, especially in Ba th.” But can you get Bath chaps in the city itself? Well, yes.
The world may have shrunk, but Bath is still home to some quality chaps, particularly
the Garrick’s Head pub in St John’s Place.” (Webb 4)

17

1.4 The History of Food Culture in the East and the W est of England.

Each region of England had specific foods found either in larger quatities or, in the case
of the South, some found less commonly in people’s diet. This is also the case of the
East of the country. Among the dishes specific to the eastern part of the country was
wildfowl and the way it was prepared also differed from the rest of the country’s
regions. The inhabitants built traps to catch various birds, such as sparrows or pigeons,
which then they ate with milk and bread after decapitating t hem.
Although wheat bread was the main source of nutrition in many cities and
regions of the country, in some parts the wheat did not grow. The east was part of those
regions, so the inhabitants had to replace wheat bread with another food and that was
rye bread. „Whole areas of eastern England, including Norfolk and Suffolk, ate mostly
rye or maslin bread – a sort of sourdough bread, leavened with a piece of dough from a
former batch which was salted and stored until it turned sour ” (Dickson Wright 145)
Those who occupied the New England region were mainly people coming from
the East of England. Thus, certain types of dishes and the way they were prepared could
also be identified in the New England’s cuisine. Those who left England in search of
religious fr eedom preserved some foods and the cooking style of the eastern England.
Among the preserving methods used by the people coming from the east of the state,
the most common was salt curing. Among the foods kept using this technique were fish
and meat. Other preserving methods imposed by the people in New England were
drying or smoking.
Another specific feature appeared especially in the east of the country was a
very strange tradition, namely the practice of sin -eating. This practice represented te
traditi on of eating over the coffins were the dead people laid. Among the foods
consumed during this tradition were milk, bread, cheese, salt, beer or sometimes wine.
All these foods were placed either on the chest of the dead people or over their chest.
This pra ctice was used especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but after
a while it was no longer a tradition for people living in the east.
Looking at some dishes originating from the east of the country, we may
observe that some of them were kep t alive even in present, being cooked either by
people in their homes or in restaurants. One of these dishes is the Burnt Cream.
Although it may be seen as the English version of the famous French dish crème brûlée ,
this is a wrong assumption. This is a di sh originating from East Anglia, having a history

18

of about four hundred years. “The custard in a perfect Cambridge burnt cream should
be made with very little sugar, rather unlike a crème brûlée, because the sweetness as
well as the crunchy caramel flavour comes from a thicker topping of burnt sugar.”
(Webb 423)
One important vegetable that is specific to East Anglia is parsnip. This vegetable
grows in the east of the country mainly because the soil of this region is light and thus,
it favors the agricultur e.” As with the carrot, the light soil of East Anglia suits the
parsnip well, as it grows straight down into the earth.” (Webb 444) Although parsnips
were considered in the past a mark of the poor people, nowadays it no longer have that
reputation because it can be used in many tasty dishes. In the past, people used parsnips
especially to replace the need of sugar, which in those time s was extremely expensive.
Today, parsnips are quite rare vegetables; in England they grow especially in
the east of the country and in some other countries in the Northern Europe. They are
used in many culinary ways in restaurants, such as being cooked as a thick soup or they
can give mashed potatoes a very good flavor. This vegetable is also used when cooking
bacon or in combination with Parmesan cheese and it can be used even for making
wine.
Each part of the country has its characteristics, thus on e may observe differences
or similarities in people’s nutrition. For example, for the west of the country one
important food that represented the basis of people’s diet was cheese. It is believed that
the western region of the country produced in the past the best and the most varied types
of cheese, mainly due to its better grazing lands and its consistent seam of salt. One
type of such cheese that still is made exclusively in the west of the country is Cheddar
Cheese, though it is made everywhere in whole world. In England, only three districts
still have the freedom to make Cheddar Cheese, because they have the Protected
Designation of Origin status and these are Cornwall, Dorset and Devon. This type of
cheese is made “ by a group of producers using primar ily milk from their own herd and
traditional production techniques.” (Webb 7)
During Medieval England, in the diet of people from the western region of the
country, fish was an important element. The type of fish that was the most common in
this area was t he hake, in comparison with the east and north of the country that had
mostly cod. “Hake is found mainly off the west coast of Britain, with a distribution
which extends further south than cod.” (Woolgar, Serjeanson and Waldron 115)
Besides fish, people fr om the west of country hunted seabirds and the way they were

19

preserved was by salting or drying in the same manner as fish or other type of meat was
preserved. “Birds, such as the manx shearwater, the gannet, and the auks (razorbill,
guillemot, puffin), we re normally caught at their breeding sites on cliffs and offshore
islands.” (Woolgar, Serjeanson and Waldron 143)
If people in the east of country ate a type of bread called rye bread, those who
lived in the west had in their daily diet another type, namely barley bread . “In
Cumberland the bread would have been made of pure barley, baked in unleavened
cakes. Barley bread had the advantage that it kept well. ” (Dickson Wright 146)
Although the barley bread was the type of bread that most people in the west of the
country had on their diet, there were some districts that ate a different type of bread.
These were Lancashire and Westmorland that ate a strange type of bread called “Clap
Bread”.

Here it was I saw ye oat Clap bread made. They mix their flour with water, so soft as to rowle
it in their hands into a ball, and then they have a board made round and something hollow in the
middle riseing by degrees all round to the Edge a little higher, but so little as one would take it
be only a board warp’d, th is is to Cast out the Cake thinn and so they Clap it round and drive it
to ye Edge in a Due proportion till drove as thinn as a paper and still they Clap it and drive
round, and then they have a plaite of iron same size wth their Clap board, and so shove o ff the
Cake on it and so set it on Coales and bake it; when Enough on one side they slide it off and put
the other side (Dickson Wright 146)

Some of the most dishes that may be found even today in restaurants all over
the western part of the country are also representative for this region’s food culture.
One of these dishes is Cumberland sausage, originating from Cumbria, a county in
North West England. This dish gained popularity during the eighteenth century due to
the combination of three spices that gives the sausages a distinct flavour: mace, nutmeg
and pepper. In the past, this dish was made with meat of Cumberland pigs, but by the
1960s they became extinct. These local sausages can be eaten with a “Cumberland
sauce (a traditional accompaniment to m eats, made with redcurrants, port, mustard and
orange and served rather runny and cold), but on occasion he’s eaten it with a blob of
jam or marmalade “ (Webb 109)
What people ate in the past and how the food was prepared and preserved is a
very importan t factor when we talk about a gastronomic culture of a country. The dishes
people used to eat in the past represent the basis of the present day gastronomic features

20

that can be identified either in England or in the United States of America. Some dishes
which were eaten in the past are still preserved in some sort of form or another and
some of them still constitutes the food people eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Of
course, with the advancement of technology, the gastronomic culture has also
developed , new dishes appearing in people’s diet, but the past is the one that give the
traditional dishes, which are the basis of the gastronomic culture.

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2. FOOD CULTURE NOWADAYS

2.1 The S pecificity of Breakfast in England and United States of America.

People should start their everyday life with the first meal of the day called breakfast.
Each country has its own dishes that people choose when it comes to breakfast. Some
nations choose a more consistent breakfast, as in the case of English people or an
unsubstantial breakfast that is eaten on the way to work or school. No matter the case,
the foods some people choose for breakfast define their food culture and their attitude
towards food in general.
For a long time, the food culture in England was rega rded as being simple,
without any form of originality. This opinion might change as one thinks about the
famous English traditional breakfast. When it comes to this meal of the day, English
people developed a food culture that is more consistent than most of other countries.
Although in the past people ate a smaller breakfast, as it was the case of lower class
families, it was present even then in their lives because it was the meal of the day that
offered proteins for people that were facing a long day of work.
Although in the past, breakfast, alongside with dinner, was the meal of the day
the whole family had to take part in, in recent years this tradition is in decline in English
society. Today, half of the population no longer has breakfast and those wh o still have
it, have gradually given up to their traditional breakfast, full of many dishes and they
chose to eat a bowl of cereal instead. Moreover, especially young people prefer to buy
something on their way to school or work than to stay at home to ea t a cooked breakfast.
“Today, however, half the population don’t eat breakfast at all and those who do are far
more likely to eat packaged cereals or toast than to cook themselves anything.”
(Dickson Wright 325)
However, a traditional English breakfast should start at about eight o’clock in
the morning because at nine o’clock the usual work day or school day is about to begin.
The traditional English breakfast is a “fry -up breakfast”. “A fry -up is a phrase used
informally for several items fried together. The most common items are eggs, bacon,
sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, and even bread.” (O’Driscoll 185). The tradition of a
full breakfast dates back to the Victorian and Edwardian times when, for this meal of

22

the day, many foods were used. Some of these h ave been preserved even in today’s
English breakfast, but most people cook them only on Sundays, when they have more
time.
Thus a traditional English breakfast contains the following foods: “deviled
kidneys, scrambled eggs, kedgeree, potted meat, cold grouse and kippers, as well as
porridge, toast, rolls, two or three different kinds of marmalade, jams, jellies, fruit and,
of course, tea.” (Garmey 3) Although some of the foods in this breakfast are co mmon
to other gastronomic cultures, the English breakfast has specific foods that originate
from Anglo -Saxon times, such as porridge or kedgeree . “The secret of the English
breakfast is the combination of tastes and flavors. A grilled tomato on its own is good,
but served in conjunction with bacon and fried bread, it can become extraordinary. ”
(Garmey 3)
Porridge is the first dish people eat from the well -known traditional English
breakfast. Although this food has its roots in Scotland, it has been well in tegrated into
English breakfast being a lighter meal before the consistent dishes that are to be eaten
in the morning. There is still a debate about how porridge should be eaten. Thus, there
are two differences that cross people’s minds; one of them refers to what porridge
should be eaten with, water or milk and the other refers to what to put into it, salt or
sugar. No matter the difference, before the consistent dishes, people choose to eat
porridge that they cooked as they prefer.
Kedgeree is a breakfa st dish that has Anglo -Indian origins and represent a
mixture of several ingredients. It contains fish, onion, rice, curry powder and eggs. In
England, the fish used in cooking this dish is the haddock, mainly due to the fact that,
when this dish was first introduced in the English cuisine, the haddock was the most
common type of fish in the country. “‘Kedgeree of the English type is composed of
boiled rice, chopped hard -boiled egg, cold minced fish and a lump of fresh butter.”
(Webb 170) This traditional d ish represented a breakfast rich in protein during
Victorian times. Over time, different ingredients have been added to the original recipe,
such as chopped parsley or lemon wedges.
Kippers is another famous dish that is part of the traditional English breakfast.
It generally represents a smoked fish, but the process in doing so, is much more
interesting and this is why it is a mark of the traditional English breakfast. The first
village that practiced the process of kippering was Seahouses, a village in
Northumberland coast in England. “The invention of kippering is said – apocryphally,

23

no doubt – to have happened in Seahouses. One John Woodger left some fish in a room
with a burning stove with predictably serendipitous results.” (Webb 224) The kippering
process includes cutting the fish in two parts, salting the parts, hanging them in order
to dry and then they are hung in smoker for thirteen or fourteen hours . “The process of
kippering, along with brining, has been practised since medieval times, and it i s thought
salmon were the first fish given this treatment.” (Webb 224 )
Another important element that one may observe when looking at a traditional
English bre akfast is the Oxford Sausages. These are sausages without skin so when
cooking their form must be done by hand. This sausage is traditionally cooked with
veal and pork, although lately the vale has been excluded from the original recipe,
mainly because of the customers’ misconception. “It is flavoured with delicate herbs
such as thyme, marjoram and savory, as well as lemon rind and a grating of
nutmeg.” (Webb 352) This traditional English sausage can be eaten at breakfast, but it
can be also a tasty dish eve n for lunch and dinner.
Bacon and eggs represent the basis of every traditional English breakfast. Bacon
is fried while eggs can be soft -boiled, hard -boiled or fried. “They are either fried, soft –
boiled and eaten out of an ‘egg cup’, hard -boiled (so that they can be eaten with the
fingers or put into sandwiches) or poached (steamed).” (O’Driscoll 185) Among the
type of meats eaten at breakfast, a traditional ham is also included. “Yorkshire ham is
also a breakfast speciality.” (Mackenzie and Westwood 45) T his ham is made up of
back leg and haunch of a Large White pig. These parts were cut and mixed with some
spices, such as salt, sugar and saltpetre.
After these consistent dishes comes a fruit or toast with marmalade. Also tea or
coffee is drunk in the mor ning. After breakfast, at about eleven o ’clock, people have a
snack, something unsubstantial in comparison with breakfast, just before they have
lunch. This snack may include coffee or tea and some biscuits eaten at work or at school.
“In fact, people drin k tea or coffee whenever they feel like it. This is usually quite
often.” (O’Driscoll 186)
The traditional English breakfast dates back to the nineteenth century. Although
this is how the traditional breakfast looks like, it is no longer eaten by the maj ority of
population, mainly because its preparation requires a lot of time and people prefer to
eat something fast or to buy their morning food on their way to work or school. “Many
English people now take such a full breakfast only on Sunday morning.” (Ma ckenzie
and Westwood 67)

24

Compared to the traditional English breakfast, the American one is not as
consistent, but it also includes foods that are specific to the gastronomic culture of the
United States of America. Although one may find, when looking at the American
breakfast, foods that people from other countries also eat in the morning, there are
certain ingredients or dishes that set their stamp on this meal of the day and make it
original. Among the foods found in both American and English breakfas ts are eggs,
bacon, sausages, toast and cereals.
In the past, this meal was a very consistent one, almost similar to the one served
in England .

The meal featured “hot and cold bread of different sorts, including corn bread (a little of which
was rather nice with plenty of molasses and butter), little seed cakes, pancakes and fritters, milk,
butter buried in large lumps of ice, molasses, preserves and blackberry syrup in large soup
tureens . . . hot beef steaks, roast and boiled chickens, and various sort s of cold meat. To drink,
we had tea and coffee, and, occasionally chocolate, with hot, cold and iced milk, and white and
brown sugar. ” (Carroll 133)

This tradition of a rich breakfast was a feature of the nineteenth century in the United
States of Ameri ca, a tradition that today is no longer preserved because people think
that breakfast should be a snack rather than a full meal. However, most Americans, just
like many other nations, do not eat breakfast at all because either they are in a hurry or
they a re on a diet. Those who still eat in the morning, choose some toast and a cup of
coffee or a glass of orange juice.
Breakfast in the United States of America is eaten between seven and eight a.m.
About 7% of American children do not eat anything in the mo rning and those who still
do prefer a bowl of cereals instead of a cooked meal. Breakfast is generally eaten at
home, unlike other meals of the day such as lunch, and nobody goes to a restaurant to
eat breakfast, although many restaurants have a menu inclu ding dishes that can be eaten
in the morning. Maybe one cause of skipping breakfast for most people is the coffee
break. This is a break that most workers are given to, during which they can have
another cup of coffee, some snacks and they can chat with th eir colleagues. This coffee
break starts at 10:30 a.m. and lasts about fifteen minutes.
The traditional American breakfast contains: fruits, bacon and eggs, hot or cold
cereals, ham, toast and sausages. However, some specialities that are specific only t o
the American breakfast are: the American pancakes, waffles, French toast and the

25

maple syrup. The cornflakes for breakfast is an idea that appeared at the beginning of
the twentieth century. Although people in the past ate corn, cooked in many different
forms, the idea of eating it for breakfast appeared only around 1900. The person who
introduced American people to the tradition of cornflakes was John Harvey Kellogg, a
physician and also a medic for a clinic in Michigan. “For his sickly, carnivorous
clientele, Kellogg devised a meatless, low -diary regimen which he called the “Battle
Creek Idea”. Included in it were a battery of dried and flaked cereals and what we today
call granola.” (Tuleja 92) It did not take long until this tradition has spread throug hout
the country and even today is still preferred by many people mainly because it is a
simple solution especially when people are in hurry.
Bacon and eggs represent another dish that is representative for the American
breakfast. Although this dish beca me famous in the mid -nineteenth century, it has its
roots since the beginning of the first settlers in the United States of America. Although
at that time, any type of meat was accepted by the people, pork was the most common,
especially because it did not require as much care as cattle. “Eggs and some form of
pork-usually bacon, but often sausage or ham -constitute the traditional American
breakfast.” (Tuleja 91) One may question why the bacon was eaten together with eggs.
The explanation may be simple. “They were simultaneously sophisticated and
affordable, an uncommon combination of qualities in those days.” (Anderson 70)
Today one of the most common way to eat eggs among the Americans is the Benedict
way. This type of dish was created at the end of the ni neteenth century in New York.
This dish includes other ingredients that are specific to the American breakfast. “Eggs
Benedict is a dish of poached eggs served atop sliced or Canadian bacon and toasted
English muffins, draped in Hollandaise sauce prepared from egg yolks, melted butter,
and lemon juice.” (Anderson 73)
Among the well -known dishes of the traditional American breakfast, there are
also some typical breakfast foods which are famous among the American people, one
of them being the American pancak es. These pancakes, in comparison with the
European one are very thin and made of eggs and are light on flour. A type of pancake
which is very popular in every region of the country is the New Jearsy Blueberry,
typical for the north of the country. It was not introduced in the American breakfast
until the end of the nineteenth century, but today it is still a very common element of
the American breakfast and it is also found in the menus of the reastaurants which serve
a traditional American breakfast.

26

Although one may think that waffles are the same with pancakes, this
assumption is a wrong one. The people that first introduced waffles in the Old World
was the Dutch people during the beginning of the seventeenth century, but they began
to be a part of the traditional America breakfast since the eighteenth century. The
confusion between waffles and pancakes may be caused by the way they are prepared,
but their form makes them different from one another. They are both made of batter
and are usually eaten wit h maple syrup or honey, “but because waffles are cooked in a
honeycomb -pocked iron rather than a flat griddle, most experts agree that they are not
the same as pancakes at all. “ (Anderson 60) There is a distinction between the waffles
eaten in the past an d those eaten today. This distinction is given by the composition; in
the past, waffles were crispier and were enjoyed by both high class and peasants, and
today, they are fluffier and enjoyed only by the few people who still eat in the morning.
The Fren ch toast is a type of bread made up of a mixture of eggs and milk and
then it is fried. Although this is the way people like to eat it today, the original recipe
for French toast did not contain much of the ingredients that are used for the American
breakf ast nowadays. The bread in the original recipe was soaked in wine and not in the
mixture of eggs and milk. “This was essentially a recipe for bread soaked in wine,
similar to the ancient Greek breakfast akratisma or the English sowpes dory (“golden
sops”) .” (Anderson 50) All these foods are eaten with maple syrup or honey, this being
also a characteristic of the traditional American breakfast.
When it comes to what people choose to drink in the morning, a cup of coffee
is what most adults prefer nowadays. However, in the menu of the traditional breakfast,
that cup of coffee was replaced by a glass of fruit juice, especially orange juice. This
tradition of drinking fruit juice in the morning appeared at the beginning of the
nineteenth century, but back then, only grapes and apples were used. As time went by,
other fruits were used for making the juice that most Americans used to drink in the
past. “The image of the glistening tumbler of orange juice alongside a bowl of cereal
and heaping plate of bacon, eggs, and toast presents an idealized picture of the table in
the breakfast nook, which, at the turn of the 20th century, made its first appearance in
American homes.” (Anderson 103)

27

2.2 English and American Lunch Dishes.

Lunch, the meal between breakfast and dinner, is a light meal in every country,
consisting of fewer dishes compared to dinner. Most people consider this meal of the
day a snack, mostly because many people do not have enough time to eat a proper lunch,
at work or at school. The English lunc h is usually served between twelve and two p.m.
and every institution or school have a break during this time period. Some people prefer
to prepare something in the morning for the lunch break, but most of them choose to
eat out, in a restaurant or in a ca feteria or in a fast -food restaurant.
For most workers, English lunch break lasts an hour, so nobody wants to go
home to eat with their families because they do not have time. Instead, some people use
to eat in a restaurant, but most workers choose two pl aces which are cheaper and these
are the “workman’s café” and the “fish and chip shop”. The first place, workman’s café,
represents a place where most workers can enjoy a filling meal, in a very informal
atmosphere, unlike the restaurants which have certai n rules that must be followed. The
other type is a place where most people go for a “take away” meal. “The most common
take-away foods in Britain are fish and chips, hamburgers and Chinese foods.”
(Mackenzie and Westwood 21)
When people are not at work, on weekends for example, they have what is called
today a Sunday roast or a Sunday lunch . “A hearty lunch may consist of “meat and two
veg” and pudding. The meat is often a stew, and the vegetables usually include a starchy
one, such as potatoes, and a green one, such as cabbage.” (Hill 37) However, even on
free days, people choose a lighter lunch, for example a fish, with a salad, or more simply
just sandwiches. The Sunday roast, even if people choose to eat it rather rare these days,
contain “ a large j oint of beef, mutton, or lamb roasted in the oven, accompanied by
roast potatoes and other vegetables, with a pudding for dessert.” (Hill 37)
One of the most famous type of lunch that people can eat in a pub or a restaurant
is the “Ploughman’s lunch”. Th is lunch appeared first in 1950s, a period when the
English pub was not modern enough, thus people tried to create a dish that contained
only raw ingredients. “A ploughman’s lunch was designed to include raw ingredients
that could be stored easily in the c ool of the cellar, and assembled quickly and to order
by bar staff.” (Webb 480) At its beginning, this lunch included only regional cheese
from all over the country, such as Cheddar, Lancashire cheese, Red Leicester or
Wensleydale cheese. The only ingredie nts that were included were “a chunk of bread

28

and blob of pickle for a bit of punch” (Webb 480) However, this type of lunch was not
preserved in the same form in the present. Most pubs, nowadays serve a dish called
“Ploughman’s lunch”, but which contains s everal more ingredients than the original
recipe. For example, “in Devon and Cornwall alone a ploughman’s contained on
average thirteen separate ingredients, including peppers, gherkins, pickled cabbage,
lemon slices, cucumber, olives, beetroot, radishes, sweetcorn and even a Scotch egg.”
(Webb 480)
Most people eat their lunch out, thus the pubs from every town have a menu for
the lunch break, which include ingredients that are not so consistent, but are more and
more preferred by many people. Thus, in the menu of a pub, one may find for lunch the
following dishes: Scotch eggs, Cornish Pasties, Pickled mushrooms and Rhubarb
Crumble and Custard. (Garmey 244) All these dishes are enjoyed by most people who
do not feel comfortable in the formal atmosphere of a restaurant, for example. Besides
all these dishes, there is another one which is well -known among the English people
and that is the Yorkshire pudding.
Scotch eggs are today a dish, component of the English lunch, which is usually
served in English pubs . They are actually hard -boiled eggs wrapped in a layer of
sausages and meat, which is then fired. Their history dates back to the beginning of the
nineteenth century. At that time, eggs were the centre of almost every dish, representing
the basis of the E nglish diet for a long time, and so this dish was created and has been
preserved up to this day. “No matter what their history, a well -made Scotch egg is a
thing of wonder, vastly superior to the cheap, mass -produced knock -offs that have all
the taste and texture of a sawdust cricket ball.” (Webb 282)
Another dish specific to the English lunch is Cornish pasties, originating from
Cornwall County as its name already says it. It is a dish that fits the needs of English
workers, who try to find a quick, filli ng meal, so the Cornish pasties are exactly what
they need. Thus, how does a Cornish pasty look like? “A distinctive ‘D’ shape, with the
crimped edge around the curved side. The filling should be chunky, and contain mince
or roughly chopped beef (skirt bei ng traditional), diced swede or turnip, diced potato,
onion, salt and plenty of pepper. ” (Webb 18) This dish is increasingly preferred by
many people who want to eat something really fast and at the same time consistent.
This dish may be found in every pub , although it is believed that the original recipe can
be eaten only in Cornwall pubs.

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When it comes to Sunday lunch, the Yorkshire pudding cannot be excluded
from the menu. It is perhaps the most famous dish of the county that cannot miss from
the Sunda y lunch meal together with the roast beef and roast vegetables, especially
potatoes. Its history dates back to the end of the seventeenth century and until now,
several ingredients were added or disappeared from the original recipe. The main
difference bet ween the Yorkshire pudding from the past and the one cooked in our days
is the fat that was used in the past, in order to cook the whole pudding at once. Today,
this technique has changed; people like to cook the batter piece by piece. However, the
recipe is well known by almost all people in England and it represents a dish that is
always eaten on Sunday lunch . “Indeed, perhaps we can surmise from all this that we
Brits love the combination of fat and batter as much as, if not more than, the meat that
come s with it.” (Webb 244)
After the lunch, at four p.m. most people have what is called today an “afternoon
tea”, the famous tradition that made England popular in many countries. When one
thinks at England and what is specific to it, besides the “Full English breakfast”, which
is a mark of the country, tea is the next thing that flash into someone’s mind. English
people love to drink tea. That is a statement that no one can deny and this “snack” in
the afternoon is the perfect example to demonstrate it. Although it is not a consist ent
meal, many people choose to eat something with their tea, while other prefer just the
tea alone. Among the foods eaten during this snack are: sandwiches, cakes and biscuits
(the equivalent of “cookies” in United States of America). “The English often m ake up
their own blends with a variety of black teas from India, Sri Lanka, and China. English
people put milk (not cream) in their tea and often sugar as well.” (Hill 45)
Although at first glance, it may seem that the English people do not direct their
attention to lunch, this is not true. There is, of course, a big difference between their
attitudes towards breakfast and towards lunch, this thing being influenced also by
history. Although people do not eat as much as they eat in the morning, lunch is st ill an
important part of their gastronomic culture. The fact that their attention is directed to
other activities during daytime may be the cause for the light lunch they eat every day.
More than that, another cause for the lack of a consistent lunch may b e the fact that they
only have one hour to eat, so most of them choose to eat out, in a pub or a restaurant,
rather than to go home, cook something really fast and then go back to work. The
tradition of Sunday lunch shows that people are still interested i n preserving traditions
and they are still a component of people’s daily life.

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Lunch in the United States of America is not much different than the one people
have in England. In the United States, there are also places in which people choose to
eat their lunch, rather than to go home and eat it together with family. Although the
places that serve meals during lunch break are almost the same, the dishes differ
radically because Americans usually choose to eat fast -food, rather than a hot cooked
meal. When it was first invented, at the end of the nineteenth century, the idea of lunch
was more exactly a snack eaten at noon . “Lunch consisted of a ready -to-eat fare that
required little or no immediate preparation, few if any utensils, and hardly any
cleanup —in other words, whatever one could grab in a hurry and eat on the go” (Car roll
109) Things did not change too much from that period; lunch is still a light meal, eaten
really quickly and a meal that people do not pay too much attention to.
The Americans usua lly have their lunch between twelve and two p.m. and
almost nobody goes home to eat. Among the places Americans go for lunch are
restaurants, fast -foods and other places that serve foods very quickly and at a cheaper
prices, compared to restaurants and the se are cafeterias and diners. Each of these places
have a long history in the American culture and they influenced over time the food
eaten by Americans at lunch. Although they are very different in terms of the food
served, they are very popular among mos t workers who do not want to go home for
lunch.
The diner appeared in the nineteenth century and represented in the past a place
where customers could sat on a stool placed along a counter. More recent versions of
such diners offer booths for customers an d waitresses that serve the food. “The diner
was basically a small restaurant, not much different from a main street or highway café.
Its advantage was its modular construction.” (Smith 28) Another place where workers
can eat cheap food is the cafeteria. T hat is a place where workers serve themselves;
they pick up trays, tableware and then go to a long counter, they choose what they want
to eat and at the end of the counter they pay for their food. “Cafeterias were widely
adopted in factories as a means of quickly serving food to workers; cafeterias were also
commonly operated in other institutional settings, such as schools, hospitals, and
military installations.” (Smith 29)
However, the most common places people choose to eat remain fast -food
restaurants. They are similar to the cafeteria, but they differ in the way people are
served. The idea of fast -food appeared in 1920s and since then, these chains have
experienced an extraordinary increase of customers and a huge diversity of food

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products. They are v ery popular nowadays, mainly because they serve food that is
consistent, very quick and at an accessible price. Although they are similar to cafeterias,
they also have some differences. In order to get food, people must stay in line, order
what they want t o eat, wait for the employees to prepare and pack the food and then
pay for what they ordered. The food served by this type of restaurants is very popular
among Americans, not only for lunch, but also for dinner or anytime they want to eat
something consis tent and prepared very quickly. “Eating at a lunch counter in a
drugstore or in a diner was both convenient and economical for many workers and
shoppers, but the fast food revolution was spurred on by the American drive for
convenience and speed.” (Smith 1 54)
People who choose to bring food from home for lunch, usually eat sandwiches
with chicken or tuna, which are generally kept in a brown bag. However, most people
who eat out nowadays, choose fast -food products, especially hot dogs and hamburgers,
these foods constituting the typical American lunch. Although in the past this meal of
the day was lighter and contained fewer foods that were not so much consistent, with
the “revolution” of fast -food, people became more and more attracted to this type of
food, the cooked and hot meals being replaced by the fast -food products.
Hot dogs are one of the typical foods Americans like to eat when it comes to
lunch. A hot dog represents actually, a long sausages between a bun that is often
associated with other ingred ients, depending on the regional specialties or personal
tastes. Sausages were eaten for hundreds of years in European countries and when
moving to the New World, colonists brought with them the art of cooking sausages.
These represented in the past and ev en nowadays an innovative way to preserve meat
and to use the parts of an animal that could not be eaten in another way.
Hot dogs spread throughout the entire United States of America during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries and since then they were associated with other
ingredients. They were first consumed during baseball matches and other sport events
and since then, they experienced an enormously increase of customers and sales .
“Typical hot dog condiments include ketchup, mustard, onions, and pic kle relish. Other
additions include cheese, chili, and sauerkraut.” (Smith 353)The typical side dish that
accompanies hot -dogs are French fries and the period in which people consume the
most hot dogs is during summer. Depending of the geographical region in which hot
dogs are sold, there are specific ingredients that are added to the original recipe of a hot
dog. “The Chicago hot dog, for instance, is served on a steamed poppy -seed bun with

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mustard, relish, chopped raw onion, pickle slices, pickled hot pep pers, celery salt, and
diced or wedged tomatoes.” (Smith 353)
Hamburger is the other type of dish that is preferred by most Americans. There
are many places people can go and eat a hamburger, not only in fast -food restaurants,
but also in pubs, restauran ts, diners or almost in every place that serve food for lunch.
This dish appeared in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth century and its first
form consisted of ground meat placed between two pieces of bread. Since then, to the
original recipe wer e added many ingredients and even today many companies try to add
more ingredients that can give their hamburgers a different flavour. “A basic hamburger
consists of a ground hamburger patty inside two pieces of bread, or a bun, with
condiments. The common condiments include salt, pepper, mustard, mayonnaise,
pickle relish, and ketchup .” (Smith 323) Although these are the most common
ingredients added to the original recipe, some others are also popular among Americans
who enjoy this dish. These are barbecu e sauce, soy sauce, American cheese or even
other types of cheese, such as Cheddar cheese or Swiss cheese.
After lunch break, there comes another American tradition which is the mid –
afternoon snack. For most workers this represents a second coffee break, w hich do not
consist of another dishes, but of a cup of coffee and ice cream, which is very popular
during this second break. Ice cream is usually served in cones, bars or sundaes and the
most preferred flavours are chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. In gen eral, it has a
topping such as a syrup, whipped cream or nuts. Although ice cream was in the past,
especially for most part of the nineteenth century, a mark of the upper -class people,
today is enjoyed by most workers along with a cup of coffee.
Although the English and the American lunch is very different in terms of what
people from each country prefer to eat, there are also some similarities. One of these is
represented by the fact that almost nobody goes home to have lunch, but they choose
to eat out. Another similarity may refer to the fact that people try to eat something really
quickly and at an accessible price. Differences may be found when it comes to places
people serve their food in. If the pub is an English tradition that was preserved even
nowadays, most Americans like to eat in a fast -food restaurants or others which prefer
cheaper dishes eat their lunch in a diner or a cafeteria. Another difference may refer to
the type of food eaten during lunch. Although the Americans prefer fast -food produ cts,
especially hot dogs and hamburgers, the English people made a tradition from their
Sunday lunch and their roast meat, roast vegetables and Yorkshire pudding.

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2.3 The Most Important Meal of the Day: English and American Dinner

Dinner represents for every nation the most important meal of the day and the more
consistent one. It is the meal that gathers all family members, being more formal and
richer in protein than the others. It consists of more dishes and in comparison with
breakfast and lunch, whi ch are usually eaten in a hurry and away from home, dinner is
the meal during which family members eat together. No matter the country, dinner
always has the same characteristics: consistent, eaten together with family and usually
at home.
In England, din ner is usually referred to as supper and is usually eaten between
6 p.m. and 7 p.m. The word “dinner” is sometimes used when referring to the evening
meal and “suggests something grander and eaten comparatively late (at around eight
o’clock).” (O’Driscoll 186) In the past, dinner was not so different from how it is today
and the dishes people ate in 1930s, for example, are almost the same nowadays.
Although in the past there were differences from one social class to another in terms of
what people ate for d inner, the working class’ dinner can be compared to the one people
eat today. “For dinner there is usually meat with vegetables, and in very many
households apple dumpling or suet pudding is a favourite dish’.” (Panayi 104) Today
most people choose for din ner a meat and two types of vegetables and dessert. The style
in which dinner is cooked nowadays may be characterized as being simple and based
on plain food.
A dish prepared usually for dinner is the famous Lancashire Hotpot which
has deep roots in history. It is a dish that was created out of necessity, which do not take
long to prepare and which consists of only three main ingredients and these are lamb,
onion and potatoes. It is a traditional English dish that is enjoyed by most people during
dinner and which over time has experienced different changes in its recipe. Some recent
recipes for Lancashire Hotpot include other ingredients besides the ones mentioned
above, such as garlic, wine and Worcestershire sauce, these giving the lamb a tastier
flavor. “A Tesco survey of 2008 identified the hotpot as one of the U K’s ten most
endangered dishes.” (Webb 99) Although this thing may be true, this dish can still be
found in restaurants’ menus, but it also cooked by most people at home, being a dish
that is not so difficult to cook.
Another traditional English dish that people eat for dinner is the famous fish and
chips. Every shop that sells take -away food, included this recipe in their menu, but some

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people also like to cook their own recipe at home. It i s a dish that was part of the
working -class diet, cooked in the past mainly because it was hot, cheap and filling. The
first recipe for fish and chips suggests “ coating the fish in egg and matzo meal, pan –
frying it and then serving it cold.” (Webb 396) As for the chips, for many decades they
represented the basis of the English diet, so it is no surprise that they are part of such a
famous and traditional English dish. When it comes to how the chips should be cooked
“they’re described as husk y chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.”
(Webb 396) Every restaurant serves nowadays fish and chips and it is still preferred by
many English people or tourists visiting England . “Everyone loves fish and chips; it’s
a meal that crosses all cultural and class barriers in the UK and is sought out by tourists
and natives alike.” (Webb 396)
One important dish that cannot miss from the English food culture is bangers.
No matter when they are eaten, whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, sausages are
one dish that most people enjoy nowadays. There are many regional sausages that are
well known all over England, such as the Lincolnshire sausage, famous for its sage
flavour, the Cumberland sausage, known for its spices or the Oxford sausage. Every
region seems to have its local sausages that have a long history. It is a dish that was
made out of necessity, like many others working -class dishes, when people tried to use
every part of a slaughtered pig, thus creating the tasty sausages that mos t people like to
eat nowadays. However, they represent a filling dish, perfect for dinner, especially
when it is eaten together with mash potatoes.
One dish that is not so common for English dinner is haggis. Although this is a
dish that is eaten mostly in Scotland, once in a while people from England have this
dish for dinner. This represents basically a mixture of minced heart, liver and kidney of
a sheep, mixed with onion, oatmeal, all of these being boiled in the carcass of the
slaughtered animal. Thi s dish can also be spiced with pepper and it is usually eaten
together with mash potatoes. Although not many people eat it regularly, this dish still
remains present in people culinary life. “I find haggis has a wonderful earthy offal taste,
often backed u p with a good hit of pepper, and that the oatmeal gives a soft comforting
feel in the mouth.” (Webb 161)
Black pudding is another dish people like to eat when it comes to dinner.
Although it cannot be said precisely what the original recipe contains, there are still
some ingredients that are commonly used by everyone trying to cook the traditional
English pud ding. Some of these ingredients are: pork fat sliced in little cubes, the

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traditional spices and seasonings, from which the most important is the pennyroyal and
the most important ingredient of this recipe “blood (probably dried, as these days fresh
is har d to come by) .” (Webb 100) The whole composition is put in a case and eaten
whole, rather than being sliced “and they are not fried or grilled but boiled and split
lengthways so that the contents can be scooped out – sometimes with a blob of piccalilli
or smear of mustard.” (Webb 100) It is still very popular among English people and it
is usually eaten together with haggis.
When it comes to dessert, people choose some dishes that are not so difficult to
cook and which do not need too much time to prepare. People living in England have a
regional dessert sauce that accompanies almost every dessert they eat and this is the
custard sauce. This is basically a mixture of egg yolks, milk and sugar and although it
may not sound so tasty, it is still very popular around England. Among other flavours,
the original recipe suggests adding lemon peel, cinnamon and brandy and peach water.
One dessert that uses custard in order to become tastier is the bread and butter pudding.
This dish is made up of bread and butter, a s its name already says it, and a mixture of
eggs and milk. Although many people like to have this dessert accompanied by custard,
there are also others options that are just as popular among English people and these
are ice cream or just cream.
Puddings represent one of the most representative culinary characteristics of
England. They have a long history; at the beginning they were not sweet at all, they
were even savoury puddings, “such as bacon badger pudding, offal pudding, cow -heel
pudding and partrid ge pudding and were cooked in a bag made from the stomach of an
animal.” (Garmey 165) When sugar became less expensive, people started to cook
sweet puddings, using as main ingredients sugar, dried fruit or almonds. There is a
difference between how Americ ans perceive the notion of “pudding” and what English
people understand when they use this term. Americans refer to pudding as “a thick, soft
dessert (Garmey 165) while English people use the word “pudding” for every dessert
they eat. They are part of the English dinner, every meal finishing with such a pudding.
After dinner people living in England usually have a snack consisting of cheese
and crackers. Tea or coffee is also served after dessert, either together with the snack
or by itself. In compari son with the other English meals, dinner is the most consistent
one, although the traditional breakfast contains also many dishes. Even though most
people nowadays do not eat such a consistent dinner every evening, once in a while
they still like to eat th e traditional English dishes, together with their families.

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3. FOOD CULTURE ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS

3.1 Culinary Choices for Christmas

Christmas is probably the only celebration that brings together the whole family, the
feast during which the traditions of a particular country can be best observed, the feast
that emphasizes the gastronomic culture of a country, but also other aspects of the
cultural life. Being such an important celebration, people try to cook as many dishes as
possible, preser ving not only the traditional recipes, which make Christmas a traditional
feast, but also new ones that help forming a food culture. No matter the country we
speak about, Christmas is the perfect celebration that shows people’s attitude towards
food and ot her rituals and customs that are celebrated on the occasion of this day.
In England, Christmas is a very important holiday, being celebrated by all
people, through different traditions, that have origins in the past, but are preserved even
nowadays. "Chri stmas is the one occasion in modern Britain when a large number of
customs are enthusiastically observed by most ordinary people within the family.”
(O’Driscoll 211) There are many dishes related to Christmas that have set their stamps
on the culinary cult ure of England, known all around Europe, not only in Great Britain.
Some of these may include the famous Christmas pudding or Christmas cake, roast
turkey together with roast vegetables. These dishes were also eaten in the past and they
are still a great p art of the traditional English Christmas dinner.
During Tudor times, Christmas was a celebration, not so different than it is
approached today, from a culinary point of view. Some dishes that were cooked in those
days, are still eaten at Christmas dinner nowadays, meaning that this celebration did not
lose its base, it is still a feast that do not experience the passing of time or the
modernization that interferes in every aspect of people’s life. “For most, it still meant
brawn along with fresh beef, mutt on, pork, goose, turkey, apples and cheese – and
enormously hard work in the kitchen. Shred pies filled with meat, dried fruits, sugar
and spices were still piled up beside good drink and a blazing fire.” (Colquhoun 85)
Even after Tudor times, in 1870s, Ch ristmas was still a family celebration, which
centred it attention to cooking and food. “Families were portrayed gathered together to
overindulge in roast beef and most particularly in plum pudding.” (Collingham 259)

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Nowadays, Christmas is still a celebra tion during which food have a central role.
On Christmas Day, people have what is called a “Christmas dinner”, even if it is eaten
at lunch, being called dinner because it is the biggest and the most consistent meal of
the day. All family members gathers a nd eat together the traditional Christmas dinner
which is made up of “stuffed roast turkey with roast potatoes and some other vegetables
(often Brussel sprouts). Other foods associated with Christmas are Christmas pudding
and Christmas cake.” (O’ Driscoll 212) Even though these are the main traditional
dishes placed on the Christmas table, there are also other dishes or ingredients which
are commonly eaten during Christmas holiday.
Besides the traditional dishes that are served on the Christmas table, ther e are
also other dishes that became popular among most English people. Some of these
include Brussels sprouts with chestnuts, Pan Haggerty or mince pies. Just like the roast
turkey or the Christmas pudding, these dishes are eaten nowadays during Christmas by
many people. Although Brussels sprouts are not enjoyed by everyone, they are still
pretty common at the Christmas table. They grow for almost a year, the time of their
harvesting being around Christmas, so there is no surprise they appear on the table o n
such a special occasion. They are tastier when butter, bacon or chestnuts are added and
the best method of cooking Brussels sprouts is perhaps by shredding and stir -frying.
“It’s small, nutty and made for eating at Christmas with chestnuts and an open fi re.”
(Webb 441)
Pan Haggerty is a classic recipe that uses not only simple and cheap ingredients,
but is also very easy to cook. It has its origins in the north of the country, more
specifically in the Northumberland County, but it is also cooked in the o ther regions of
the state . “First, a pan is coated with dripping, then thinly sliced potatoes, sliced onions,
grated hard cheese such as Cheddar and a good twist of seasoning are built up in layers.”
(Webb 296) The original recipe is quite rare to find, e ven on Christmas day, but there
are also alternatives of this dish such as “panackelty “which contains also diced meat,
bacon or beef and onions or “panjotheram” which have in its composition “slices of
potatoes layered in a deep pie dish and moistened wit h boiling water.” (Webb 296)
Although it is quite rare for someone preparing the Christmas dinner to cook the
original recipe of Pan Haggerty, this dish is part of the traditional English Christmas
table, alongside with other traditional dishes that have b een kept in the culinary culture
of England even nowadays.

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The mince pie is more common today even than the famous Christmas pudding.
Although it is almost the same with the pudding, in terms of composition and
ingredients, many people prefer the mince p ie, rather than the traditional dish . “The
ancestor of today’s dainty individual mince pies is the medieval Christmas pie, made
with a filling of finely chopped beef, shredded suet and apples .” (Webb 273) What
differentiate the new recipe from the old one is the ingredients that were added to the
original recipe, such as spices, sugar or raisins, creating a new dish, different in taste
from the traditional one. In its composition, one may found several fruits, such as apples
and plums or nutmegs. Although mince pie is almost always associated with winter and
Christmas holidays, it is eaten the whole year round, being a light and tasty dish, that
can be found in different forms and which is very e asy to cook.
Another dish that is common during Christmas holiday is trifle. Although it is
not a classic traditional dish that was also eaten in the past for Christmas, nowadays
people who like to have an alternative from the traditional Christmas cake, choose this
dish, which is as tasty as the traditional one and which gains an increasing popularity
among many people living in England. It is a dessert that can be both bought or home –
made, although the latter may seem a little bit difficult because one who wants to cook
this recipe may need a lot of patience and advanced cooking skills. “Today, few of us
would make every component of a trifle entirely from scratch, baking the biscuits,
making a proper custard, combining gelatin and fruit for the jelly.” (Webb 418) The
dessert should be placed in a glass bowl in order to see all the layers of ingredients. It
is a wide spread dessert, that people like to eat, not only on Christmas or on other special
occasions but also all year round.
However, the traditio nal English Christmas dinner may contain roast turkey
accompanied by roast vegetables, potatoes or Brussels sprouts, although in the past the
turkey was replaced with goose, which was more common, Christmas pudding and
Christmas cake. Some other alternativ es for people who are not so keen on the
traditional way, may include mince pies, Pan Haggerty or trifles. No matter what people
choose to cook for the Christmas dinner, one thing is clear: Christmas is a family
celebration and people try to turn every dis h in something special, directly related to
this feast. Christmas time is an occasion during which the traditional culinary culture
can be observed and analysed in detail, mostly because people cook more dishes for
this feast than they do for the rest of t he year, and the traditional dishes that were

39

preserved even nowadays, represent the basis of the food culture on special occasions
in England.
In America when it comes to Christmas, one may observe that many European
cultures have a strong influence on t he traditional Christmas dishes. Whether we are
talking about German, Dutch or English influence, the dishes Americans call
“traditional” have some touches from the cultures mentioned above, cultures that had a
great impact not only on the food culture of the United States of America, but also on
the customs and traditions that people As for most people in the world, Christmas in
the United States of America is a celebration centred on family, almost in every house,
people gather in order to celebrate Chris tmas together. The most important meal of the
day is the Christmas dinner, during which people can enjoy many dishes that are
directly related to Christmas.
The impact English colonists had on the American identity can be easily
observed during Christmas season. Thus, a “traditional” American Christmas dinner
may include some dishes that are also found in the traditional English menu. Some of
these are: the roast turkey, which is a mark of the English Christmas dinner, the roast
vegetables which accompany the turkey, usually potatoes and some other dishes
common to both cultures such as the Christmas pudding or the Christmas cake.
However, there are culinary differences from one region to another in terms of what
roast vegetables people like to eat or what dessert they choose to cook. Some of these
particularities come from a regional point of view, others may interfere because people
choose to have something different for the Christmas dinner, not the traditional
American style.
Candy canes are one of the most common desserts people like to eat during
Christmas season. They have a long history, being present in Europe around the
eighteenth century, but only in the nineteenth century, they were sold in the United
States of America. Although they were at fir st not so popular among Americans, in the
middle of the century, they began to gain a greater importance during Christmas season.
“Handmade candy canes were sold in America by the early nineteenth century, but it
was not until 1847 that they became part of American Christmas celebrations.” (Smith
87) Nowadays there are many companies that produce candy canes and their red and
white characteristics are well known not only in the United States of America, but also
in other countries.

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Christmas cookies repr esent another dish that is generally enjoyed in the United
States of America. Some of the traditions related to Christmas that Americans preserved
up to this day have a Dutch origin. The customs about Santa Claus, for example, have
a Dutch base, as well as other customs, such as making the Christmas cookies. When
the Dutch came in the New World and established themselves in what is now New
York, they brought with them all these Christmas traditions. This dish is, as a matter of
fact, sugar biscuits which ar e cut in different shapes in order to be related to Christmas.
In the past, there was a great variety of cookies people cooked and a greater variety of
ingredients than today. “These included butterscotch, chocolate, lemon and cream
caramels, crème sugar b irds and animals, pears, mice, babies, jelly beans, and many
others.“ (Smith 132) Cookies are prepared for this celebration in almost every home
and although almost nobody buy them, there are still several companies producing this
type of cookies.
Pie is a dessert that most Americans like to eat no matter if it is a special
occasion or just a usual day. It is present in their everyday life and maybe that is why
they made the saying “as American as apple pie” so famous. Pie is a dessert that cannot
be left out of the Christmas menu. Although there is a great variety of pies people
choose to cook for this celebration, such as apple pie, sweet potatoes pie or pecan pie,
which originates from Texas, the most common dish is the pumpkin pie. Although pie
has Euro pean origins, being first introduced by English colonists, there is the United
States of America, the country that developed many pies that nowadays are eaten
around the world. The pumpkin pie is not an exception. It started to become a part of
the culinar y culture as traditional American dish during the nineteenth century,
although pumpkins were natives to Americans thousands of years before .” Recipes for
pie made with pumpkins first appeared in print in America in the 19th century, even
though pumpkins ar e native to the Americas and their domestication goes back
thousands of years.” (Roufs 348) Nowadays pumpkin pie is one of the traditional dishes
that are eaten not only for Christmas, but also during another important American
celebration: Thanksgiving Da y.
Among drinks that Americans like during Christmas seasons, one may observe
the following beverages: hot chocolate, apple cider, champagne and a traditional drink
called eggnog. This regional beverage is usually drunk for Christmas and New Year’s
Eve. Some of the ingredients used to cook this special occasion drink are milk, sugar,
egg yolks and egg whites. However, some distilled spirits may be added to the original

41

recipe, such as rom, brandy or whiskey. “It is a fluffy, saffron -colored beverage,
delicate in fragrance, daintily blended, and pungently persuasive.” (Kurlansky 204) It
is not a drink that appeared recently, but on the contrary, it has a long history, being
included in Christmas menu from the beginning of the twentieth century. A Chris tmas
dinner from that time may include the following dishes : “sampling homemade corn
liquor, blackberry and scuppernong wines, eggnog; turkey stuffed with cornbread
dressing, chickens stuffed with plain white bread dressing; baked ham spiced with
cloves; c ountry sausage; liver pudding; and hogshead cheese.” (Gabaccia 40)
Among other dishes, Christmas ham is also a dish that most people cook for this
special occasion. Those who do not prefer the roast turkey as a main dish, may choose
goose or even duck, being accompanied in most cases by mashed potatoes. During
Christmas season, one may found in a traditional American menu gingerbread dishes.
This is a term used in particular to refer to a variety of baked dishes, which have
predominantly ginger flavours . “In its original medieval meaning, gingerbread was
characterized as a “bread stuff,” which meant something edible, a dry finger food
consumed as an adjunct to the meal.” (Katz 132) This dish originally evolved in English
and in the eighteenth and nineteen th centuries they became an integral part of the
culinary culture in the United States of America. Even in the past, these ginger cookies
were cut in different shapes and were consumed not only during Christmas season, but
also for other special occasions . “These cookies were popular during the winter months
and were usually dipped in wine or cider when eaten. Gingerbread cookies were also
popular as Christmas tree ornaments. ” (Katz 132)
Even if we are talking about England or the United States of America, Christmas
has the same characteristics: it is a family celebration, perhaps the only one that gathers
all family members together, which centre itself on dishes cooked for a special
occasion. For most English people and Americans, “Christmas dinner” repre sents the
most consistent meal of the day and the menu for such a traditional Christmas should
include roast turkey alongside with roast vegetables, potatoes predominantly, and
desserts such as Christmas cake or different types of pie. There are, of course ,
differences between the two cultures, even though both of them might look similar.
English Christmas have distinctive dishes, besides the traditional ones, such as mince
pies or trifles, while in the United States of America, pumpkin pie and candy canes
represent traditional dishes cooked for this special occasion.

42

3.2 Traditional English and American Dishes for New Year’s Eve.

The next special occasion that comes after Christmas is the New Year’s Eve. Unlike
Christmas, New Year’s Eve is a feast that is usually celebrated with friends, rather than
family, away from home, perhaps in a restaurant and during which substantially
amounts of alcohol is consumed. Not only is the alcohol the reason which makes this
celebration a relevant one, but also the foo d that is eaten for this special occasions.
Almost every restaurant is open for New Year’s Eve and people who go there can enjoy,
depending on one’s taste, a traditional menu or on the contrary a modern one, based on
new dishes.
In England, New Year’s Eve is celebrated together with family and friends.
From a culinary point of view, this special occasion represents a possibility through
which most people demonstrate their traditions and customs. In England, just like in
any other country, people believe th at they will have good luck for the next year if they
eat some foods or dishes, specially prepared for this celebration. Some of these may
include fish, peas or even pork, but food is also present in another tradition. In England,
for New Year’s Eve there is a tradition which says that the first man who enters in
someone’s home, must be dark -haired and must carry with him bread, salt and coal.
Bread symbolizes that for the next year people will have abundance of food, salt
symbolizes money, while coal is us ed to symbolize warm. However, an English buffet
prepared for New Year’s Eve may contain the following dishes: potted shrimps, puree
of peas or pease pudding, trifle and cheese. (Garmey 263)
Potted shrimps are one of the dishes that may appear in a New Ye ar’s Eve menu.
Shrimps first originated from Old Germany and used to designate anything that was
considered to be smaller than the average. Although their size might not be the most
inspiring, they have a special flavour that is enjoyed by most people, not only in
England, but also in other parts of the world. However, in England, “shrimps have long
been preserved in dishes under a layer of flavoured butter.” (Webb 167) There are
countless food companies that produce potted shrimps around England, but this recipe
can be easily made at home. After the butter, some spices are the ones that should be
added to the recipe. Some of the most embosomed spices of the country are used in
cooking potted shrimps, such as pepper, nutmeg, mace and cayenne. “It’s a very li ght
and delicate spicing that allows the flavour of the shrimp to take the lead. “ (Webb 167)

43

It is a very tasty dish that is consumed not only on special occasion, but also in the rest
of the year.
Pease pudding is considered to be a traditional English d ish. Although in the
past, pease pudding was common for all regions of the country, nowadays rarely can
be seen outside the north -east region. In that part of the country, pease pudding was
preserve as a traditional dish, originating from the diet of poor people from the past,
which tried to find a replacement for meat. Nowadays, the original recipe includes split
yellow peas, onions, but also ham. “Pease pudding is made from split yellow peas,
cooked long and slow, often with a smoked ham hock for some ext ra meaty body.”
(Webb 268) Pease pudding used to be found in butchers’ shops, due to the addition of
ham, in some tubs which could be reheated at home. However, today there are few
shops that still sell the dish, even in the north -east part of the country .” For the full
Northumberland on -the-hoof eating experience you should have it slathered over a
stottie, the traditional large white bap of the region, and top it with a slice or two of
ham.” (Webb 268) Although pease pudding may be a dish that did not pas s the time
barrier, it is still a traditional dish that may be eaten just for special occasions, such as
New Year’s Eve, or on the contrary whenever one wants to eat a traditional English
dish.
If there is one thing people living in England love about th eir gastronomic
culture, that is cheese. Even we speak about lunch, dinner or a special occasion, such
as New Year’s Eve, cheese is one food that never miss from the English tables.
Nowadays there is great variety of cheese which is produced especially in the England.
Although in the past English cheese did not have a remarkable importance, nowadays
it is one of the foods that make English cuisine known in the world. There are certain
types of cheese that gained more importance than others, such as regional ones, for
example Cheddar cheese, as a traditional type or more new ones, such as sloe tavy,
which is a unique type of cheese shaped like a heart. “Now there are some truly brilliant
cheeses being produced, particularly in England. The West Country – ancestral home
of Cheddar – also now gives us sloe tavy, the Midlands Little Urn and the classic
Cheshire, while the north offers Wensleydale from Yorkshire and Baltic from the north –
east.” (Webb 395)
In terms of dessert for New Year’s Eve, there is nothing t hat can be defined as
“traditional”. People eat all sorts of cakes during this celebration, some of them being
traditional English, others being just new recipes, which are recent added to people’s

44

diet. “Victoria sponge cake, lovely scones, custard tarts, and clotted creams grace the
sweet treats menu.” (Roufs 121) Victoria sponge cake dates back to Queen Victoria
reign and this dessert was one of her favourite. It is made up of sugar, butter, eggs and
flour to which fresh fruits or jam were added between the layers. It is the most preferred
dessert for teatime, but it makes a perfect choice even for special occasions, such as
New Year’s Eve. Scones are what Americans call biscuits and cooked in the English
traditional way they represent a simple, plain dis h, very easy to cook. “Traditional
English scones may include raisins or currants but are often plain, just waiting for a
topping of preserves or clotted cream, or both· clotted cream is a heavenly concoction
made from the high butterfat milk from cows tha t graze in the southwest of England.”
(Roufs 120)
Thus, English New Year’s Eve is a special occasion celebrated together with
friends and family. Although it cannot be said that one dish or another represents the
traditional English food that people eat d uring this feast, the dishes that were mentioned
above may appear in a New Year’s Eve menu. They represent dishes that are classic to
English cuisine, which may be eaten on a special occasion or, on the contrary, on a
regular day. During this celebration, a large amount of alcohol is consumed, in form of
champagne, beer, wine and other spirits. However, New Year’s Eve remains a
celebration of cheerfulness, of entertainment and amusement. Unlike Christmas, it is a
far more informal special occasion, during w hich the diversity of the English
gastronomic culture can be best observed.
In the United States of America, New Year’s Eve is also a time for fun and
entertainment. Just like in England, it is difficult to point out which are the foods that
are eaten esp ecially for this celebration, but there are foods that are preferred by a
majority of people. Even here there are some superstitions that the food people eat on
New Year’s Day will influence their rest of the year. Thus, most people living in the
north -western part of the country usually eat salmon for luck in the new year. Another
tradition is related to black eyed peas, which constitute a traditional American dish
especially prepared for this celebration. “Starting in the Carolinas but extending
throughou t the South, hoppin' John and greens became traditional New Year's fare,
black -eyed peas bringing luck and the rice (which swelled in the cooking) and greens
(like money) bringing prosperity” (Smith 189)
Hoppin’ John is a traditional American dish, usual ly eaten on New Year’s Eve.
In its composition the following ingredients may be found: black eyed peas, rice which

45

are cooked using pork fat and which is seasoned in different styles. “It is often served
with collard greens and cornbread. It is a customary dish for New Year’s Day in
Charleston and the American south.” (Davidson 395) The history of this dish dates back
to the nineteenth century and ever since than the basis of this dish was represented by
the peas. In its original recipe the rice was a matter of choice and it was considered to
be a stew of bacon and pea s, rather than the dish that is cooked today for New Year’s
Eve. The peas were first introduced by slaves in the north of the United States of
America. “Everyone seems to agree that the indisputable basis of the dish is cowpeas,
which the slaves brought to N. America (or which were brought for them, for food
during the voyage, along with the other new plants brought from Africa, okra, yam, and
water melon).” (Davidson 395)
Another dish that is believed to bring luck if it is eaten on New Year’s Eve is
pork and sauerkraut. It is believed to bring luck because a famous saying suggests that
the “pig roots forward.” This dish is a German tradition, but is also wide spread in the
north east part of the United States of America, especially in Pennsylvania, where it
was first introduced by the Dutch. Every cuisine has its own pork dishes and its own
seasoning and for the American gastronomic culture, pork was usually flavour with
sweet ingredients. “Sweet ingredients are characteristic of American pork cookery,
including fruits or fruit juices such as apple, cranberry, peach, and pineapple which are
used as sauces and garnishes .” (Davidson 642)
Sauerkraut represents a German dish that was introduced by Dutch in
Pennsylvania in the seventeenth century. It practicall y consists of only two ingredients:
salt and white cabbage. After it is sliced, the cabbage is placed in a crock and “the
shreds are packed in layers which are salted (other flavourings being added if desired)
before the next layer is applied.” (Davidson 7 16) After a day, during which the dish is
left to ferment, the cabbage is ready to be cooked. Although it is a classic German
recipe, this pork and sauerkraut is also eaten in the United States of America on New
Year’s Eve. Among the drinks eaten for this special occasion, champagne is one of the
classic drinks that do not miss from the New Year’s Eve table, just like in any other
parts of the world. Besides champagne, some other drinks are also consumed for this
special occasion such as, beer, wine or the traditional American drink eggnog, which is
also a traditional drink consumed during Christmas season. However, the most common
and traditional remains champagne.

46

Cookies are still a New Year’s Eve dish that was preserved from the past.
Cookies were first introduced by early Dutch settlers and even in that time it was a dish
that was cooked for this special occasion, at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
After that, many English, Scandinavian and other European colonists have influenced
the history of cookies and introduced themselves other types of dessert which can be
referred to as cookies. However, a cookie represents “a small, flat, sweet confection,
which approximates to a sweet biscuit as eaten in England, although cookies tend to be
richer and have a softer, chewy texture.” (Davidson 218) One of the most famous types
of cookies that appeared in the United States of America is the chocolate cookie.
Although in the past cookies were used on New Year’s Day to greet visitors, nowadays
they do not pl ay such an important role during this celebration. They are still eaten for
special occasions, but they are nothing more than just a type of dessert that is enjoyed
by almost everyone. “Cookies were originally associated, in the USA, with New Year’s
Day; r eferences cited by Craigie and Hulbert (1938) from the early part of the 19th
century show that cookies and cherry bounce (a cherry cordial) were the correct fare
with which to greet visitors on that occasion” (Davidson 218) Together with other types
of ca kes and biscuits, cookies make a perfect dessert for the New Year’s Eve menu.
Some other foods are supposed to bring luck if they are eaten on New Year’s
Eve in the United States of America. One of these foods is corn bread, which is
practically bread base d on maize and collards, which represents a food that is similar to
cabbage. In the United States of America, there are three main regions that cultivate
collards and these are Virginia, New Jersey and Maryland. These foods are consumed
especially in the s outhern part of the country because it is believed that they are a luck
bearer. Some of these may be related to wealth, such as collards, which because of their
green colour are often associated with dollars. Other foods are said to be eaten just for
havin g luck in the new year.
To conclude, the English and American New Year’s Eve may be regarded as
being quite similar. In both countries, people have superstitions about the food that must
be eaten in order to have luck and money in the new year. For English there is the
famous tradition of a man carrying with him salt, bread and coal, while for the United
States of America traditional dishes represent hoppin’ John, based on black eyed peas,
pork and sauerkraut or sweet desserts, such as Americans cookies. No matter the
gastronomic features of every country, New Year’s Eve is a special occasion which
centres itself on fun, entertainment and amusement.

47

3.3 Traditional English and American Dishes for Easter.

The following special celebration that comes af ter New Year’s Eve is Easter. Although
most people from different countries consider that Easter is far less important than
Christmas, for example, it is still a special occasion that reveal the gastronomic culture
of a state. The most important part of th e day is constituted by Easter dinner, which is
usually eaten with family. Actually, all feasts, especially religious ones, are celebrated
together with family and friends. Just like any other special occasion, there are certain
dishes that people like to eat, depending on their food culture history. However, some
of these foods are common to many cultures such as the lamb or cakes, which have
specific figures related to this celebration.
England, like many other countries, have specific foods that are dir ectly related
to Easter and which are consumed by most people living there. The tradition of lamb
has a long history in England, dating back to the times of Henry VIII, when it was
served along with other specific Easter foods: “At supper time on Easter Da y, mutton
and veal in broth, chicken with bacon, veal, roast pigeons, lamb, and roasted kids’,
lambs’ and pigs’ feet sauced with vinegar and parsley would be served.” (Wright 70)
Nowadays, one traditional English Easter menu might include the following dis hes: hot
cross buns, the roasted lamb and specific desserts such as Simnel Cake or a type of cake
that godparents usually offered to their godchildren, which is the Coventry God Cake.
One of the most common food for every culture, on Easter is lamb. In En gland,
most people prefer to eat a roast shoulder, leg or saddle from a lamb on Easter Day,
together with mint sauce and potatoes. In today’s cuisine, lamb does not have the same
importance as the beef does, for example. Although there are many traditional dishes
that contained lamb in the past, today it is consumed quite rarely and particularly on
special occasions, such as Easter. Starting from the nineteenth century lamb was
associated with mint sauce and since then, the combination remained unchanged . “In
England, mint sauce, composed of chopped fresh mint, sugar, and vinegar, has been the
accepted accompaniment for roast lamb since the mid19th century.” (Davidson 455)
The mint sauce has a very long history in England being introduced here by the
Romans, which were the first that grown mint. However, it is used in combination with
lamb mostly because the meat from a lamb is very fat and people tried to find a flavour
which is both sweet and fresh, so the mint sauce was the perfect choice and since then,
it remained a specific characteristic of lamb and Easter table.

48

Hot cross buns represent one of the most popular characteristics of the English
Easter table. They were also eaten in the past and since then they remain associated
with the special occasion o f Easter. This buns are usually cooked on Good Friday and
on top they are marked with a cross, custom which originate from the ancient time being
directly related to religious offerings of bread. This type of bread is actually “a round
bun made from a rich yeast dough containing flour, milk, sugar, butter, eggs, currants,
and spices, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves.” (Davidson 118) They were
also eaten by other people on special occasions, such as Egyptians, Romans and Greeks,
but there were the Saxons that first introduced in England the tradition of making a
cross on the top of the buns. Moreover, people in the past were keeping hot cross buns
from one year to another because there was a superstition that if they were cooked on
Good Friday, they cannot go mouldy. However, most people living in England choose
to have even nowadays hot cross buns for Easter Day if they want to have a real
traditional Easter dinner.
Simnel Cake is the traditional Easter dessert in England and it is as famous as
the traditional hot cross buns or roasted lamb. They are very much alike Christmas Cake
being a fruit cake, but the only featur e that distinguish them is that the Simnel Cake
uses marzipan, as its main flavour. In its original recipe, this dish was actually a light
bread which was boiled and then baked. In the seventeenth century, fruits and other
spices were added to this recipe and since then, the Simnel Cake remained associated
with Easter. At the top of the cake, a layer of marzipan is added as well as little balls
made also from marzipan, representing the twelve apostles, thus marking the religious
aspect of this celebration. “There is debate over the number of balls. Since they are said
to represent the 12 apostles, some contend there should be 11 (thus excluding Judas);
others say there should be 13 (to include Christ).” (Davidson 744) English people who
choose to have a trad itional Easter menu, always choose this dessert that is popular all
over the country. Although some other desserts are also cooked for this special
occasion, the Simnel Cake remains the classic and traditional one.
Another type of dessert that is usually eaten for celebrations is the Coventry
God Cake. It is a dessert which is related directly to family, rather than religious aspects
because it is offered to godchildren by their godparents, on Christmas or on Easter Day.
Nowadays, however they are not so common in England as they were in the past, being
replaced by other desserts, which are more popular among English people. They were
home -made, rather than bought because they represented a gift made for godchildren.

49

With the passing of time, godparents replaced the traditional Coventry God Cakes with
other presents, which are not related to gastronomic culture. However, in the past, these
cakes “consisted of a triangular -shaped puff pastry casing with a mincemeat -style
filling, the three corners of the triangle symbolising the Holy Trinity.” (Webb 389) Even
if they are not so common among most people nowadays, the Coventry God Cakes
remain a feature of a traditional English Easter, together with other desserts such as
Simnel Cake or hot cross buns with roasted lamb.
One of the most popular foods that is usually associated with Easter are eggs.
No matter the gastronomic culture of a country, eggs are common for most countries
which celebrate this special occasion. They have a symbolic significance when eaten
on Easter Day, representing the renewal of life together with the coming of spring. Hard
boiled eggs is the method through which most eggs are cooked for Easter, but there are
also alternatives from the usual way, s uch as eggs eaten as a dessert, for example
chocolate eggs, which are enjoyed by most children, but not only. This dessert
represents actually chocolate shaped in a form of an egg which may be filled also with
chocolate or which may be left empty. For maki ng this types of chocolate eggs, molten
chocolate is put in moulds in order to form the shell of the egg . “This method gives a
better finish and allows for more elaborate shapes than enrobing. It is used for shapes
such as Easter eggs and other novelties.” (Davidson 184) The chocolate eggs first
appeared in the nineteenth century and since then they remained associated with Easter
celebration. Although these chocolate eggs seem to be the ones Easter is associated
with by most people, the tradition says that hard boiled eggs make the traditional Easter
table. However, all sorts of eggs are eaten during this period, whether if they are eaten
as a breakfast dish, in the case of boiled eggs, or as a dessert dish, as in the case of
chocolate eggs.
Easter in Eng land is a period of feast and entertainment, which abounds in food,
thus the gastronomic culture of the country can be easily observed. The traditional
English Easter table must contain the following dishes: roasted lamb, hot cross buns,
Simnel cake and eg gs. These represents classic dishes to which are also added modern
recipes, especially dessert dishes. Although it is not as important as Christmas is, for
example, it is still a celebration that has many traditional dishes that were preserved
from the pas t up to this day, a celebration of rejoicing for Christians. Just like for other
special occasion, on Easter time people try to cook dishes that they do not eat on a
regular basis, whether they are traditional or modern ones.

50

In the United States of Ameri ca, Eastern is not too different from the traditional
English one, when it comes to food. Here people also eat eggs, whether they are hard
boiled or chocolate eggs, they eat lamb, although their meal may also consist of ham,
they eat desserts which are rel ated to the special occasion of Easter, they eat hot cross
buns similar to the ones eaten by people living in England. Although it is a period of
feast for all Christians, many tradition, as well as the name of the celebration have pagan
origins. In ancien t time, it was a feast that celebrated Eostre, the goddess of light. The
eggs custom, as well as the famous Easter bunny, which carries a basket full of eggs
are traditions that have pre -Christians origins.
In the United States of America, in the past, la mb was the only type of meat
consumed by people during Easter season. It was related to religious aspects, being a
symbol of the sacrifice and it is still eat nowadays in some parts of the country, but
most people prefer ham for this special occasion. Euro pean settlers were the ones that
brought pigs in the United States of America, thus developing a verity of hams.
“Europeans took pigs and the art of curing meat to the Americas, where several types
of ham developed.” (Davidson 378) Since then, pig was reco gnized as a symbol of good
luck and the ham became a major part of the culinary culture of Americans. For Easter,
ham is usually associated with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Even in the past, all
foods eaten on Easter Day had specific significance and t hey were related to the
religious perspective of this celebration . “Easter foods carried special symbolic
meaning —the bacon symbolizing God’s mercy to mankind, the bread representing the
body of Christ, the butter molded into the shape of the paschal lamb, the eggs signifying
the new life that starts in Christ, the ham standing for joy and abundance.” (Gabaccia
49)
Even if people nowadays choose ham over lamb, the latter is still part of the
traditional dishes that are eaten on the occasion of this celebra tion. Among drinks
people consume during this celebration the most common is perhaps wine. Just like the
others foods which are directly connected with the religious character of this special
occasion, even the wine consumed by most people on Easter Day is related to religious
aspects of this celebration, being suggestive of the Last Supper. The lamb or ham is
eaten together with hard -boiled eggs and a glass of wine on Easter Day and that is what
Americans call a traditional Easter table. The dessert is ver y rich in dishes and
traditional cookies, such as the chocolate eggs are intertwined with more modern ones,
creating thus an abundance of sweets and cakes.

51

The custom of the Easter bunny has also pagan origins because it was a symbol
of fertility, represe nting a new life. In the past , “in the United States, children’s Easter
baskets were traditionally filled with boiled eggs, dyed various colors, and other foods.”
(Smith 219) At the beginning of the twentieth century, however, other sorts of candies
and ch ocolate were added and since then, the famous image of the Easter bunny became
associated with sweets, rather than with other types of food. It is believed that the
chocolate eggs and bunny first appeared in England and was a reproduction of the
Christmas cookies, which were enjoyed by most children . “In England, candy Easter
eggs may have been inspired by the mid -nineteenth century Christmas celebration,
which included Christmas cookies and candies.” (Smith 219) However, nowadays most
companies that produc e chocolate products also sale this kind of egg chocolates and
bunny chocolates during Easter season. In the United States of America most gifts that
are offered to the children are these sorts of baskets which contain sweets and candies.
Since their inven tion, chocolate eggs and bunnies remained directly connected to Easter
not only in the United States of America, but also in many other countries.
Another gastronomic feature that is present in the United States of America is
the existence of bread on Eas ter Day. Bread is the most important part of meals in
different countries, this fact leading even to the association of it with food. It represents
the basis of a regular meal or on special occasions, it can have a symbolic significance,
being related to r eligious aspects of one celebration or another. On Easter Day, most
people enjoy a type of bread similar to the one eaten in England, which also has a cross
on the top” (but the cross has symbolism older than Christianity, and cutting a loaf this
way may r eflect other customs, such as sun or fire worship, fertility rites, or the ritual
division of a loaf into portions).” (Davidson 101) This custom is still preserved by most
Americans and although it has a long history, most people still keep this tradition alive.
To conclude, special occasions are the best opportunities to observe the
gastronomic culture of a country. They represent a period of fun and entertainment,
during which large quantities of food and alcohol are consumed by people, whether at
home or in a restaurant. No matter the celebration, Christmas, New Year’s Eve or
Easter, every feast has its own particular dishes which are part of one country’s culture.
Whether we speak about England or the United States of America, each has its own
traditi onal dishes that are enjoyed by most people who live there and each has a long
history in cooking these dishes. Christmas pudding, roast turkey with roast vegetables,
Easter chocolate eggs, Simnel Cake or Hoppin’ John, all of them are traditional dishes

52

that cross the barrier of the time and are still part of the culture of both countries. Special
occasions help people to observe better the gastronomic characteristics of a country and
thus to understand the food culture of a state. During a feast, people tr y to cook as many
dishes as possible, so if it one period that best reflects the attitude of people towards
cooking and food, special occasions and celebrations are the best ones.

53

Conclusion

Since mankind has been in existence, people have needed food in order to live. Every
age in history has had its characteristic food, which has made researchers study the food
culture since ancient times. The fact that food plays an important role in people ’s lives
and it is also an element which people face day by day has led to a continuous evolution
of the dishes. When we talk about a country, it is much harder to identify traditional
dishes because today, more than ever, there is a coalescence of many cu ltures in on all
social spheres, whether we speak about food or other elements of a society.
Though, there are still some elements that have been preserved for centuries and
which have set their stamps on certain dishes that can be called traditional. As time goes
by, the way in which people have chosen to cook or even what they have chosen to eat
has changed a lot. So that, if in the past, people were eating mainly what they were
cultivating and hunting, today food can be found at any corner of the street in the form
of various dishes.
Along with the progress of technology, all the social spheres, the way people
think and also how they eat, what they eat, when and where they eat, have also evolved.
However, there are certain types of food that have devoted a certain culture, which are
preserved today are considered to be specific to that culture, even if they have deep
roots in history. Being such an important element in people’s lives, food has become a
landmark when it comes to characterizing a particular culture. Whether we speak of
countries such as France, internationally recognized for its unparalleled cuisine, of
Romania with its traditional dishes, of United States of America in which we find some
influences from many cultures or of England with its specific dishes, the food facilitates
a description of that culture, giving subtle information about the character, temperament
and the way of life of the people.
The gastronomic culture of England and the United States of America is a theme
that is still subject of change. People’s diet have improved from the past until now and
this thing can also happen when we think about future. The gastronomic culture of these
two countries is a sign of people’s life, their attitude and their character. The traditional
dishes that accompany people in their everyday life or on special occasions are part of
their national country and people’s spirits. The food culture is requisite to a society
because it is a symbol of hospitality, wealth and moreover, it has the role of defining

54

that country. If we consider what the people of the world choose to eat for breakfast or
for some major holidays, one can ob serve enormous culinary differences and the great
cultures of the world can be visible, just by identifying what people choose to eat either
in their daily lives or for special occasions.

55

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