"british food" news and stories

And we Americans thought we owned the obesity market! Seems our friends in the UK have also been packing on the pounds. One in four Britons is overweight, claims the Daily Mail. After learning of a recent study supporting a tax on junk food, conducted by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development, and the World Health Organization, the Brits are questioning whether it's a good idea or, as the food industry claims, turning the country into a "Nanny State."

Maybe some of the gals in UK pubs could use a nanny to walk them home, though. According to The Sun, Britain is becoming a nation of fallen women. Says The Publican, an online site for all things pubby in the UK, "The killer combination of our booze culture and the trend towards ever-higher heels means ladies are toppling from their shoes at an alarming rate. A recent poll of 3,000 high-heel wearers revealed that one in three had injured themselves tumbling off their towering footwear."

When will we ever learn that Martinis and Manolos don't mix?

A staple of British food culture, baked beans appear regularly in breakfast menus across the U.K., but rarely grace food counters stateside. Whereas American baked beans traditionally include molasses or brown sugar, the British Heinz variety strictly includes white beans and tomato sauce, creating a much more savory dish.

Here, blogger Luscious Temptations created this blissfully easy, hearty breakfast dish, topping the carb-and-protein plate with a hearty drop of Maggi seasoning and a generous dash of white pepper for kick. The dish may be simple, but definitely disproves the stereotype of British food lacking flavor -- this is easy comfort food at its best.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool to get a shot at having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

Time Magazine reports, with a soupçon of punny glee, that sales of offal in Great Britain have surged as of late, likely in response to the international economic downturn. Quoth London's Liz Logan:

"Tough economic times have Britons eating their hearts out and swallowing their tongues. Not literally, of course. But offal - or "variety meats," as the food category is euphemistically called in the U.K. - is experiencing a surge in popularity, with sales up 67% over the past five years."

Thing is, even in advance of the pound sterling's plunge, the nose-to-tail herd, helmed by offal stalwarts like Fergus Henderson and River Cottage's Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, had been squealing 'bout the culinary benefits of tripe, kidneys, brains, tail, giblets and trotters. Come for the savings, stay for the savoring -- the message seems to have come home to roost.

I posted a while back about my love of grilled chicken hearts, and I'm no stranger to whisking up a batch of giblet gravy, or a neckbone ragout, but I'm hungry for your favorite takes on organ meats. Post 'em in the comments below.

[via: Time]

Thank you to Flickr user vvvanessa for uploading this drool-inducing image to the Slashfood pool.

Giblet gravy recipe after the jump.

British food always gets knocked about, and now it's getting an added slap from Jamie Oliver. The BBC reports that Paris Match magazine has interviewed the popular celebrity chef, who is not too happy about the state of food in the UK. In fact, he even said that there was a better variety of food in South African slums.

But he doesn't think it was always that way. He says that "We have lost our traditions," and that Britain's "poverty shows in the way they feed themselves." Basically, he says they do so by spending everything on technology and booze, rather than meals around the dinner table -- something that seems far from UK-centric.

The Sydney Morning Herald also notes that Oliver went on to discuss how well France has kept up their food traditions, and how he'd like to shoot a new television show there. My suggestion: Oliver should go to France, research the continuing traditions practiced there and then head back to the UK for a British food Renaissance.

AOL Health Editor Katherine Steinberg submitted the photo above for inclusion in the Midnight Sausage series, but we thought it was worthy of a post all its own.

"As I was wandering the streets of London foraging for food, I came across something even more foreign to me than the British slang -- the hot dog hamburger, or the 'express special'. It was so strange that I had to take a picture. I'm not sure what about this makes it faster than your average meal, but I do know that it comes with fries. But don't get too excited, judging by the recent price dip, it won't be popping up in your local deli anytime soon."

Has anyone seen or sampled this frankenfood in London or elsewhere? We'd love a first-hand account.

[via Katherine Steinberg's Flickr]