Jane Manaster takes this cookery post from Austin back to England with Minding the English . . .

 Jane was raised in England long ago when eating roast heart or stewed tripe served with a glutinous white sauce were not uncommon. No special names disguised their identity!

English food unjustly has a very bad reputation.  Wangle an invitation to someone’s home so you can make up your own mind. Don’t be put off if the menu includes ‘toad in the hole’ or ‘bangers and mash’ with ‘blood in the ocean’ or windmill pudding’ for dessert.

 Parkin, sarsaparilla, bacon butty, Marmite, yellow peril……. My goodness! 

 Let me translate:

Toad in the hole, a.k.a. Yorkshire pudding with sausage, is a batter baked in a very hot oven so that it becomes crisp, even as the pork sausage oozes flavor into it. It is not eaten with maple syrup!

 Bangers and mash is also sausage, this time on mashed potatoes.

 Blood in the ocean is quite simply a rice or tapioca pudding with a dollop of strawberry jam.

 Windmill pudding is pretty much any dessert, if there’s enough to go round (Joke!).

 Parkin is a ginger cake, always eaten with a slice of Cheddar cheese. Sarsparilla is the English equivalent of root beer; Brits don’t like root beer, and vice versa.

 A bacon butty is simply grilled bacon between two slices of bread.

 Marmite is a yeast-based product that is spread sparingly on toast, and definitely an acquired taste. It’s the English equivalent of peanut butter in that it’s a stand-by lunch box sandwich.

 Yellow peril is that kind of sponge cake that sticks to the roof of your mouth.

 If you have English friends, just ask them to add to the list.

© 2009 Jane Manaster. All Rights Reserved.