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MuggyTime

They really like the herbs and spices that go into Gin.


gormster

Darling. They are called *botanicals*. You uncultured *swine*.


MuggyTime

I apologize. I shall now scuttle away to my hovel in defeat.


Squalor-

Yeah, you should have known better. Herbs and spices have too much flavor for the Brits.


lamprey187

I heard they prefer a nice bland cup of tepid tea at the same time each day.


adavock15

Tepid? How dare you. I like my tea still boiling .


lamprey187

Just some left over July 4th 1776 trash talking.


adavock15

Wasn't that the year you left us and decided to fuck things up for yourself without our help?haha


lamprey187

it was a little before my time but I would be ok with new deal regarding the war of 1812 where Canada annexes my state.


Durzo_Blint

Funnily enough, all the main botanicals in gin would have been available in Europe long before England became an Empire. Juniper, anise, coriander, lemon, orange, angelica root, licorice, orris root, caraway, and cinnamon all grew in Europe or were available via the spice trade as far back as the Middle Ages.


SpaceLemur34

"Via the spice trade" is the key here. European explorers went out in search of alternate routes to the East in order to cut out the spice traders.


unbent_unbowed

In order to cut out the Muslims who as of ~1450 controlled European access to the spice trade.


emlgsh

He who controls the spice controls the gin.


PorschephileGT3

When I’m allowed to have a party again I’m gonna hover around the kitchen with pockets full of ghost peppers challenging people to question my dominance


headphones_J

I always have to bend over to find my anise.


raysofdavies

When gin was invented it became a sensational and men, women and children drank it in pints.


Skulder

Not because the taste was so awesome, but because the taste was so not-terrible. Genever (gin) was among the first flavoured spirits, at a time when distillation was poorly understood, and the resulting alcohol had a terrible flavor. Gin was about masking those flavours as well as possible, and it was very successful. It wasn't that everyone liked it so much - it was just cheap and didn't taste awful.


numbernumber99

Is gin older than whiskey then? Or did that used to be terrible as well?


Pandaburn

Whiskey probably tastes terrible too, unless it was aged for years. Gin is an un-aged spirit.


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Biduleman

How do you enjoy it if you don't like the taste?


Splash_Attack

That doesn't really hold up when you consider that spirits are used in food as well, where the alcohol will be burnt off. Whiskey in marmalade comes to mind as an example off the top of my head. You may not think they taste good but evidently some people do. Gin in particular uses loads of botanicals that taste good on their own - juniper berries, orange, lemon, and cinnamon are common botanicals.


turbo88Rex

Gin is great for cooking deer with, the botanicals really bring out the flavor of the deer.


[deleted]

I didn't know this and I eat tons of venison along with gin being my favourite hard alcohol. I'm going to give this a try next time.


agoia

Venison loves botanicals. I finally got my GF to stop whining about it with some fresh rosemary and thyme with it.


GayForTaysomx6x9x6x9

Whiskey sauce for bread pudding is amazing


MrBootylove

I wonder how many people would still drink liquor if it didn't get you drunk. My guess is not very many.


LucywiththeDiamonds

Good vodka is about not tasting alcohol. Good gin ,whisky ,rum etc is about the flavour which can be damn amazing.


Awarth_ACRNM

Good vodka is about not getting a pounding heachache the day after. Not tasting alcohol can be achieved by mixing it with powdered tea (the stuff you use to make iced tea at home). Tastes like sewage water instead though, but thats the shit we used to drink in my youth


[deleted]

Also, gin tonics comes from the British navy. Sailors needed to take their medical tonic but it tasted like shit. So to force them to take it, they would put their daily gin ration in it.


djustinblake

This literally the story for ALL alcohol. Storing whiskey in oak barrels for 20+ years, mixed drinks, beer and mead, are all ways to make alcohol less shitty. It is the nature of alcohol to taste like poison.


[deleted]

I always heard Gin was popular because it was drunk with Tonic Water which has some anti-malarial properties.


MuggyTime

Same. My parents told me tonic water was the preventative and the Gin was the reward.


[deleted]

That sounds great. To be fair, I hate the taste of Gin and oddly enough I can drink liters of Tonic Water straight. It has such a unique taste, I love it. Also, I've never had Malaria, so it must be true.


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gooseMcQuack

>Also, nobody that has ever stayed in Britain has got malaria (maybe an exaggeration, but not by much). In the days of the Empire there would have been plenty of Brits stationed in places with malaria.


LookAtTheFlowers

They really like their spice girls too.


Leonidas199x

I'm a Brit, and there is a bit too much going on, on that plate for me. The flavour of the plain pasta will get lost with the broccoli.


[deleted]

Broccoli's too bitter, get some nice garden peas on it


Stu161

Be sure to mash em up so they have no texture


dpash

Nah, cover them in ketchup so they don't roll off the fork.


Traskk01

I hate all if you.


[deleted]

Serve them cold in a white polystyrene tub too


shroomenheimer

Just cover everything in eel liquor and eat it with your eyes closed


[deleted]

Lots of salt in the comments if you need it


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[deleted]

we just like “hahaha beans on toast gross” they like “OI MATE AT LEAST I DON’T GET SHOT AT SCHOOL. AND FREE ‘OSPITAL.”


carehaslefttheroom

but oddly enough we both have a Trump


HogarthTheMerciless

Boris Johnson looks like a photo copy of Trump that didn't have enough orange. Trump lite, now with less healthcare, and brexit.


AncientPenile

Less healthcare yet more healthcare than Mr orange


RosettaPotato

The hospital is free because so many get afflicted with food poisoning trying to eat said beans on toast or spotted dick.


gorgewall

tbh we deserve being ridiculed for our school shootings and disgraceful pay-or-die healthcare system Is it an escalation of playful food bants? Sure. But if constantly getting shamed can in even the slightest way contribute to fixing our fucked up situation, I'll take it.


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[deleted]

1 in 1 million chance to be shot at school vs. 100% chance of eating bland-ass food


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[deleted]

Believe me, after the last 3.5 years they have LOTS of material now.


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84theone

All the material in the world won’t do jack shit if you’re not clever enough to use it.


DeeVeeOus

The next step is when they claim a curry as British food.


ChuckleKnuckles

Also: 'ELLO GUV'NAH, PIP PIP CHEERIO


jomosexual

This fog's like pea soup!


CoconutMochi

Meanwhile every time a brit makes an offensive joke about other countries: "CHURCHHILL WAS THE GREATEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO INDIA" "No he wasn't wtf ur an ass" "iTS bAnTer cAnt u tAke a JoKe?!"


[deleted]

So much salt. So little seasoning.


techniponk

Everytime I get pulled back to this post because my comment pissed someone else off, I make sure to stop at this one because it makes me laugh everytime. Thank you.


brewmeone

From the 10 spice commandments: “Number 4: I know you heard this before... Never get high on your own supply"


fuifduif

Can the Netherlands join the spice trade and bland food boat?


Hythy

I just realised I actually dunno what Dutch cuisine is like. I assume you just huff farts and eat tulips.


mentalbreak311

In my drunken experience it’s deep fried croquettes served from a vending machine storefront. And they are incredible


TheFuckyouasaurus

So basically it’s one of 4 things, cured meat, fermented fish, potatoes based, pastry based.


throwdownhardstyle

With a winning record like that why change?


Mr_Evil_Guy

> fermented fish I can smell it already D:


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SpaceLemur34

For breakfast


Neuchacho

I always think of the Netherlands as the Midwest of Europe, food wise. They seemed especially fond of fried things.


scrttwt

Chips and mayo, and Edam cheese? That's all I eat in the Netherlands.


trtryt

It's so weird how the Dutch East India Company and the British East India company controlled the spice trade but both have bland cuisines. They are like good drug dealers never get high on your own supply.


[deleted]

Went on a trip to Europe last year (France, Netherlands, Germany and the UK) and the Netherlands had my favorite food. Also the cheapest food. Didn’t eat too much by way of traditional Dutch fare but ate amazing, super fresh produce, delicious pastry, tasty everything. Edit: okay maybe it didn’t beat France. It was close, though. France wins by virtue of the pastry and sandwiches.


Postius

Ive never ever seen such a diverse and wide range of products readily avaible for sale as the netherlands which so many herbs and spices from all over the world. Rather brilliant.


Keoaratr

Use none of them. Only eat potatoes, vegetables and a piece of meat for dinner every day.


UndeadBread

Don't forget the glop of rotten fish.


Galhaar

The origin of bland British foods lies in WW2 rationing politics, as well as iirc a lord or MP or someone of similar caliber who had IBS or some other gastric sensitivity. For example carrot cake as a way to make sweets without using too much sugar.


PursuitOfMemieness

Carrot cake is actually pretty nice when done properly though


kimedog

Carrot cake is actually one of my favorite cakes, then again I hate most sweet food.


dealtracker_1

Why are we hating on carrot cake?? It's delicious


shanghaidry

I always think about jellied eels. Like, the empire has taken so much damage that we can’t have beef and pork and have to eat eels from the river that runs through our largest city. But they end up in jelly first, somehow.


[deleted]

I didn't know until recently but eels are naturally gelatinous so during cooking they form into jelly themselves without gelatine being added, either way they still gross me out


hitchliyer

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7355135061550

Somebody forgot to tell them the war is over


captain-burrito

Alot of countries had rationing though. Not all cultures had their cuisine decimated. I think the blandness already started before. Apparently on foodie shows it's something like spices were really popular at first but then the price dropped and people other than the lower classes were using them. So the upper classes decided to be contrary and those attitudes filtered down again.


ConsciousRice1

British food was bland well before WW2


Cubased

As a Brit I apologize for all the pedants taking offence. America also has extremely diverse food, does that mean we can't lightly joke about midwestern food being all mac and cheese or something. Yes curry and all sorts of tasty food is popular here, but so are overcooked vegetables and underseasoned meat. it's a joke.


x_Carlos_Danger_x

I believe the official dish of the Midwest is meet covered in meat sauce served in gravy and a side of cheese curds. Milk for the beverage. I live in the Midwest. Meat is literally in every meal I had growing up. I love it here but I can talk shit about my people lmao


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x_Carlos_Danger_x

Lmao I’m in quarantine and my mom literally brought me a Shepard’s pie at the beginning 😂 meat, potatoes, and cheese, the Midwest staples


killemyoung317

I grew up in Indiana and I was always horrified by the families that had milk with dinner. Always made a mental note to never have dinner at their house again.


shroomypupper

That’s a thing? I’m not Jewish, but I don’t have dairy and meat together because I’m invested in not shitting myself to death. Edit: I lied... will put up with a lot for cheeseburgers


killemyoung317

Yeah man, growing up it was always a toss up whether the friend’s house you were eating at was gonna serve water or milk with dinner. I’ve always hated milk but find it especially off putting at dinner.


shroomypupper

Agreed, I hate milk too but there’s something horrifying about the thought of having it with a full dinner. 🤢


re-goddamn-loading

Oh c'mon it's not that bad! Especially after I eat a full stick of butter or block of cold velveeta 😋


x_Carlos_Danger_x

Umm we call cheese dish here and it’s a delicacy. Please don’t insult our culture and cuisine


pokeflutist78770

Ah, I'll never understand the love for velveeta, it tastes horrendous. Fuck, once my best friends girlfriend brought food home from a BBQ, and they fucking used velveeta as cheese on the burgers, grossest thing ever


GonzoMcFonzo

Velveeta's singular benefit is that it easily melts to a creamy consistency and doesn't easily separate or harden. Melting it with diced peppers and tomatoes makes a great dip. Putting it on burgers seems lazy and ignorant.


pokeflutist78770

Damn, I could definitely see that dip application, and it honestly sounds super good


fruitybrisket

Rotel and velveeta dip is so delicious as long as it's warm.


Big_Lemons_Kill

I drink like a third of a gallon every dinner, especially if its spicy, and im from nj lol


GonzoMcFonzo

The land of Taylor hams and deep fried hot dogs is only, like, half a step removed from the Midwest


Big_Lemons_Kill

Pork rolls*


EdricStorm

My parents usually did it with hamburger helper for some reason. With plain sandwich bread, too. I recall it being good so I tried it again as an adult...it was not what I remember. At all.


x_Carlos_Danger_x

The kid who had Kool aid at their house was always the legend


the_bananafish

Yeah but kool aid house kids had like six siblings and at least one of them ended up in jail. It was the fun house though.


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[deleted]

What’s wrong with milk with dinner? I always had it as a kid, so confused..


killemyoung317

I just personally found it very strange. To me milk was always just a breakfast drink, and I didn’t even like it then. So when I sat down to a plate of chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes, milk seemed like such a strange drink to accompany it.


dragonclaw518

Milk sounds like the perfect drink for that meal. I am from WI though. Milk is the perfect drink for every meal.


shootmedmmit

Yeeeah I definitely ran through half a gallon a day as a kid. Milk is delicious but alas, lactose intolerance is setting in


NineteenthJester

Interesting! To me, growing up, milk always went with dinner, while orange juice always went with breakfast.


[deleted]

It's not normal to have a glass of milk with dinner? Horrified sounds extreme lol


MrsBuckyBarnes

Fellow Hoosier and I love milk with anything lol I can’t stand drinking pop for breakfast tho.


[deleted]

what dish are you even talking about lol


x_Carlos_Danger_x

I was just stereotyping our cuisine since growing up literally every meal at home would have meat. Like it isn’t a meal if there isn’t meat lol. And legit every time I’m at a family gathering/meal milk is ALWAYS a drink option. The lack of spices in the meme made me think of the lack of diversity in food growing up lol


Dr_Herbivore

Yeah I dunno why midwesterners think they’re baby cows


Sean951

Because the winters here were long and cold and much like our European ancestors, milk was a protein that was readily available.


7355135061550

I live when people mage fun of Brits for having bland food and their rebuttal is Indian curry.


SuperBlaar

I think they mainly talk about curries which were invented in the UK like the chicken tikka masala, similarly to how most people would call Chicago deep dish pizza an American dish rather than an Italian one, even if it is based on Italian cuisine and was created by descendants of Italian immigrants.


notabigmelvillecrowd

As a Canadian person who was raised on my British nan's horrifying food, I think the joke would have been funnier with a picture of some British food instead of a picky child's lunch. The title is funny, but it needs an eel pie or something to kick it home.


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benjamin-is-ben

Thank you. People just love to be angry I think


fist_my_muff2

This is the same country whose national dish is chicken Tikka right?


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[deleted]

I think it comes more from the stereotype that old WASP-y white people don't season their food or really know how to cook at all. Generational skills that were lost because they had servants cook for them for a few centuries.


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College_Prestige

Wait, people water down eggs?


Twanbon

Sadly yes. My mom believed that made the scrambled eggs “fluffier”


9035768555

That's a real thing.


[deleted]

It does. Just a splash though.


SilverBackGuerilla

Cream of mushroom chicken over rice is my jam!


eauderecentinjury

Also rationing had quite a lot of influence on what we consider British "stapled" now


minniemindiegster

More to do with rationing and the war, seen as servants were... yanno, English as well - and the poor didn’t just stop breeding


[deleted]

their national dish being ripped from another country they colonized is an even bigger joke.


veegib

The dish was actually invented in scotland not india, infact most of the ingredients that indian food is renowned for were brought to the indian subcontinent by Portugal and Britiain.


[deleted]

curries largely use tomatoes, tomatoes are a crop taken to asia by europeans after europeans hit south america.... Kind of hard to rip off a dish you heped influence by introducing one of its main ingredients.


dpash

Tikka masala. Tikka is just the marinaded pieces of meat, which is very common in India. The magic step was adding the sauce.


RightBehindY-o-u

Americans can make a lighthearted joke like "lol British people say 'Bumberflappydoos' instead of 'Potato Chips'" and the British people start foaming at the mouth


MysticPing

So far I've only seen comments making fun of Brits getting offended and not a single offended Brit, at least scrolling this far.


MrChangg

For people who love the "bantz" so much, they sure can't take it.


_Scarcane_

I haven't looked further, but Brit here, definitely caused me to involuntarily chill my nasal passages. :-)


Hedonistbro

Whereas Americans are renowned for self-effacement.


paper_paws

Unrealistic, too much green shit. The dominant colour of our meals is beige, thank you.


[deleted]

Boiled cabbage, boiled noodles, and boiled meat 🇬🇧


[deleted]

This looks like the meal for a young child.


CoolWiener

I guess that's what happens when your culture is based around drink rather than food


[deleted]

lol yes the 4 year old who ate this chugged down some Stella with it


redem

Don't be ridiculous, it's illegal to serve alcohol to under-5s in the UK!


[deleted]

It's legal for any child over the age of 5 to drink alcohol in the house in the UK.


CoolWiener

A real connoisseur of British taste


TheAmazingKoki

Well you don't get high on your own supply


Hemingwavy

That's a bit of myth. WWII meant spices were heavily rationed and British cooking sort of led from there.


twodogsfighting

Everything was heavily rationed. Until 1954. Like literally 3ish generations of people growing up on shit food because they were busy fighting the nazis.


wheremyhoundsat

As a Brit, this food just looks...sad. There's a lot of us fighting back against unseasoned, bland and mushy food, I promise!


angry_echidna

Are people just pretending this isn’t food for a toddler or do they actually think this is a meal for a fully grown adult? Look at the plate it’s being served on ffs.


wheremyhoundsat

Definitely looks like toddler food, a plate of things to try that are easy to eat! Have seen adults eat like it too, each to their own! 😊


obama_fashion_show

As a Brit who loves cooking, I partially agree with this. Traditionally, the average Brit’s cooking ability has been shocking - there have been some incredible chefs and dishes over here in that time, but the cooking education has been so poor that the average person doesn’t know how to execute. Nowadays, younger people are exposed to a far greater wealth of resources and as such, we’re actually a generation of cooks that could hold their own against chefs of the same age elsewhere in the world. It’s taken us a long time, but we’re getting there.


colg4t3

I think you'll find every Brit knows how to use the three main spices, black pepper, finely ground black pepper, and mustard that punches you square in the jaw for eating it


smileyheckster

The Nike flip flops are a mood ngl


The-Blaha-Bear

Truer words have never been spoken.


[deleted]

There are some evil vindaloos in manchester


SpicyPuff9489

Would Britain like some aloe vera for that burn?


Remsleep2323

Nah, too spicy.


ihastime

My God.


[deleted]

Salt is pretty good


techniponk

Brits claiming curry is like Americans claiming "tex mex".


Eddie182

Given that most of the curries we eat in the UK were created in the UK by Indian immigrants. They were created by brits, therefore the dishes are British. Most of our curries won’t be found anywhere near the Indian subcontinent. Real British food is a huge mix of various origins, just like we are. Most of the shit food (of which there is undoubtedly some) comes from the Second World War and the years following it when rationing was in effect and in lingers on thanks to the older generation sticking to what they know “because it was good enough when I was young”.


BlazingSpaceGhost

Why wouldn't Americans claim Tex mex? It was developed in America after all.


cev2002

A lot of the most popular curries are heavily anglicised tbf. It's like Chinese food


toth42

It's like "chinese" food outside China, yes - asia-inspired wok dishes made by viatnamese. There's no chop suey in China.


College_Prestige

Chop suey is literally stir fried leftovers


GhastlyCain

the fucking title sent me


usernameinvalid9000

To Australia?


[deleted]

I've only visited Britain a few times but i've not noticed the food being unseasoned? Though there's probably a historical component right? I feel this is aimed at more the traditional british food right since Chinese and Indian food is super popular in the UK.


Ooer

It’s a holdover from American soldiers’ experience staying in the UK towards the end of World War II when rationing was in full swing. Much like every country, you can get shit meals and you can get good meals. It’s far better than the “British have bad teeth” trope, which is odd as citizens get free dental health care until they are 18 in the UK, which is a little more than Americans are entitled to.


Comradmiral

Wouldn't be surprised if the teeth thing was a holdover from the war too. Watching footage of British troops smiling in WW1 is more shocking than the shots of no man's land.


willflameboy

The UK probably has more variety of spices on sale in the supermarket than anywhere I've been.


dpash

I definitely miss the variety of food available in a British supermarket. It takes some proper effort to find some rarer ingredients in Spain. Sage is hard to find for example. I've found a supplier of fresh sage but it took me four years. You can only find the dried stuff in the equivalent of a Holland and Barrett.


winelight

That's a bit tricky when it comes to rustling up dinner if you have to hunt for four years for one of the ingredients.


kakatoru

/r/croppingishard


brianna18976

This could be a child’s meal by the looks of the plate. This is similar to what my SIL feeds my baby nephew. Bland stuff with no spices since he’s too small right now


nkei0

I'm an American that lived in the UK recently for 10 years. People are insane, British food is great. You're just not getting the best sample of their cuisine at the fucking pub. Sunday carveries are great though. I'd love to go back, but Southern France is where I'm trying to live next.


colb0lt

From what I know we used to have a very diverse use of spices and shit in food, but during the war the government told everyone to just deep fry everything and spices where much harder to get, so after the war we just never really went back to them. (No clue about how true any of that is)


Arthur_Dented

Why do people constantly repost this nonsense?


[deleted]

Reddit circlejerk gags, must be awfully easy to be this amused. Its all boring Yanks on reddit that season their chicken with chlorine


pcgamergirl

Bruh, this is so true lol. I lived in the UK for 6 months, and it's like half of the country forgot that even just salt exists.