How to eat the British ?

Hi to everybody.
I'm thinking over moving to Germany and living there.
I want to adapt myself to the german way of life.
For example, I want to adapt myself to the way the germans eat.
I want to adapt myself to their meal-times and to their food.
Unfortunately I'm not able enough to ask the Germans about (in their language, German).
So, I ask the British, in the belief (correct or not so much correct, I don't know) that the British and Germans - as far as eating is concerned - are more or less the same.
I want to know what time the British have their meals and what every single meal consist on.

FOR EXAMPLE:
I use to have three meals.
At 8 AM, I have a Croissant with choccolate-cream and a Capuccino. No more than that.

At NOON, I have a main course (Pasta with tomato-souce), a second course (meat or cheese, tomato-salad) and fruit (orange or apple or peach).

At 7 PM, I have a main course (Soup), a second course (cheese, tomato-salad) and fruit (orange or apple or peach).

On Sunday, I have also dessert (Cake or Icecream).

I know that Germans, at breakfast eat a lot of food (Ham, Eggs, Bacon, Bread, Marmalade, Butter, Fruit-juice, Milk and Coffee).
The question is:
Do the British the same ?
If they do, I have another question:
does that imply that they have a poor meal at NOON (to counterbalance the rich breakfast) ?
I have heard that British eat not as much as italians do at noon and at evening because they eat much at early morning.
Is that the case ?
I am really willing to know because I want to plan my "meal-schedule" in the case I will live in Germany (and I do want have their habits).

Thanks

 

Hi Maksim,

Don't think i'm a typical Brit but I eat a couple of slices of toast when I get up, followed by a Veg Sausage sandwich at 10.30 (to coincide with Popmaster Quiz on radio 2)

Then maybe a Fish Curry at 1pm followed by pudding. Toast with chutney/jam about 5pm, then maybe a few nuts & a bottle of wine in the evening, maybe a bit of cheese too.

 

Hello Maksim

What makes you want to move to Germany? I'm not sure how similar we are to the Germans in terms of food; I suppose we both tend to have 'heavier' food than most Italians are used to. And we both have a thing about cakes.

Traditionally, the British start the day with a large cooked breakfast - toast and butter, eggs, sausages or bacon, mushrooms and cooked tomatoes, washed down with lots of tea. These days it doesn't happen so much. People don't have the time, and they're a little more health conscious. So the big breakfast tends to be an occasional thing for weekends and holidays.

Now, the midday meal. This is called 'lunch' in posh areas and 'dinner' in my road, where we're all a bit lower class. I believe this is because middle and upper class people traditionally ate their main meal (dinner) in the evening, whereas working people did so at noon. Now, when most people don't stop for very long at lunchtime, the midday meal tends to be sandwiches, although it might be a bit more elaborate at weekends.

The evening meal is the main one for most families. These days we're quite likely to be eating Italian food - or what we call Italian, anyway! Spaghetti Bolognaise is a favourite. Curry is another regular meal; I believe that chicken tikka masala is now the nation's favourite dish. It is an anglicised version of an Indian dish. Apparently, in the days of the Raj, an Englishman was served 'chicken tikka', a dry, spicy chicken dish. He said he would have preferred it with a sauce, so the masala sauce, a bright orange creamy concoction, was invented.

Sunday lunch is still a traditional roast in my house, as in many others. Roast chicken, lamb or beef with roast potatoes, a selection of vegetables and Yorkshire puddings (savoury batter puddings). We have cranberry sauce or bread sauce with poultry, mint sauce with lamb and horseradish sauce with beef. The main course is always followed by a pudding. In my opinion, traditional British puddings are some of the best things about our cooking, although they do tend to be very heavy on the calories. We like 'Summer Pudding' - a bread pudding filled with sweetened fruit, very good served with cream, and also something called 'Eton Mess', which is made by mixing meringue with whipped cream and fruit. 'Lemon Meringue Pie' is another favourite. Then there is bread and butter pudding. And steamed chocolate pudding. I could go on. And on ...

 

Is there actually a British way of eating?

I'm thinking you are probably 30yrs too late with this question.
"British", food and eating habits are now a mish mash from all over the world.

Not been to Germany for years, but back in the 70 they just ate loads of food, more than us I think.

 

I think you're right, Pete. One of the things I like about Britain is that you can now eat just about any kind of food you like. A few years ago we stayed in a little cottage in the wilds of the countryside outside Limoges. For the first week, we loved having French bread, French cheese, French wine etc etc. Then ... well, we started to get a little bit bored. There was more or less nothing from other parts of the world, not even in the freezer section. It was mostly stuffed with frogs' legs and snails.

 

from what I have seen in the UK ... (from many people who I worked with ... and the same applies to most of the other countries that I have visited)

breakfast is a bowl of corn flakes or rice crispies and a cup of tea or coffee

lunch is a macdonalds or kentucky or fish and chips and a crunchie or mars bar and a coke or a red bull if you had a heavy night...
if you are married or have a partner, you get a few sandwiches and an apple or banana

dinner is a take away curry or chinese after a few pints at the local pub ... if you are married, a pasta dish features often during the week

I spent some time in Germany when I was young ... most of the locals I met ate similar junk food to what is consumed in most parts of the world ...

there was a lot of good sausage on cripsy rolls with mustard which seemed to be favoured by many (bratworst, blutwurst, bockwurst etc) ...

there was also a very nice 'meat salad' that was made from offcuts of polony and cold meats that was mixed with mayonnase, capers, gerkin etc ...

Eisbein and sauerkraut with boiled potaoes was my favourite for a sunday lunch type meal

so, it does not matter where you live .... eat whatever pleases you

 

Kaffee und Kuchen on a Sunday was the big family outing when I lived in Dusseldorf.
That was a family outing to the Park for Coffee and Cream Cakes on Sunday morning. Mothers parading their babies in the pram with Dad in tow.
With regard to food Veal Schnitzels were very popular - with a variety of sauces (I can recommend with fond memories).
Roast Chicken, Beef, Pork etc. were also excellent.
There are many different nationalities (as in UK) represented in Restaurant format.
If you want to mix with the locals the best place was the local Hostelry - your German language skills appear much improved after a few litres.
And there is nothing better than a greasy Spamferkel (apologies if the spelling is wrong) late at night staggering back from the Altstadt. (Spamferkel was a large greasy slab of spit-roasted Pork slapped in a large Bread-bun.)

I am going back nearly 30 years, so they may have gone all veggie and neuvelle cuisine - but I doubt it.

 

With the climate being colder in Germany than in Italy you will possibly feel that your appetite for certain things will change. If there is a cold winter you might not feel like a nice fresh salad but more like a hot soup. the Germans are also big rye bread eaters (with cooked meats, salami, cheese..). For breakfast Germans might have a quick jam buttie or cereal during the week, before going to work. Weekend-breakfasts tend to be a bit more filling, fried or boiled egg with buttered rolls. Anyway, I can't imagine that they would have a problem with you eating a croissant, food is so varied nowadays. Pasta and pizza are very common in UK and Germany too.

 

My husband is half German. I'll speak to him and see if he can help Maksim. He was often in Germany visiting his family when he was younger.

 

Always start the day with a bowl of porridge with a spoonfull of honey followed by a banana and a cup of tea........this should counteract any garbage that you eat during the day.....

 

You better not look to me fo typical english..

7 days a week for breakfast

Peanut butter and jam with ground almonds on wholemeal toast

every week for lunch
sunday and thursday = chicken roast dinner(roast potatoes 2 veg, gravy yorky puds etc)
monday wednesday and friday = battered cod, rustic oven chips,onion rings and baked beans or garden peas
tuesday = beef steak dinner(with roat spuds gravy veg etc)
saturday = beef burgers in a bap, chips, onion rings and beans
-
tea time meal

beans on toast and boiled egg (about 6 days a week)
sometimes a curry and pita bread
-----
evening
a bagel followed by warm milk

 

Well, I focus basicly not only in WHAT the British eat but also in HOW MUCH they eat in WHAT TIME of the day.
I assume the British being not so different from the Germans as far as the eating-habits is concerned.
That's why I take them as a sample.
There is one thing I can hardly understand in having a rich breakfast.
I make an example.
Let's put it that the night before I had a "restless" night .
Let's put it that the following morning I am so asleep that I hardly hear the alarm-clock (normally, I punch on its snooze-button TO GET IT SILENT !).
Let's put it that I have to be at work by 9 AM and I have to take into account the rush-hour traffic, the train that is always late, the endless queue, traffic-jams, etc.
THE QUESTION IS:
how is it possible to sit at the table with eggs, bacon, marmalade, fruit-juice, milk, coffee, tea, ham, etc. to swallow down in 30 seconds ????????
Not to mention that I probably have to swallow down a cup of boiling tea at at temperature of +400 degrees...
So, my concern is about how to combine a rich breakfast with a stressfull morning to hurry-up to work.
I don't think that english people use to wake up at 5 AM to take their time for breakfast.
Am I wrong ?
And, as I think to understand by reading some posts, nowadays british people tend not to have such a rich breakfast as their fathers used to do times ago.
Is that the case ?
Probably (as also the germans do) they eat a sandwich and drink a juice while they are waiting the bus (train) at the bus-stop (train-stop).

 

The heavy breakfast used to be cooked by a stay-at-home wife. Now most people only have it at weekends.

Me:
Breakfast 7ish on work days- usually Lidl muesli. One of the best and possibly sold in Germany too.

Lunch 12-1 - a small sandwich, fruit

Supper - 4-7 -One main course, home-cooked, fruit. I hate eating late.

If I'm in a hurry, or for treats, I get a take-out. Curry or fish and chips.

The general British diet: Light breakfasts and lunches (due to working) and a big meal in the evening, 6-9. Lots of ready-cooked meals and take-away food, for those who can afford it. Lots of junk food, cakes, biscuits, sweets, in between meals. Lots of foreign-influenced food, Thai, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Middle-eastern etc. And Italian, of course, pasta and pizza are now British staples.

Bread and potatoes are the cornerstone of the diet.

Germans: Can be very health and organic conscious. They love snacks as much as anyone, and foreign influenced food, because let's face it, wurst and sauerkraut can get boring. However, late-night currywurst stands are a must if you're visiting Germany. Diet used to based mainly on pork, beans and cabbage but things have changed a lot.

 

If I didn't have to get to work till 9am I'd probably manage to fit in a four course meal.

But then I suppose its all down to what you are used to.

 

How eat the British?

Bit by bit. They're best washed down with lager rather than chianti.