UK culinary stuff

coolJ · #1 10-08-2002, 01:40 AM

I have questions about english cooking, recipes, names of dishes etc... . they all stem from conversations with some friends who lived in england.

If a person went into a bakery in england and asked for a dozen bran muffins, would the counter person tell that all they have, is what we in north america call "english muffins" ?.

If a person asked for a tea biscuit in an english restaurant, would they get a "cookie", or a regular buttermilk biscuit ?.

Our friends also told us that, if an english person gave us a recipe, it wasn't an english recipe if it was not printed in a cook book published in england. Is there any substance to that comment ?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff.

Jock · #2 10-08-2002, 04:06 PM

My memory doesn't stretch far enough back to comment on the bran muffins. Maybe Rachel or Leo can help there.
Tea Biscuits are essentially flour, sugar and water. They are about 3" in diameter, thin and crispy. The idea is you break off a piece and dunk it in your tea to soften it.
In the UK, a biscuit is what we call a cookie and they are always crunchy. (I think soft, chewy cookies are only found in North America.)
A cookie in the UK is a kind of sweet bread often filled with cream or jam.
I don't think muffins as we know them exixt in Britain. I can only remember using "muffin tins" to make cupcakes or "Queen" cakes. Still, all this was a long time ago and things may have changed since.

Jock

coolJ · #3 10-09-2002, 03:02 AM

Thank you Jock.

Leo R. · #4 10-09-2002, 11:51 AM

Hello Cool J, i don`t have a specific recipe for bran muffins at the moment.In Britain,there are two types of muffins.One is like a teacake,there other is a round dough based item,like a fat pancake.People toast these and have them with butter,jam,etc.

As i`m not a pastry chef,i will try to find a recipe for the former when i`m in work tomorrow.I will not waste your time!
Leo.

Jock · #5 10-11-2002, 01:33 PM

Leo, the "fat pancake" that people toast is what Jeff alluded to as an "English Muffin". I remember these in the bakery at home but I couldn't remember what they were called.

Jock

Leo R. · #6 10-12-2002, 03:00 AM

Jock,we know them as crumpets and they are still sold in U.K. supermarkets.

CoolJ,i`ve asked quite a few people about bran muffins and was out of luck.As you can`t wait forever for an answer,i`m going to try a U.K. based catering website,Leo.

Britcook · #7 10-16-2002, 10:42 AM

Well I had a long and detailed explanation but it won't let me post it. Briefly muffins and crumpets are different and both sold in Britain but the muffin is "English", nothing like the American, these are fairly recent imports.
The tea biscuit is a Rich Tea biscuit and nothing like American biscuits, and not much like cookies either.
As for the authenticity of English recipes, they must be joking.


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