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Welsh Cuisine

post #1 of 28
9/6/03 at 3:48pm
Thread Starter 
Hello foodies after quite some time :)

I have been reading lately about Wales. The History of the area is fascinating indeed BUT the image without some information about the kitchen of an area is incomplete, in fact, it doesn't exist :)

What do you know about the kitchen of Wales?

There is bara brith the famous cake or is it a bread? Kyle do you have any info about that?

A friend mentioned Merlin smoaked goat cheese. I know we have many cheese experts here. Do you have any info about it?

So, is there a typical Welsh dish? :)

A.
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
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post #2 of 28
9/6/03 at 6:21pm
So good to see you again, Athenaeus!! :bounce:

I visited Wales some years ago. In the restaurants I visited, the food was generic British of its day: ham croquettes, tinned peas, etc. Not very interesting. However, leeks are beloved in Wales- in fact, they were tucked into hats of Welsh fighters in times of war- and so are part of some dishes. I recall pork and Welsh beef were on menus. I also enjoyed Caerphilly cheese in that city.

I found this site which has some interesting reading. But I'd also like to hear from those who've really eaten the cuisine themselves. Any of you out there?
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post #3 of 28
9/6/03 at 7:32pm
Leeks, of course. National symbol! (They're even on the Welsh version of the pound coin... each region/country of the UK has its own pound coin.)
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post #4 of 28
9/7/03 at 10:17am
Thread Starter 
Oh yes leeks, I forgot about them :)

Hi Mez, it's nice to see you too, I missed everybody :)
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
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post #5 of 28
9/8/03 at 7:19pm
I'm not sure Wales has a "cuisine" per se. As Mezz said, it is pretty much generic British cooking. There may be some dishes unique to some regions but I can't think of any off hand.
There is a dish called Welsh Rarebit (often mispronounced Welch Rabbit.) If memory serves it is a poached egg on a slice of toast and covered with a cheese sauce. I'm not even sure whether it actually originated in Wales or not.
As stated before, leeks are the national symbol of Wales (as the thistle is to Scotland, the rose to England and the shamrock to Ireland.)

Jock
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post #6 of 28
9/9/03 at 12:39pm
Thread Starter 
Is this a compliment for Welsh cuisine? :D :p
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
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post #7 of 28
9/9/03 at 6:09pm
LOL :D :D :D

Jock
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post #8 of 28
9/11/03 at 2:07pm
Wales is just up the road from here & is distinctly different in the North than the South which is less rural & more cosmopolitan.
Foodwise like most of Britain relies on regional dishes as does everywhere else.
The Welsh are notoriously fierce & red headed people who terrified the Romans & continue to scare us English to this day !

History 101 over ,

The cake you mention is like a cross between a teacake & christmas cake full of fruit & often served with welsh black treacle

The welsh rarebit is a bit more than cheese on toast, its a mixture made from beer, egg yolks, tobasco & cheese & milk, mixed to a spreading gloop over bread toasted one side first, under the grill it souflees & if you put a poached egg on top its called a buck rarebit.

The Welsh produce some fantastic cheese & the salt marsh fed lamb is among the finest in the world. Cockles & shellfish & laverbread(seaweed) is famous too.

There are some real hidden gems in traditional British cookery although you very rarely fond them in any pub or restaurant & instead have to have a good reference book or patient granny to show you those things that are rapidly being lost to a more instant way of life.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #9 of 28
9/12/03 at 6:00pm
Years ago the was a cooking show on British TV called Farmhouse Cooking or something like that. Hosted by dorothy Sleightmore I think. I was living here at the time and I didn't actually see it myself. However, on one of my visits home I picked up the cookbook that went with the series. (Mike, you may remember it.)
I don't use that book nearly enough. it is full of old time recipes that probably don't appear in print anywhere else. Many were submitted by women who had them handed down from one generation to the next. I'm probably sitting on a gem and don't know it.

Jock
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post #10 of 28
9/21/03 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
This is from a Welsh friend...

It seems out of context because it's a part of an e-mail.
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #11 of 28
9/22/03 at 7:01am
not an authentic rarebit but sounds very nice indeed.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #12 of 28
9/22/03 at 7:32am
Thread Starter 
Not an authentic recipe?

Awww! He will be in trouble....

:p
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #13 of 28
9/22/03 at 7:44am
I agree, Olive oil ?!?! Only butter should be used.Olive oil is not indiginous to the Welsh.
Baruch ben Rueven / Chanaבראד, ילד של ריימונד והאלאן
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post #14 of 28
9/22/03 at 11:10am
Thread Starter 
Ahhhh Maybe my friend suggested olive-oil because he knows my passion for it :)
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #15 of 28
9/22/03 at 11:21am
Either way is fine with me ,watcing football,munching rarebit & cold beer............Except my rarebit also has beer in it ! LOL

:rolleyes:
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
Reply
post #16 of 28
9/22/03 at 11:25am
Thread Starter 
This sounds as the horror of the Welsh wife, Mike :D

What do you mean that your rarebit has beer in it?
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #17 of 28
9/22/03 at 4:27pm
Yes! The recipes I've seen include beer or even stout. When I first read the recipe long ago, I thought of cheese fondue. Good food is good food, whether in Wales or Switzerland.
Moderator Emerita, Welcome Forum
***It is better to ask forgiveness than beg permission.***
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post #18 of 28
9/24/03 at 9:07am
Spot on Mezz,
Athenaeus see method in beginining of this thread...try it....enjoy.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
Reply
post #19 of 28
9/29/03 at 7:05pm
Now Mike , of course when you speak of watching football I know that you must be talking about the real mans game of football as played in the U.S.A. and not that little girls game called football in other parts of the world . As far as Rarebit and beer :confused:
Dude , ya need to cross the ocean and spend a monday night at a local sports pub watching real men playing real football and eating something a little more appropriate for the occasion .
So , as we say here in America ,
"are ya ready for some football " . Well are you ______ ( Clint Eastwood ) ? :D Doug.............................................. ...........
The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity !
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post #20 of 28
9/30/03 at 6:01pm
So Doug, when you say "football" do you mean the one where the guys hide behind all that padding or the one real men play with no protection?

And what's wrong with a civilized snack when watching real football?

Why is it called "football" in the US anyway. Players hardly ever kick the ball.

:D :D :D

Jock
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post #21 of 28
10/1/03 at 8:48am
Aye Jock,,,,paddings for girls.
ps did you know how copper wire was invented?
two scotsman arguing over a penny. LOL

American footballs ok Im a bears man & have been a fan since the days of william oerry aka the refrigerator how cool is that handle !

No any food & beer & sport combination is cool with me except perhaps jellied eels , arab beer, & lawn croquet would suck.

Later:bounce:
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
Reply
post #22 of 28
10/4/03 at 1:16pm
Thread Starter 
chefboy!!!! I can't believe you said such a thing about the European football...

How can you compare it with this American game that not even its players know its rules!!!!
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
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post #23 of 28
10/6/03 at 5:45pm
How can anyone forget leeks??? ;)
When I get a little money, I buy books. And if there is any left over, I buy food.

- Desiderius Erasmus
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post #24 of 28
10/7/03 at 5:38pm
Athenaeus , sorry to offend my dear but being a chef for so many years has given me an acute sense of timing as to when the pot needs stirring . Its hard to pass on a good opportunity for a dig with my lovely european counterparts . Speaking of which did any of you see the Monday Night Football game last night ( American Football ) between the Colts and the Bucs . Wow , what a game .
The best defense in the league got ripped in the 4th quarter .
Oh, and all I offended by calling european football a little girls game my most humble apology . I am quite sure that big girls enjoy the game also . ;) Keep Cooking , Doug................
The two most common things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity !
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post #25 of 28
10/9/03 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 
Isa LOL

chefboy I have been in strong relationships with USA for almost 8 years now and still I haven't understood the rules of the American games. Of ANY American game!!!

Now, make a comment about the European IQ if you dare :p
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #26 of 28
10/13/03 at 4:58am
Right on my brother,after all the Greeks invented sport & they used to wrestle bare nekkid.

ps did you see us humiliate the Turks..Come on England.
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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post #27 of 28
10/13/03 at 3:01pm
Thread Starter 
Nope! But I saw how Manchester Utd humiliated the team of Athens some weeks ago... :p
"Muabet de Turko,kama de Grego i komer de Djidio", old sefardic proverb ( Three things worth in life: the gossip of the Turk , the bed of the Greek and the food of the Jew)
Reply
post #28 of 28
10/14/03 at 3:33am
As an ARSENAL man i would have been cheering the greeks anyway !!
champagne for my bad friends
& bad pain for my cham friends
(Francis Bacon)
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