Global Flavours, Local Ingredients: Exploring Ethnic Cuisine in British Kitchens
Embark on a culinary journey by exploring diverse flavours of international cuisine and get to know how to recreate these exotic dishes with locally sourced ingredients.
Come and dive into the vibrant world of ethnic cuisine in British kitchens! Here, traditional recipes meet locally sourced ingredients creating culinary masterpieces that reflect the spirit cultural exchange and globalization.
From its city streets to its countryside towns, you will always find the diversity of intricate ethnic cuisines influenced by the culture that makes up the UK home. British kitchens have always been a vibrant world of ethnic cuisines where traditional recipes made from local produce meet the modern touch where you get to savour the shift of cultural flavours.
What is Ethnic Cuisine?
What comes to your mind when you hear the term Ethnic Cuisine? From the term itself, these are cuisines or culturally bonded types of food found in a specific ethnicity.
These include Italian, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, British and many others that reflect the cultural, historical, and geographical influences of the respective locality that they originate from. This enables people to know the heritage of the communities and evoke a sense of cultural connection through food.
However, when it comes to British Cuisine, it has always been the multicultural sort. It is a fascinating fusion of global flavours created from locally acquired ingredients that define the UK's national kitchen.
Vibrant communities across the UK has contributed to its tapestry of ethnic cuisines. A few of these very places that highlights the melting pot of UK cuisine are Bangladeshi Cuisine found in London’s Brick Lane and Indian and Pakistani eateries famous in Manchester’s Curry Mile.
The History Behind British Cuisine
Going over the history of British cuisine, we can all tell how much the beautiful interconnection of culture has happened here over time. Britain was influenced by the Romans during the ancient times and by the French people during the medieval period, especially with their food. Frankish Romans brought spices from the East like cinnamon, saffron, mace, nutmeg, pepper, and ginger. Then came sugar, which was then considered a spice when it was first traduced in England. The European chefs were in search of more spices that had been introduced to the British empire, continually introducing them to the aristocrats at that time who delved into the new culture that little did they know would change their core culture immensely.
Global Flavours in British Cuisine
British cuisine meant savouring different flavourful spices from different cultures into one dish. But the secret ingredient that completes the taste is local ingredients putting a unique spin on traditional recipes. This is how British ethnic cuisine adds depth and complexity to familiar flavours incorporated by professional chefs and home cooks alike.
For instance, chicken tikka masala which is a classic Indian dish that is traditionally made with imported Indian spices is being recreated using locally sourced chicken and vegetables. Same rich flavour but with fresh base British ingredients. This is also done with Thai green curry which is a staple Thai cuisine that is loved in British cuisine alike because of the richness of its flavour. Locally grown herbs and vegetables are used by home cooks to recreate the distinct flavour but with what British fresh produce has to offer.
This fusion of food from different cultures and the exchange of spices is practiced until today creating new flavour combinations from newfound techniques that continually leave an impact in the food scene.
For home cooks as well as professionals who are eager to explore the world of ethnic cuisine, there are plenty of resources available. Check out ethnic grocery stores and markets, look into cookbooks, or enrol in short cooking classes and celebrate the creativity as much as the diversity that reflects British cuisine’s ever-evolving multicultural identity.
