Cuisine

British cuisine is the specific set of cooking traditions and practices associated with the United Kingdom. Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes made with quality local ingredients, matched with simple sauces to accentuate flavour, rather than disguise it."

Each country within the United Kingdom has its own specialities. Traditional examples of English cuisine include the Sunday roast; featuring a roasted joint, usually beef, lamb or chicken, served with assorted boiled vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Other prominent meals include fish and chips and the full English breakfast—consisting of bacon, grilled tomatoes, fried bread, black pudding, baked beans, fried mushrooms, sausages and eggs. The first chips fried in Britain were at Oldham's Tommyfield Market in 1860, and on the site a blue plaque marks the origin of the fish and chip shop and fast food industries in Britain. Various meat pies are consumed such as steak and kidney pie, shepherd's pie, cottage pie, Cornish pasty and pork pie, the later of which is consumed cold.

A quintissential British custom, afternoon tea is a small meal snack typically eaten between 4pm and 6pm. The most popular drink in Britain, tea became more widely drunk due to Catherine of Braganza, and is traditionally accompanied with sandwiches, scones, cakes or pastries (such as Battenberg cake, fruit cake or Victoria sponge).

The public house is an important aspect of British culture, and alcoholic drinks include wines and English beers such as bitter, mild, stout, and brown ale. Whisky dates back to Ireland and Scotland in the Middle Ages, with each producing their own brand; Irish Whiskey and Scotch Whisky.

Pets

The top 5 pets in the UK for 2010, starting with the most popular, are: Fish: over 40 million (indoor and outdoor), Dogs: around 8 million, Cats: around 8 million, Rabbits: around 1 million, Birds: around 1 million (indoor). Some of the UK's indigenous dog breeds include; Bulldog, Jack Russell Terrier, Golden Retriever, Yorkshire Terrier, Beagle, Border Collie, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, English Cocker Spaniel, Scottish Terrier, Welsh Corgi and English Springer Spaniel. The Kennel Club with its headquarters in London, is the oldest kennel club in the world, and is the governing body of dogs in the United Kingdom. Its main objectives are to promote the general improvement of dogs and responsible dog ownership.

Sport

The most popular sport in the UK is association football. The first ever international football match was between Scotland and England in 1872. The English Barclays Premier League (formed in 1992 by member clubs of the old Football League First Division) is the most-watched football league in the world, and its biggest clubs include Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and current champions Manchester City. Football in Britain is renowned for the intense rivalries between clubs and the passion of the supporters.

The modern game of golf originated in Scotland, with the Fife town of St Andrews known internationally as the "Home of golf". Golf is documented as being played on Musselburgh Links, East Lothian, Scotland as early as 2 March 1672, which is certified as the oldest golf course in the world by Guinness World Records. The biennial golf competition, the Ryder Cup, is named after English businessman Samuel Ryder who sponsored the event and donated the trophy.

The 'Queensberry rules', the code of general rules in boxing, was named after John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry in 1867, that formed the basis of modern boxing. Some of the best contemporary British boxers included; undisputed super-middleweight champion Joe Calzaghe, undisputed featherweight champion Naseem Hamed, and undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis.

The modern game of cricket was created in England in the 1830s when round arm bowling was legalised, followed by the historical legalisation of overarm bowling in 1864. In 1876–77, an England team took part in the first-ever Test match against Australia. Hugely influential in terms of his importance to the development of the sport, W. G. Grace is regarded as one of the greatest cricket players of all time, and devised most of the techniques of modern batting. The rivalry between England and Australia gave birth to The Ashes in 1882 that has remained Test cricket's most famous contest, and takes place every two years. The County Championship is the domestic competition in England and Wales.

In 1845, rugby union was created when the first rules were written by pupils at Rugby School, Warwickshire. A former pupil of the school William Webb Ellis, is often fabled with the invention of running with the ball in hand in 1823. The first rugby international took place on 27 March 1871, played between England and Scotland. The major domestic club competitions are the Premiership in England and the Celtic League in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and (since 2010) Italy.

The modern game of tennis originated in the UK in the 1870s and after its creation, tennis spread throughout the upper-class English-speaking population, before spreading around the world. Major Walter Clopton Wingfield is credited as being a pioneer of the game. The world's oldest tennis tournament, the Wimbledon championships, first occurred in 1877, and today the event takes place over two weeks in late June and early July. The eight-time Slam winner and Britain's most successful player Fred Perry, is one of only seven men in history to have won all four Grand Slam events.

Another sport invented in the UK was baseball, and its early form rounders is popular among children in Britain.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 838