One of the many magical things about visiting another country is discovering their weird and wonderful traditions. But of course this year we can’t do that. So for now, read about Brits munching their way through December in this brief overview of a very merry British foodmas feast. For the foodies out there, check out my Scottish Highlands post for some Highland food tips.
Pre-Christmas day British feasting
Food, food and more food
The entire British nation absolutely love a merry British foodmas feast on Christmas day. Don’t be fooled though, the British begin feasting long before this. There’s an unsaid rule that right from the beginning of December we are allowed to eat and drink what ever we want whenever we want. This of course ends instantly on the 2nd as we all immediately jump back into healthy eating and exercise mode. ‘This will be the year I get fit’ says the entire nation every year. Is it just Britain or does your country suddenly have all this talk about getting back to the gym as soon as the bells chime for New year?
Let the British Foodmas feasting begin!
From December 1st we open up our advent calendars. There are all sorts out now! From cheese to mini bottles of gin. And to think – when my mum grew up, she was happy with a simple cardboard one with festive scenes. To be honest I’d be happy with that too. I think it’s fair to say that Britain has gone a bit crazy with Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, this is absolutely my favourite time of year but it now seems to be full of consumerism.
British foodmas nibbles and merry drinks!
Anyway back to food. Mince pie anyone? It wouldn’t be Christmas in Britain without them! Supermarkets even compete to have the best ones! Here in Britain we absolutely love a comparison from various Baileys to the best Christmas pudding. Random snacks are a must have. Twiglets, cheeselets, Christmas cracker boxes (the eating kind), tins of roses, heroes, celebrations, Quality street and so much more! This probably doesn’t happen anymore but when I was in primary school, we used to be given a chocolate Santa lolly every year – was always quite exciting!
December is also the time for festive drinks from Shloer to gingerbread liqueur! All drink and food are ofcourse tucked into way ahead of the 25th! Something my mum and I love to have is snowballs – advocaat and lemonade – just amazing! Brits love to indulge in all things Christmas so unsurprisingly, a festive tradition we have adopted is the Christmas markets. Mulled wine or festive hot chocolate with a hog roast roll – yummy! Also, we love to give foodie gifts. So Christmas day certainly has plenty of food!
A feast of Festive British foodmas tv shows!
Britain’s love for food at Christmas time is very clear by the endless festive food shows on telly. As mentioned, we love a comparison. I’ve actually just watched a comparison programme on Roses and Quality street. We also dive into the behind the scenes in supermarkets. Oh wait – I just have to go check that I’ve set Jamie Oliver’s Christmas food programme to record!….Right, that’s it sorted. And so are the Lidl and Aldi shows – phew. Good old Jamie or Gordon Ramsay usually provide us with a Christmas cook along at some point. Actually, I must go check the Christmas magazine to find out if there is one this year. It’s safe to say British Christmas telly has certainly moved on from the Fanny Craddock days! Oh, just found out that there’s even going to be a programme on festive food adverts of the past. Dare I say it but I think maybe Britain actually goes a bit too food mad during this time of year!
A very merry British Foodmas day of feasting!
As Britain loves festive food so much it is of course appropriate to start the big day itself of with some chocolate in the morning. The typical choice is the popular Terrys chocolate orange along side a chocolate bar from your annual selection box. Now Christmas lunch or Christmas dinner? In my house it’s Christmas dinner. This allows us the day to relax and nibble at random Christmas treats given to us. We usually cook some chipolatas early in the day and eat these throughout while munching on nuts, my dad’s home made sausage rolls, Christmas cake and all the chocolate! However, in England, they typically have Christmas lunch followed by late evening turkey sandwiches and all the random tasty festive snacks.
For the big event – which in my opinion is absolutely one of the best moments of Christmas day – we have the best British festive feast ever! Turkey, ham, chipolatas, sausage stuffing, white pudding, roast tatties, yorkshire puddings, plenty more and most importantly – ladles upon ladles of gravy! Ofcourse crackers are a must have too (sustainable ones are now available).
Dessert differs from family to family but in mine we have Scottish dumpling along side either brandy butter, double cream, ice cream or custard or even all 4! A Christmas pudding is the most common choice in England but a dumpling beats this by far! And afterwards – back on to the sweeties and maybe a cheeky cheese board!
So there you have it – A Very Merry British Foodmas feast! Britain certainly love their food at Christmas time! Share in the comments the type of food your country eats over the festive season!
