Meals in Britain

A traditional English breakfast is a very big meal — sausages, bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms. Sometimes the full English breakfast is called a ‘cooked breakfast’. But nowadays many people just have a ‘continental-type’ breakfast: fruit juice, cereal with milk and sugar, or toast with marmalade, jam, or honey. Marmalade and jam are not the same! Marmalade is made from oranges and jam is made from other fruit. The traditional breakfast drink is tea, which people have with cold milk. Some people have coffee, often instant coffee, which is made with just hot water. Many visitors to Britain find this coffee disgusting!

For many people lunch is a quick meal. In cities there are a lot of sandwich bars, where office workers can choose the kind of bread they want - brown, white, or a roll - and then all sorts of salad and meat or fish to go in the sandwich. Pubs often serve good, cheap food, both hot and cold. School-children can have a hot meal at school, but many just take a snack from home - a sandwich, a drink, some fruit, and perhaps some crisps.

“Tea” means two things. It is a drink and a meal. Some people have a traditional 5 o’clock tea, with sandwiches, cakes, and, of course, a cup of tea. Cream teas are popular. You have scones (a kind of cake) with cream and jam.

The evening meal is the main meal of the day for many people. It is difficult to give rules about the evening meal in a British home. It varies from family to family. One family will call it dinner and eat around 7 pm. Another may call it tea and eat around 6 pm. Dinner may consist of a three-course meal. Tea may consist of a cooked main course or a salad, plus a dessert.

On Sundays many families have a traditional lunch. They have roast meat, either beef, lamb, chicken, or pork, with potatoes, vegetables, and gravy.

The British like food from other countries, too, especially Italian, French, Chinese, and Indian. People often get take-away meals - you buy the food at the restaurant and then bring it home to eat. Eating in Britain is quite international!

Activity 5. Answer the following questions.

Activity 6. Arethe sentences true or false? Correct the false sentences.

Activity 7. Read what four people say about the food they like best. Find adjectives to describe food that:

1. is not frozen or in cans 5. has sugar in it

2. is uncooked 6. is cooked in a lot of oil

3. is good for your body 7. tastes terrible, disgusting

4. is bad for your body 8. makes you fat

a) I eat a lot of fresh fruits and raw vegetables. They are healthy and they taste good. I am not keen on sweet things and I do not eat much fatty food.

b) I am afraid I am keen on junk food - you know quick, unhealthy food like hamburgers or chips. A lot of people think it is revolting, but I like it. I do not eat many fresh vegetables.

c) Crisps are my favourite, I suppose. I know they are bad for you, but they are delicious - especially cheese and onion ones.

d) I love sweet things like cakes and chocolates. I know they are not good for me and they are fattening, but I can not resist them.