Food differences between English and Italian

We look at the differences between Italians and British on what they eat.

Among the most important meals of the day, the British certainly include breakfast. This, during public holidays, since most people begin their working time early and have no time, it consists of: eggs, bacon (bacon and cooked in pan), beans, sausages, porridge (one Sort of barley parrot), to add to what they consume everyday or milk, juice, the coffee (absolutely different from what we Italians are accustomed to, it resembles much more to a barley beverage than Coffee, or just said), yoghurt, toast, jam and butter. In the maritime regions, smoked cod or smoked fish are also consumed during the holidays.

Lunch is, instead, like a snack. Few British have the opportunity to go home to eat lunch, so their meal is made up of a sandwich or a wrap (a kind of piadina) that can be stuffed with what you want: tomatoes and tuna, ham and “Mozzarella” (which has more of the consistency of a pasta cheese), chicken, all seasoned with sauces in quantity.

It can be said that dinner is the only meal actually “cooked” by the British. It consists of hot foods, seconds mostly, rarely soups or unique dishes (spaghetti with meat for example). The meat or fish to be served is accompanied by a potato or other vegetable ingredient, often in cream (eg peas, mushed peas, often found to accompany fish and chips). The dinner time is around 18:30 and 30:30 depending on the working needs of the individual households. Typically British, finally, are the pies, even salted, and the pasta of beef or lamb.

Many Italians do not eat at breakfast at all: at home, before leaving, they only take a coffee, or a cappuccino and a croissant at the bar. Often, however, the visit to the bar is repeated more than once during the morning. Taking a coffee is a ritual that Italians repeat several times a day, at home or at the bar. Breakfast is no breakfast without a coffee.

Maintaining a key role is lunch, which remains the main meal of the day, but can vary according to your habits or personal needs: who can go home and who goes to the restaurant or who just wants to have a snack at bar. Usually, however, a typical Italian lunch consists of a first pasta dish, a second of meat or fish and a vegetable dish, and, finally, a coffee sometimes preceded by fruit or a sweet.

The snack, in mid-afternoon, is a fixed appointment for children, can be made from a sandwich, a yogurt or classic milk and biscuits. There are also adults who like to have a cup of tea and eat something.

Even dinner responds to personal customs, obviously those who eat a little lunch in the evening will have some appetite. The Italians dine at eight o’clock, eight and a half in the evening, and in the South of Italy they are supposed to dine at nine, nine and a half later. The classic Italian dinner is lighter than lunch, often consisting of soup, a second based on vegetables, eggs or cheese and fruit, without forgetting a good glass of wine.