Summat Forrin’

Being an island, Britain was very insular when it came to the so called ‘Foreign Muck’

Even though the foods and food styles of France and Germany had been the subject of centuries of recipe sharing, as the Industrial Revolution took hold and population demographics ebbed and flowed, this changed dramatically.

As people left the rural/agricultural regions en masse for the cities much was lost. The rich grew richer, the poor grew poorer, sinking ever deeper into the mire of poverty.

It was a time of both great change and deep stagnation.

The twentieth century began with accession of Edward 7^th in 1901, who had spent more than half a century in-waiting.

He spent the next ten years partying as a playboy until 1910 when he was succeeded by his own son George 5^th who had the misfortune to reign during the 14 – 18 conflict.

In 1917, he became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, which he renamed from the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as a result of anti-German public sentiment.

His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, and the Indian independence movement, all of which radically changed the political landscape.

And ordinary British men were sent abroad in large numbers. One very large and very messy war was followed less than twenty-five years later by a second.

But as the dust settled, the markets began to open, new foods and recipes began to make an appearance in the restaurants and hotels! Chilli from Spain, pasta from Italy and cheeses from France.

These recipes are from a magazine supplement of somewhere around the early to mid-sixties and show the influence of the ‘new tastes’