• About
  • Newsletter
  • Links
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest

Paper and Salt

~ Paper and Salt attempts to recreate and reinterpret dishes that iconic authors discuss in their letters, diaries and fiction. Part food and recipe blog, part historical discussion, part literary fangirl-ing.

Paper and Salt

Tag Archives: treacle tart

George Orwell: Treacle Tart

21 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by paperandsalt in 20th century, Desserts

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

breadcrumbs, cream, george orwell, ginger, golden syrup, lemon, pastry dough, tart, treacle tart

George Orwell - Treacle Tart

Imagine this: It’s a Sunday night, the end of a long weekend full of gift shopping, cookie baking, and fun-but-exhausting holiday merrymaking. You can’t possibly cook now, you decide, and turn to your trusty takeout-menu drawer. What are you in the mood for, though? Thai? Italian? Indian? Ethiopian?

If there’s one thing I bet you didn’t say, it’s “British.” Despite the U.K.’s recent restaurant renaissance, its meals have been a culinary punchline for nearly a century, ever since World War I hobbled the country’s food culture. George Orwell summed up its characteristics rather bluntly: “simple, rather heavy, perhaps slightly barbarous.”

Orwell was obviously never one to hide his feelings about food; his travel writings slam chefs everywhere from France to Burma. You’d think he’d be a little kinder to his home cuisine, but he savages everything from fish and chips (“definitely nasty, and has been an enemy of home cookery”) to rice puddings (“the kind of thing that one would prefer to pass over in silence”) to pretty much any kind of vegetable (“usually smothered in a tasteless white sauce”).

But Orwell did reserve some praise for what was, in his mind, Britain’s crowning culinary glory: “sweet dishes and confectionery—cakes, puddings, jams, biscuits.” Best of all were the Christmas treats: plum pudding, and treacle tart, “a delicious dish … hardly to be found in other countries.”

So how could a food lover like Orwell explain the U.K.’s mediocre showing in the kitchen? As he tells it, it’s because the best English cooking isn’t at a charming bistro or fancy restaurant, but is made at home, where foreigners don’t have access. That may be bad news for tourists—but it’s a moment for home cooks to shine. When we’re baking scones or Yorkshire puddings, Orwell says, we can be chefs of our own making.

* * *

orwell images

Continue reading →

Follow on Twitter

  • Article: "Under the Corset: The Hidden Accomplishments of Early Crocheters" 7 months ago
  • "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of ... a… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 7 months ago
  • @EmmaLeaWrites Hi Emma! I work on original content at Scribd and wanted to ask about audio versions of the Young Bi… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 9 months ago

Follow Paper and Salt

  • RSS - Posts

Archives

  • September 2018
  • May 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • June 2017
  • August 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012

Categories

  • 18th century
  • 19th century
  • 20th century
  • 21st century
  • Breads and Pastries
  • Desserts
  • Drinks
  • Entrees
  • Fish
  • General
  • Meats
  • Pasta
  • sandwiches
  • Sides
  • Soups and Salads
  • Uncategorized

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy