Hey can I ask you something about Britain? Do you think you could tell me what people generally eat, like everyday? It's just, I am asian and I have no idea what to make HP characters cook/eat. Googling about it just gives me a lot of results about full English breakfast or 10things you must try in England but those can't be the ones people generally eat everyday right? Thanks !
Yeah we definitely don't eat a full English every day! It's a very occasional treat.
We don't have a great reputation for food, globally and you know what? Fair. I am here for your jokes and they are valid. Our food does tend to be quite beige and bland. The only time I get a bit defensive is when some twitter hot take goes round where they make fun of poverty dishes from the UK and act like it's the height of our cuisine. But for the most part it is valid that we are a land of stodge.
Breakfast: - toast with butter/jam/marmalade/marmite. Cereal with cows milk/vegan alternative if needed. Porridge. Eggs, either scrambled/poached/fried on toast or perhaps "dippy eggs and soliders" which means soft boiled and then slices of toast used to dip into the yolk. On the go maybe a sausage or bacon roll or pastry. Very traditionally (as in, barely ever now but not out of place in a HP fic), kippers (a smoked fish). Do NOT write HP characters having pancakes for breakfast - this is pretty American and generally speak Brits have crepe-like pancakes on Shrove Tuesday for dinner. American style pancakes have only started becoming popular in recent years and they're still not really seen as a breakfast standard as we tend to pile them up with sweet things.
Lunch: the classic lunch is a sandwich, fillings might be something like ham and cheese, BLT, coronation chicken, tuna mayo, cheese and pickle, and cucumber and cream cheese which I'm told isn't common elsewhere. You'll usually have something like crisps (potato chips) or a salad on the side.
Other common lunches include a ploughman's lunch, Welsh rarebit/cheese on toast, baked beans on toast, jacket potato with some kind of filling, like maybe a chili, salad, soup, leftovers from last night's dinner, an omelette, etc.
Sunday lunch: this needs a category of it's own really. Very traditional. A lot of families, included, will have this just about every Sunday through the winter and many have it every Sunday year round. Christmas Dinner is just an upgraded version of this. Tends to be a strong family affair - pubs usually serve it on Sundays for those who don't want to deal with the mountain of washing up.
Basically, there will be a roasted meat (chicken, lamb and beef tend to be most popular, pork sometimes, turkey at Christmas) or nut roast for the veggies. On the side you will find roasted potatoes and parsnips. Veg will either be roasted too or steamed/boiled, and is usually a few of the following - carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn, peas, courgette, mashed swede, perhaps some braised red cabbage, others I'm probably forgetting, brussel sprouts at Christmas. Also on the side will usually be Yorkshire puddings, meat based gravy, a sauce to go with the meat (mint for lamb, apple for pork, cranberry for turkey). Because the meal is so massive it is usually a little later than normal lunch but a little earlier than dinner and serves as the main meal of the day. People tend to have very particular and strongly held opinions about how they like their roast (mine, for example, is that properly prepared parsnips are the best component of the meal and I will commit crimes to get the last one).
Dinner: the traditional British dinner is a rather bland meat and two veg with gravy. The meet is usually chicken/pork/beef/lamb. Veg might be carrots, runner beans, peas, cauliflower, sweetcorn, broccoli, etc, either boiled or steamed. Mashed or boiled potato on the side. Thankfully times have moved on from this war time staple, and we have more varied meals now. Other traditional meals are things like casseroles/hot pots, toad in the hole, pies (common fillings include steak and ale, chicken and leek, beef and mushroom) served with gravy, veg and maybe some chips or mash potato, sausage and mash, and stews. Fish beyond fish and chips includes things like cod, haddock, salmon, tuna, mackerel, skate, sole, plaice, sardines, and might be grilled/pan fried with butter and pepper and served with salad and new potatoes or maybe cooked into a fishcake/pie/stew. Pretty heavy on the meat and potatoes generally. Most people have moved beyond these stodgy meals and just have them on occasion but you do occasionally come across people in the older generation who can't conceive of a dinner beyond these boundaries.
For the average British under the age of 70, dinners also include pasta and pizza dishes, chilis and curries (Brits are BIG into curries and there is a large south Asian population in the UK), basic East Asian cuisine, more salads and so on.
Pudding: Calm down, Twitter, no one eats spotted dick anymore, it's war time relic, but I can imagine a very old wizard enjoying it. Probably the most popular dessert is sticky toffee pudding, we are also very partial to fruit crumbles served with custard or ice cream, cakes and brownies, Eton Mess and trifles, knickerbocker glory, cheesecakes and fruit based pies. Harry's favourite, treacle tart, is a 70s relic and actually hard to find these days, but I do occasionally make it at home. For most people nowadays, pudding is some ice cream out the freezer or some kind of pudding you put in the microwave or chocolate or something.
Misc: Scones, served with clotted cream and jam (there is a fierce Devon/Cornwall divide on whether the cream or jam goes on first) is usually served as an afternoon treat with tea. It's a common light meal/snack to be served in cafes around the country, especially at tourist attractions/historical places usually for about Ā£10pp. A proper afternoon tea with all the pomp and circumstance of the Victorian era, can cost a lot more. For my mum's birthday we once had afternoon tea at a high end hotel in Central London and it cost something like Ā£90pp, but came with champagne, sandwiches, endless tea from a menu as thick as a proper book, and had a beautiful view.
Tea does have a million varieties and some people do take it very seriously, but for the average Brit tea means English breakfast tea and they drink it several times a day. Most people just take it with milk, but some people do have it black or add sugar. Creamer is not added, most Brits have no idea what creamer is, that's an Americanism. Honey and/or lemon is only really for varieties like Earl Grey, it's not for a normal cup of tea. Very few people faff about with tea leaves, tea bags are used. Bag in first, boil kettle, pour, leave for a minute or two, remove tea bag, add milk, stir, done. We do still drink coffee, but you're more likely to be offered a cup of tea of you pop round someone's house, and Brits are less likely to be like... really into coffee.
In terms of alcohol, Brits are heavy drinkers. We just are, culturally. This is gradually starting to change, but it's still common for people to have their first alcoholic drink around 14 years old, and by 16 many people are openly drinking with their family and friends. You are allowed to drink alcohol from the age of five in your own home under adult supervision, though obviously it's not recommended, and in some specific circumstances you can drink on a licensed premises from the age of 16. By 18 you can buy and consume alcohol on your own. Children are allowed in pubs (usually until about 8pm) and many have playgrounds in the beer garden. Cultural notions of what alcoholism is are often different to how it is regarded abroad. Binge drinking is common and is often not regarded as a concern when you're in your late teens and early 20s. Post work drinks are commonplace, especially in London, and pubs have a strong social presence in the community. I have heard that it is difficult to be a non-drinker in the UK, though thankfully times are changing. While I was pregnant, in the very few weeks before lockdown, I still went to the pub and just had non alcoholic drinks because British social life does tend to revolve around the pub. I was recently surprised to see a post on tumblr claiming that Sirius, Hagrid and Slughorn were all alcoholics in the HP series. I had only really thought of Sirius as a proper alcoholic, and Hagrid and Slughorn as heavy drinkers. Obviously this is informed by my background and cultural norms - I am quite sure that for many people they would be recognised as alcoholics. Common drinks are beer, cider, wine, gin, vodka, whiskey, etc.
I hope this has helped! For more inspiration this is a really good website that a lot of Brits use for recipes.
