#british cheese

[thejoyofseax]

you mentioned you have a theory about british cheese, and i have to say, i'm deeply curious.

It's not a particularly complex theory. In essence: through the later medieval era and into the early modern in Britain, cheese was not a favoured food. It was what you ate with food, or when there was nothing else to eat (and this attitude is reflected in US foodways today; those attitudes came across with English people of the time). Whereas in other areas of Europe, and in Ireland in particular, cheese was regarded as very definitely food. In Irish history, there's a term best translated as "white-meats" which refers to dairy products in general; they were valued at least as much if not more than meat itself.

It takes time to work out how your local cheese works, and it's intensely variable, the more so in the absence of sterile or easily seal containers. Cheese made a few kilometres down the river, or in the next valley over, can be very different indeed because the local microbiological culture is very varied. The necessary microbiomes for some cheeses take hundreds of years to really develop.

And Britain has had successive waves of invasions which, as distinct from other places (particularly Ireland) where only the rulers were replaced, involved new populations arriving. Not so much the Romans, but the Anglo-Saxons and all their ilk, and then the Normans. In each of these waves, local cheesemaking knowledge was probably lost, and the new people had to start over with cheese that was not from local knowledge in their new place, nor from local knowledge in the place they came from - because that didn't apply any more.

Meantime, Ireland had changes of rulership every so often, but mostly the farming - and cheese-making - populations just stayed where they were, using dairy as they had for centuries, and by the time the Vikings and then the Normans arrived, probably millenia.

So British cheese was just not great, and Irish cheese, we assume, was fantastic stuff. Right up, perhaps, to the ealy 20th century, when modernisation, scientificism, and a huge focus in dairy on butter for export almost killed off the Irish cheese industry. We're starting to fix that, but there's really only about 50 years of farm-level varied cheesemaking in Ireland as yet. Given that some of that cheese is superb, I'm looking forward to what starts to be produced in the next few decades.

[theabigailthorn]

British producers be like: THEM: "We love this! Let us put our heads together and get back to you early next week!" SIX MONTHS LATER UNPAID INTERN FOR THAT COMPANY: "Everyone you spoke to has been sacked, we hate you fuck off."

American producers be like:

THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON YOU'VE EVER MET: Hey kiddo do you wanna meet The Rock? Do you wanna meet Margot Robbie? Do you want to fuck my wife? I can't give you a job but gosh darn it you've got moxxy, let me put you in touch with Doug Bigcheese, the biggest producer in Hollywood! DOUG BIGCHEESE, EMAILING YOU BACK WITHIN 20 MINUTES: Hey kiddo, that guy said you're awesome! Lemme ask round town and in the meantime you can live in my house borrow my car and by the way have you met my wife?!

[one-time-i-dreamt]

I was on The Great British Bake Off. I baked a giant savory scone as big as the table and filled it with ham, cream cheese and spring onions. Then I lost the top of it and was eliminated from the contest.

[ashthedestroyer]

I like girls that are just a little bit strange. A bit bizarre, a lil weird, a lil spooky even. Something is slightly off about them and it makes them endearing. Also girls who have just lost the plot.

[hybbart]

Fish people turn into avians... what do british columbians emerge as from the carts? (Is cart right word for those things?)

Broke

[thunderstruck9]

Jack Knox (British, 1936-2015), Still Life with Lobster, 1970s. PVA on canvas, 49 x 74.5 cm.

[scr4n]

Spicy chicken pizza 🍕

[littlefankingdom]

~ Batman (2016)

This is the post y'all never thought would exist: a French criticizing the order of the dishes in a Batman's comic. The moment they wrote those in French, they were calling for it, sorry not sorry.

So, I'm French and the arts de table is a bit important for our culture. Like, we have rules about meals and dishes (the times and the orders). Serve champagne in something else than a flute and I will lose my mind, specific glasses for specific drinks. Specific cutlery for specific meals, but that's more for fancy dinner, like Christmas or New Year's Eve. So, we have a bit of education on the subject.

Anyway, I don’t know if it's an english thing or a rich people are trying to be different and quirky thing, but some stuffs are wrong here. I'm French, so of course I will criticize a billionaire's meal. And of course, Alfred, a british man, isn't free from my criticism. Let's go.

Hors D'œuvres - Good, that makes sense.

Potage (soup but make it fancy) - Depending on the soup and the quantity, it could be served after the entrée, but I don't think it's totally wrong.

Poisson (fish) - WTF, that doesn't make sense. That's a whole fish, that's a full dish, what is this before the starter??? Also, from everything else, this seems to be the main dish? So it doesn't make sense to have it that early. And, where are the trimmings in this plate??? Just a fish??? All alone??? No sauce, no veggies??? That's a sad fish dish.

Entrée (starter) - A starter is to start the meal, so it shouldn't be after the whole ass fish! The art makes it look like a full dish, like it's the main dish, so maybe they fuck up in their translations??? During a fancy dinner, you can have fish and still have a full dish after with meat, so it could be??

Sorbet - WTF, that's like an ice cream but without lactose. That's very cold and sweet. You don't eat that in the middle of the meal??? Is this some usamerican thing I don't know about??? Some stupid rich people thing???

Salades (salads) - Thanks goddesses, it makes sense again. Yeah, salad between the main course and the end of the meal. (These carrots are barely sliced, wtf? Rich people's dishes look stupid)

Fromage (cheese) - YES cheeses after or with the salad! This is beautiful. (The orange ones better not be cheddar, or so help me. They have the money for good cheese)

Desserts - Good. The art is so sad, that does look like the desserts rich people eat, they are so small and sad looking.

Café (Coffee) - YEEEEEES You have not eaten a real meal if coffee isn't offered at the end. The fact it's in the Batcave and not in the dinning room with the guests (who don't know Bruce is Batman) implies Alfred and Bruce didn't offer it to their guests, so shame on them tho. If you are eating at someone's place, they can also offer tea if you prefer (or any distilled alcohols)

So, to finish, here is the order I would consider acceptable: Hors D'œuvres, Potage, Entrée, Poisson, Salades, Fromage, Dessert, Sorbet, Café (Potage and Entrée can be swapped, such as Dessert and Sorbet)

[yanderespamton78]

AAA!!!!!!! GUYS!!!!!!!! NEW WALLACE AND GROMIT MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! THROWING UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE WALLACE AND GROMIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THROWS UP X2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ONLY IN FUCKING DECEMBER THATS SO SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[copperbadge]

Behold, the goodest boy.

[ID: a marble sculpture about three feet tall, featuring a dog sitting down and looking up at the viewer; he has a very loose-jointed body, with a thickly furred head and slightly open mouth as if he is panting in joy.]

[the-alan-price-combo]

An Animals diorama I made, based on the Pop Gear music video of "House of the Rising Sun"!!

🌅🐾✨️

(Detailed pictures under the cut!)

[soupforsoup]

Me, seconds after the credits roll: okay, here's how mike can still be michael afton-

[bonefall]

One of my next Clanmew expansions is going to HAVE to be snakes because girl help everyone draws Honeyfern and Frecklewish being poisoned by pythons and it makes me want to pop a wheelie.

[arthistoryanimalia]

For #WorldHoneyBeeDay 🍯🐝:

Beehive with Blackberry Branches (Cheese Stand)

Minton & Co., design registered 1862

glazed earthenware (majolica)

(Photographed at the Majolica Mania exhibition the Walters Art Museum in 2022.)