The English cuisine has always been laughed at by its European neighbours, but no-one can beat the wonderful English pud.
The Italians eat nothing but spaghetti, the gastronomy of Spain is based solely on paella, don’t tell the Germans that a frankfurter tastes like mushy wet paper or the French that frogs legs are nothing to get excited over. Suddenly, the roast beef of old England doesn’t seem so bad. But whatever our European neighbours might say about British food, not one of them can measure up to the Great British Pudding. The variety is endless, and even the French were forced to admit British superiority when Misson de Valbourg said, after a visit to England in 1690, “Ah what an excellent thing is an English pudding!” (And despite its French sounding name, crème brulee, the creamy dish with the burnt sugar topping, was actually created in Cambridge in the early 19th century.)
Read the full story at the Smithsonian Magazine.