🧑🤝🧑 British
Also known as: Britons, British people
People of Great Britain; their protected West Country Cheddar matures for at least 9 months, and tea is drunk with milk.
The British are the people of Great Britain, an island country off north-western Europe: the English, Scots and Welsh. On this site their traditions are Cheddar and Stilton, tea with milk and clotted cream, bacon, Scotch whisky and gin, and English wine. Many of these products carry protected names with official rules.
Cheddar from the South West of England has the protected name West Country Farmhouse Cheddar. Under the Defra specification it is made from cows' milk, mainly from Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, and sold after at least nine months of maturing. The cheese has at least 48% fat in dry matter and a nutty taste with a hint of sharpness. Stilton is made only from pasteurised cows' milk in Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire; Blue Stilton is graded at about six weeks.
Tea with milk is an everyday habit. In a 2024 UKTIA survey of 1010 adults, only about a quarter (24%) drink black tea without milk, and among those who add milk, semi-skimmed is the most common choice. A cream tea means scones, jam and clotted cream: the protected name Cornish Clotted Cream stands for cream with at least 55% fat from Cornish milk, heated at 70–80 °C for at least an hour and cooled to 5 °C.
Bacon is cured pork belly or back, sold raw and cooked before eating. It is cured with or without nitrite, dry or in brine. In the European Commission's guidance on food additives, classic bacon spends 4–5 days in brine at 5–7 °C, while Wiltshire bacon, named after the English county of Wiltshire, is first injected with brine and then kept in it for 3–10 days. Smoking is only an option there, so bacon can be unsmoked. A Bromley Trading Standards leaflet in London says that if more than 5% water has been added, the name must include "with added water".
Scotland is whisky country: the Scotch Whisky Association's 2024 map shows more than 150 malt and grain distilleries, and the association calls Speyside, with 52 distilleries, the densest whisky region in the world. The earliest Scottish record of aqua vitae is in the royal treasury accounts of 1494. By the end of 2023 at least 46 distilleries were laying down English whisky, and in Wales Penderyn revived the tradition in 2000 after the Frongoch distillery (1889–1910). Gin is a British habit too: London gin names a method, not a city, sloe gin starts at 25% vol, and Old Tom was first mentioned in a newspaper in 1810.
The British have their own wine as well: the Bacchus grape is permitted for the protected names English Wine and English Regional, and Muscat Hamburg was bred in England. In summer people drink Pimm's, linked with Wimbledon since 1971.
British table customs also include afternoon tea: a pot of black tea, cucumber sandwiches and scones with clotted cream and jam between lunch and a late dinner. At Christmas comes the flaming Christmas pudding, mixed five weeks ahead on Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before Advent, when each family member stirs from east to west and makes a wish.
Why it matters to you: look for the full protected name on the pack, such as West Country Farmhouse Cheddar or Blue Stilton, and on bacon check for "with added water" if water was added. For tea bags, UKTIA advises adding the milk last, after taking the bag out, and advice quoted by the US National Center for Home Food Preservation is to freeze bacon only unopened and for no longer than a month.
Facts
| Country | Great Britain |
|---|---|
| Region | West of England (Cheddar), Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire (Stilton), Cornwall 123 |
| Duration | West Country Farmhouse Cheddar: at least 9 months of maturing 1 |
| Temperature | Cornish cream: 70–80 °C for at least an hour, then cooled to 5 °C 3 |
How it connects to milk
🧑🤝🧑 British ← tradition ← 🍵 Tea with milk ← used in ← 🥛 Milk
How it connects to Food traditions
🧑🤝🧑 British ← tradition of ← Afternoon tea → kind of → 🎎 Food traditions
Links
- Images and sayings
- 🥃 Dark 'n' Stormy
- Where they live
- 🌍 Western Europe
- Traditions
- 🧀 Cheddar, 🎄 Christmas pudding, 🍵 Tea with milk, 🇬🇧 British cheeses, 🧀 Traditional Welsh Caerphilly, Bacon, Melton Mowbray Pork Pie, Traditional Cumberland Sausage, 🍇 Muscat Hamburg, 🍇 Bacchus
and 157 more
🥃 Whisky, 🍸 Gin and juniper spirits, 🍸 Gin, 🍸 Distilled gin, 🍸 London gin, 🥃 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Blended Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Single Grain Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Sloe gin, 🥃 English Whisky, 🥃 Barley and malt in whisky, 🥃 Single Malt Welsh Whisky, 🥃 Peated whisky, 🥃 Old Tom Gin, 🥃 Highland whisky, 🥃 Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Campbeltown whisky, 🥃 Lowland whisky, 🥃 Speyside whisky, 🥃 Islay whisky, 🥃 Johnnie Walker, 🥃 Chivas Regal, 🥃 Bombay Sapphire, 🥃 Drambuie, 🥃 Laphroaig, 🥃 Lagavulin, 🥃 Ardbeg, 🥃 Glenfiddich, 🥃 Gordon's, 🥃 Ballantine's, 🥃 Glenmorangie, 🥃 Beefeater, 🥃 Pimm's, 🥃 Tanqueray, 🥃 The Macallan, 🥃 Bushmills, 🥃 Caol Ila, 🥃 Cutty Sark, 🥃 Talisker, 🥃 The Balvenie, 🥃 The Famous Grouse, 🥃 The Glenlivet, 🥃 Vat 69, 🥃 Aberfeldy, 🥃 Auchentoshan, 🥃 Black & White, 🥃 Cardhu, 🥃 Glengoyne, 🥃 Glenkinchie, 🥃 Loch Lomond Distillery, 🥃 Monkey Shoulder, 🥃 Glen Grant, 🥃 J&B, 🥃 Teacher's, 🥃 The Dalmore, 🥃 Bunnahabhain, 🥃 Dewar's, 🥃 Dalwhinnie, 🥃 Scapa, 🥃 Springbank, 🥃 Strathisla, 🥃 White Horse, 🥃 Bowmore, 🥃 Bruichladdich, 🥃 Grant's, 🥃 Aberlour, 🥃 Hendrick's, 🥃 Kilchoman, 🥃 Oban, 🥃 Ardmore, 🥃 Glen Scotia, 🥃 100 Pipers, 🥃 Bell's, 🥃 Clynelish, 🥃 Glenfarclas, 🥃 Isle of Jura, 🥃 The GlenDronach, 🥃 Glayva, 🥃 Glen Moray, 🥃 Tamdhu, 🥃 Black Dog, 🥃 Mortlach, 🥃 Port Ellen, 🥃 Glen Garioch, 🥃 Haig, 🥃 Old Pulteney, 🥃 The Glenrothes, 🥃 The Glenturret, 🥃 BenRiach, 🥃 Edradour, 🥃 Tomatin, 🥃 Bombay Bramble, 🥃 Bombay Dry Gin, 🥃 Bombay Sapphire East, 🥃 Bombay Sapphire Gin, 🥃 Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, 🥃 Chivas Regal 18 Year Old Gold Signature, 🥃 Chivas Regal 25 Year Old, 🥃 Chivas Regal Extra 13, 🥃 Knockando, 🥃 Royal Salute, 🥃 Buchanan's, 🥃 Penderyn, 🥃 Aultmore, 🥃 Benrinnes, 🥃 Blair Athol, 🥃 Craigellachie, 🥃 Dufftown Distillery, 🥃 Fettercairn, 🥃 Glen Elgin, 🥃 Linkwood, 🥃 Royal Lochnagar, 🥃 Speyburn, 🥃 Balblair, 🥃 Benromach, 🥃 Bladnoch, 🥃 Cragganmore, 🥃 GlenAllachie, 🥃 Longmorn, 🥃 Tobermory, 🥃 Deanston, 🥃 Macduff, 🥃 Highland Park, 🥃 Auchroisk, 🥃 Ben Nevis, 🥃 Dailuaine, 🥃 Glen Ord, 🥃 Glenglassaugh, 🥃 Glengyle, 🥃 Knockdhu, 🥃 Royal Brackla, 🥃 Tamnavulin, 🥃 Teaninich, 🥃 Diageo, 🥃 Edrington, 🥃 William Grant & Sons, 🥃 Abhainn Dearg, 🥃 Allt-a-Bhainne, 🥃 Torabhaig, 🥃 Scotch Whisky Association (industry body), 🥃 Plymouth Gin, 🥃 Aqua vitae, 🥃 Angel Face, 🥃 Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, 🥃 Bramble, 🥃 Eggnog, 🥃 Espresso Martini, 🥃 Island whisky, 🧀 Caerphilly cheese, 🔵 Blue cheeses, 🧀 Bonchester cheese, ⚪ Soft cheeses with a bloomy rind, 🧀 Buxton blue, 🥃 Rosebank, Black tea, English Breakfast tea, Earl Grey tea - Traditional products
- 🫖 Clotted cream
- Traditions of this people
- Afternoon tea
Frequently asked questions
Why does a pack of bacon say "with added water"?
According to a Bromley Trading Standards leaflet in London, if more than 5% water has been added, the name must include "with added water".
How is bacon cured?
With or without nitrite, dry or in brine. In the European Commission guidance classic bacon spends 4–5 days in brine at 5–7 °C, while Wiltshire bacon is injected with brine and kept in it for 3–10 days. Smoking is optional.
How long does West Country Farmhouse Cheddar mature?
At least nine months. Under the Defra specification the cheese has at least 48% fat in dry matter and a nutty taste with a hint of sharpness.
What is clotted cream?
Thick heated cream. Under the protected name Cornish Clotted Cream it has at least 55% fat and comes from Cornish milk; the cream is heated at 70–80 °C for at least an hour and cooled to 5 °C.
Is it true that milk should go into the cup first?
Not necessarily. For tea bags, UKTIA advises adding the milk last, after removing the bag; this is advice, not a rule.
What to read next
- Afternoon tea — The British late-afternoon tea meal: a pot of tea with small sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and jam, and cakes, between lunch and a late dinner.
- 🎄 Christmas pudding — The British Christmas pudding of dried fruit, candied peel, spices, treacle and suet, mixed on Stir-up Sunday before Advent and set alight on Christmas Day.
- 🇬🇧 British cheeses — Cheeses of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: Cheddar, Stilton, Wensleydale; 17 names are in force in the UK register, 10 PDO and 7 PGI.
- 🧀 Traditional Welsh Caerphilly — Protected name of a Caerphilly-style hard cheese: Wales, Welsh farm milk, a 2–4 kg round, 10 days to 6 months of maturing, mild lemony taste.
- Melton Mowbray Pork Pie — Melton Mowbray Pork Pie is an English PGI baked pie with bow-sided pastry, a grey filling of uncured pork making up at least 30 % of the pie, and a jelly layer.
Similar
🧑🤝🧑 Americans · 🧑🤝🧑 French · 🧑🤝🧑 Dutch · 🧑🤝🧑 Spaniards · 🧑🤝🧑 Italians
ℹ️ This page describes the people only through food: what they grow and make, and which foods and drinks matter in their traditions. History, language, religion and other parts of the culture are not covered here.
What it includes
- Traditional products
Sources
- Defra. Product specification: West Country Farmhouse Cheddar (PDO)
- Defra. Product specification: Stilton Cheese
- Defra. Product specification: Cornish Clotted Cream
- UKTIA. Tea Census 2024 (PR Newswire, 20.05.2024)
- European Commission. Guidance document on Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives, section 8.3 (bacon, Wiltshire bacon)
- London Borough of Bromley, Trading Standards. Leaflet on meat products labelling (added water)
- National Center for Home Food Preservation (University of Georgia). Freezing Bacon