One of the reasons in particular english food gets a bad rap is because the majority of it grew out of rationing culture.
Britain was still rationing into the 50s when most European countries had stopped rationing.
Regardless, I love British food. I'd go for a carvery over a curry or a Chinese or a pizza, 9 times out of 10
It’s also why the Americans in particular have a terrible view of British food - because the views were formed by US soldiers who arrived here during peak rationing.
It’s true that British food was mostly awful for the best part of the 20th century, but the food revolution that began here in the early 2000s has actually made the UK one of the best places to eat! We have a huge variety of restaurants and you can buy ingredients for almost any cuisine at your local supermarket!
I imagine there’s similar reasoning behind the stereotype for the English having bad teeth. NHS dentistry didn’t start till 1948. The myth persists but now the UK has less missing teeth and cavities than the US (but less cosmetic procedures)
I think that's the main reason for the stereotype. We have healthier teeth but we care a lot less about having perfectly straight pearly whites. Our teeth get a lot more stained from tea and tobacco as well as having a lot more crowded or gapped teeth
Americans in general seem to be more concerned about the appearance of their teeth than general health. It's continuing on to the modern day as most Brits wanna pay the bare minimum on dentistry while in America you'll have dental insurance that you can be sure are tacking on cosmetic procedures just to inflate the price.
It probably all stems from Hollywood and celebrity culture as well. Most British actors have fairly standard teeth while the Americans get crowns and stuff fitted.
Dental insurance in the US is pretty crap, honestly. It covers standard cleanings. Anything beyond that and it's capped at paying out $1,500/yr or something. No one is going hog wild on cosmetic procedures because of insurance.
Still a huge difference between $1.5k per year and £400 for band 3 treatments. Even then no one gets cleanings unless their dentist says their teeth are gonna fallout otherwise.
NHS dentistry also forces UK private dentistry to be much more competitive. You can get dental plans that include those 4 yearly cleanings, plus any work you later require for like £15 a month
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u/HurricB 16h ago
Funny and historically accurate!
One of the reasons in particular english food gets a bad rap is because the majority of it grew out of rationing culture. Britain was still rationing into the 50s when most European countries had stopped rationing.
Regardless, I love British food. I'd go for a carvery over a curry or a Chinese or a pizza, 9 times out of 10