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Time of India
5 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Who made it first? The history of Indian curry no one talks about
Curry might be the most misunderstood word in Indian food. Globally, it's become shorthand for anything spicy and saucy that comes from the subcontinent. But ask anyone in India what 'curry' really means, and you'll get a mix of shrugs, jokes, and long family stories. Because here's the secret – we never actually called it that. Scroll down, and you'll see why. The word that wasn't ours The term 'curry' didn't come from an Indian kitchen. It was picked up by British traders and colonisers in the 17th century, likely a mash-up of the Tamil word kari, which means sauce, and their attempt to label an entire cuisine that was too vast, too diverse, and too flavour-packed to be boxed into one name. In Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors, Lizzie Collingham writes, 'The British codified Indian food into one category – curry – that was suited to their limited palates and pantries. ' What started as a vague word for spiced dishes became a global brand, even though no one in an Indian home has ever actually said, 'What's for dinner? Curry.' No single origin story India's food culture was never about one uniform recipe. What someone in Kerala calls a curry could be a coconut-laced stew, while in Punjab it might mean a tomato-rich gravy. Go east, and it's mustard oil and potatoes; head west, and it's yogurt-based kadhi. The British tried to simplify it, but Indian food doesn't do simple. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Online & Flexible degrees BITS Pilani Digital Apply Now Undo Each region has its own story, spice mix, and way of treating the same vegetable. In The Flavour of Spice, food historian Marryam H. Reshii says, 'There is no such thing as generic Indian curry powder in the Indian kitchen. That idea is a colonial convenience.' And that's the beauty of it, Indian cooking never followed rules. It adapted, evolved, and shifted with whatever was growing nearby. The colonial curry shortcut Once the British got a taste for Indian food, they wanted to take it back – minus the effort. That's when curry powders, pre-made blends, and 'authentic' recipes for Anglo-Indian stews were born. These dishes were milder, sweeter, and designed for British palates. They weren't wrong, just far from what you'd find in an Indian home. In "Climbing the Mango Trees", Madhur Jaffrey recalls, 'Each spice was used for a purpose and in a particular order. There was nothing random about it.' That balance and intent was often lost in the British version of Indian food, which flattened the complexity into a one-size-fits-all blend. Why it still works Despite its odd, borrowed name, the idea of curry still has a place. It's warm, comforting, and adaptable. Whether you're scooping up rajma with rice or dunking rotis into a bubbling pot of chettinad chicken, that messy, fragrant, spicy gravy is what binds our meals. And if you think about it, there's real wellness in a good Indian 'curry.' You've got anti-inflammatory turmeric, gut-loving cumin, blood-sugar-friendly fenugreek, and digestion-boosting asafoetida, all simmered in oil or ghee that helps your body absorb their benefits. So who made it first? The answer is nobody and everybody. India didn't invent curry the way the West thinks it did. We made gravies, stews, sabzis, and masalas. We ground spices by hand, added layers of flavour, and passed recipes down like family secrets. The British just gave it a name, and the world ran with it. But behind that name lies something far richer – a history of trade, colonisation, invention, and taste that refuses to be simplified. So the next time someone says they love 'curry,' just smile. You know it's more than just a word. It's a story in every bite.
Metro
29-05-2025
- General
- Metro
People are just realising what's actually inside of a Jammie Dodger biscuit
Jammie Dodgers seem like pretty straightforward biscuits, don't they? Just shortcake rounds glued together with bright red jam (presumably strawberry or raspberry). The iconic biscuits, with little hearts on the top, are owned by Fox's Burton's Companies (FBC), which also owns Maryland cookies, Party Rings, Wagon Wheels and Rocky. And while they've been made and sold in the UK since 1960, some people – myself included – are only just learning what's really inside a Jammie Dodger and spoiler alert: it's not quite what it seems. It turns out that ordinary Jammie Dodgers actually contain apple jam, which is flavoured with raspberry. Not raspberry jam. And this is the case for all of the products in the Jammie Dodger range. If you buy a packet of the Really Fruity Strawberry Jammie Dodgers, it's the same thing, with strawberry flavoured shortcake biscuits and strawberry flavoured apple jam inside. Even in the apple and blackcurrant flavoured ones, the apple jam is flavoured with apple and blackcurrant. This isn't something the brand is trying to hide though, as the product packaging clearly states this is the case on the back. Interestingly, on the front it says they have a 'new fruitier jam' and this is perhaps because historically the jam was made with a different fruit – plums. In her book, The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence, food historian Lizzie Collingham claims this is because plums were cheaper to use than raspberries. But it's not just the biscuit tin where you'll find this unexpected filling – it's also used in jam doughnuts from Greggs. Yep, the bakery chain's classic jam doughnut contains an 'apple and raspberry jam filling', as does the Pink Jammie Doughnut. However, the brand's Jammy Heart Biscuit is only listed as containing a raspberry jam filling on the website. Many jam doughnuts you can buy from the supermarket or bakeries may also contain an apple filling with added flavourings. It's thought this is because apples are cheaper, naturally sweet and when turned into a sauce or paste, have a smooth, jammy texture that's easier to work with. On social media, dozens of people also recently discovered the food industry's little-known jam secret and it's blowing their minds. 'Every day is a school day,' posted the Very British Problems Facebook page, to which Stuart Oh said: 'Something like this makes one question everything they know and makes their world crash around them.' Similarly, Kayla Margaret replied: 'Well I am flabbergasted. I always thought it was strawberry jam. Good lord.' And Katrina Devriese proclaimed: 'Wait…what???' As Posy Maynard wrote that she'd found this discovery 'most distressing'. Others who already knew about the jam shared their own thoughts on why apples were used and other sneaky products you might find it in. Abigail Farenden commented: 'Most bakeries that do something like a victoria sponge, or jam turnover, or a cream and jam donut, if they don't specify a flavour of jam, they'll have what my catering school bought called 'red jam'. It was primarily apples, for the cheap pectin and bulk, and then it had all sorts of random red fruits and berries in it. Currant, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry, plum. I actually prefer it over pure strawberry, which I find too sickly. I'd rather a better quality raspberry, but it was ok.' More Trending While Phil Dibbs revealed: 'Apples are a cheap base bulk product for jam. Really cheap jam from Eastern Europe uses carrots for the same reason.' Jay Bee also claimed that some jams contain turnips, adding: 'Reminds me of my grandma! As a child she lived near a famous jam factory and regularly saw delivery of both strawberries and turnips to their manufacturing plant! I always think of turnips when I eat jam now.' 'As someone with an intolerance to apples I can confidently say, everything that tastes sweet has apple in it, everything savoury has onion in it, which I'm also intolerant to,' adds Carolyn Knipe. 'Obviously this is in regard to mass produced snack foods. The sugar in your tea probably doesn't have apple in it.' View More » Some people also pointed out that a lot of red fruit juices contain apple, even when it's not the predominant flavour, and that you should keep an eye out for anything where the product description uses the word 'flavour', as more often than not it's a giveaway that it's not made with the actual food. Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Aldi fans praise supermarket for free all-day breakfast treat that 'outdoes McDonald's' MORE: American restaurant announces 'major comeback' in UK with first-ever breakfast menu MORE: The UK's best restaurant has been crowned and it sells 'superb' £10 sandwiches
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
We're eating chocolate digestives the wrong way
Some people dunk them in piping hot cups of tea. Others devour them in a single mouthful. But the boss of the factory that has been making McVitie's chocolate digestives for 100 years claims the nation has been consuming them wrongly. Anthony Coulson, the general manager at the company's chocolate refinery and bakery in Stockport, said the biscuit was supposed to be eaten with the chocolate side facing down. He told the BBC: 'It's the world's most incredible debate, whether you have the chocolate on the top or the chocolate on the bottom.' About 80 million packets of chocolate digestives are made every year and it was named as the nation's favourite dunking biscuit in a 2009 poll. It also previously came top in a university study to find the best dunking biscuit. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. And in 1925, chocolate was added for the first time. Lizzie Collingham, the author of The Biscuit: The History of a Very British Indulgence told the BBC's World at One programme that Bath Olivers were the first biscuit to come out 'covered in chocolate' before the First World War. She added: 'I think the delay for McVitie's is because the First World War gets in the way. And then in 1925 they come out and slather their digestives in chocolate.' The centenary of the chocolate digestive's creation was marked with displays at London landmarks on Wednesday evening. A 360-degree rotating projection of the biscuit lit up the London Eye and Tower Bridge, where there was also a fireworks display. Next up in the celebrations is a pop-up store – The McVitie's Chocolate Digestives Experience – which will open in London next month. In 1998, Dr Len Fisher, a physicist and honorary research fellow at Bristol University, used a hi-tech Instron stress-tester to calculate the breaking point of different biscuits when dunked in hot tea. Chocolate digestives were found to withstand at least eight seconds, compared to a mere three to four seconds for ginger nuts and Hobnobs. The study found the chocolate coating protected the biscuit from the effects of the hot tea. McVitie's divided opinion in 2013 when it changed the recipe for the biscuit, adding around 3 per cent more chocolate. A survey by consumer group Which? at the time found that almost two thirds of shoppers preferred the original recipe, saying the new biscuit was less crunchy.
