I am reading 'Bloody Foreigners' by Robert Winder. On page 31 he says that 'hardship rather than gsstronomic fitness led them to invent ... oxtail soup'. Before their arrival in Britain butchers apparently left the tail on with hide. Can anyone confirm this provide more information? Anyone know any books that will help me find futher such information,.FOr instance, I was told at school that some words for food eg beef are Norman in origin and others - the food of the poor - is from Anglo Saxon. I think it might be interesting to find out more. Thanks

Having looked up the origins of food words on the net, many of our foodie words came from the Normans:

Beef from the French word Boeuf, meaning steer; Veal from Veau, meaning calf; pork is from porc, meaning pig and poultry from poulet meaning chicken.

As to books on the subject, I could only find one (Amazon.co.uk):

"Ladyfingers & Nun's Tummies: From Spare Ribs to Humble Pie -- a Lighthearted Look at How Foods Got Their Names"
Martha Barnette

I have to agree that it is a fascinating subject and would be interested to hear if anyone else knows of books on it.

Interesting reading and heaps of information on the link below. When you get there, select Food Timeline.

[link]

Livewire. You were spot on an excellant site. I emailed them and got the following reply, which I hope may be useful to someone. Although not exactly what I asked for it is still very helpful. The kindness of strangers is often awesome. Several foods pop into mind with regards to "imported" traditional British fare. For starters:

CANDIES
These were imported from Arab cuisine. British favorites such as toffee, brittle, comfits, lollies, etc.
About candy (general notes):
[link]

Recommended reading:
1. Medieval Arab Cookery/Rodinson, Arberry & Perry
2. Sugarplums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets/Laura Mason

FRUIT JAMS & JELLIES
Also, untimately, derived from Arab cuisine. The "legendary" story of marmelade may intrigue your students: [link]
ABOUT JELLY (brief)
The fundamentals jellying process was known in ancient times. These techniques migrated to Europe in the Middle Ages and evolved with technological advancements and new ingredients.

"The history of jelly, chonicled by Brears (1996)...is complex. Generally, it would seem that confectionery type jellies, and jelly preserves, developed from attemps to conserve pectin-rich fruit extracts...Modern dessert jellies, on the other hand, appear to be descended from medieval dishes based on calves' feet or other meat stocks, carefully clarified and flavoured. A wide range of gelling or setting agents was known to medieval cooks. The animal kingdome was represented by gelatin in the form of meat stock, isinglass, and hartshorn. Plants provided pectin-rich juices from quinces or apples; and various kinds of gum...Late medieval and 16th-century cooks made savoury (or savoury/sweet--many had an ambivalent character) jellied dishes using meat such as capon, chopped fine, mixed with cream or almond milk, flavoured with spices, sugar, or rosewater. These were known as cullis, gellys, or brawn. Another ‘set' dish was a leach, made from cream or almond milk with isinglass. A sweet ‘crystall gelly' was made with calves' feet stock, highly spices (ginger, pepper, cloves, nutmeg), sweetened, and further flavoured with rosewater. These dishes, which are recorded in early 17th-century cookery books...were ancestors of sweet confections such as blancmange as well as of the explicitly savoury aspic dishes which proliferated in the 19th and early 20th centuries."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 417)

RICE PUDDING
Borrowed from Indo-European cultures by way of Southern Europe
[link]

BACON
Hogs were introduced by the Roman conquerors
[link]

FISH & CHIPS
The chips, of course, are "New World" foods
[link]
About potatoes (featured prominently in many classic British dishes):
[link]
About chips/fries (possibly of Belgian origin)
[link]

TEA
This was imported from the Far East; British "tea" began in the 18th century
Recommended reding:
A Social History of Tea/Jane Pettigrew

GENENERAL REFERENCE:
Food and Drink in Britain Fr0om the Stone Age to the 19th Century/C. Amme Wilson
Oxford Companion to Food/Alan Davidson