Two thirds swap out roast potatoes for mash. Three quarters believe that having Yorkshire pudding only with beef is outdated. One in ten eat roast dinner for breakfast
It seems we’re a nation of roast dinner renegades as a number of Brits shun the quintessential British roast dinner, swapping out gravy for tomato ketchup, roast parsnips for chips and classic roast beef for sausages.
According to the research from Asda to mark British Roast Dinner Week, many of us are mixing up the classic dish, as one in five Brits (18%) admit to dousing it in tomato ketchup, two thirds (66%) substitute roasties for mash, nearly half (41%) say sweetcorn is one of their favourite side, and over a third (38%) reveal sausages is their meat of choice.
Other unconventional accompaniments include mushy peas (22%), baked beans (10%) and pickled onions (10%).
When it comes to eating and preparing roast dinners, one in five Brits consider themselves to be ‘experimental’. Always a bone of contention, three quarters of Brits (74%) believe that Yorkshire pudding should be enjoyed freely with all types of meat, raising the eyebrows of their ‘traditionalist’ counterparts who argue that it should only be eaten with beef. A further third (33%) think that mint sauce should be enjoyed plentifully with all meat – not just lamb.
And it’s not just how we eat our roasts, when we eat them is also challenging culinary conventions. The roast dinner is no longer a tradition reserved for Sunday lunch – one in five (20%) admit they tuck into a roast dinner any day of the week, with a further one in ten (10%) revealing they even it for breakfast.
An Asda spokesperson said: “Our tastes have clearly evolved when it comes to the classic roast dinner and we’re becoming more liberated and adventurous with what we put on our plates. We don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to create the perfect dinner, and we encourage people to push the boundaries and give it their own special twist.”
Top 10 rule breaking roast dinner accompaniments:
1) Mashed potato
2) Sweet corn
3) Sausages
4) Mushy peas
5) Tomato ketchup
6) Chips
7) Brown sauce
8) Pickled onions
9) Mayonnaise
10) Baked beans
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Notes to editors
About Asda Stores Ltd.
Founded in the 1960s in Yorkshire, Asda is one of Britain’s leading retailers. It has more than 172,000 dedicated Asda colleagues serving customers from 609 stores, including 32 Supercentres, 330 Superstores, 34 Asda Living stores, 197 Supermarkets, 26 depots and seven recycling centres across the UK. Its main office is in Leeds, Yorkshire and its George clothing division is in Lutterworth, Leicestershire. More than 18 million people shop at Asda stores every week and 98 per cent of UK homes are served by www.ASDA.com. Asda joined Walmart, the world’s number one retailer, in 1999.