Sheffield has been named the UK city with the dullest dinners, according to a new poll. The research, which surveyed 2,000 adults across 12 major cities, found that 52% of residents in the Yorkshire city feel their evening meals lack adventure and invention.
Spaghetti bolognese, jacket potatoes and curry were among the most commonly cooked evening meals in Sheffield, while 33% of residents said they usually stuck to what they knew. Nearly half (46%) admitted they were stuck in a rut when deciding what to cook, and 22% described their meals as not very flavourful or not flavourful at all.
Willingness to Try New Flavours
Despite the lack of adventure at home, the poll found some openness to trying new dishes. Some 28% of respondents were willing to try jerk chicken from the Caribbean for the first time, and 22% were open to trying jollof rice from West Africa.
Additionally, 31% would try unfamiliar fruits and vegetables such as jackfruit, while 26% were open to trying seafood they had never eaten before.
Barriers to Experimentation
The findings suggest a gap between wanting to try new flavours and experimenting with them at home. While 43% were more adventurous with their food choices when eating out, only 8% actively experimented with new flavours and ingredients at home.
When asked about barriers, 21% said they lacked confidence in the kitchen, while lack of time (38%), the cost of ingredients (31%) and lack of inspiration (22%) were cited as reasons for not making evening meals more exciting.
Top Dinners and Seasoning Habits
When asked which meal they would choose if they could eat only one for the rest of their lives, respondents named roast dinner, fish and chips, and pizza as their top choices.
The research was commissioned by world food brand Tropical Sun Foods to mark its 30th anniversary. Emma Macorison, from the brand, said: "We Brits have a reputation for bland food, and the poll suggests many of us are playing it safe, relying on the same meals and ingredients on rotation."
"But you don't have to reinvent the wheel. A sprinkling of seasoning or a dollop of sauce can be all it takes to make your dinner sing. We want to help people bring flavours from around the world into their everyday cooking."
The study also found that salt (80%) and pepper (73%) were the most popular seasonings in people's cupboards, followed by paprika (63%). Chinese five spice (30%), jerk seasoning (15%) and harissa (15%) were less common.
The research, carried out via OnePoll.com, also discovered that 37% felt they were more adventurous with food than when they were younger. Meanwhile, 30% said they cooked a meal from a cuisine they had not eaten as children a few times a month, showing how dinners have evolved over the past 30 years.
Emma Macorison added: "I remember trying spaghetti Bolognese for the first time in the 1990s. Now it's one of the dinners people cook most often. As the brand celebrates 30 years, we want to keep that sense of discovery alive, whether that means cooking jollof rice for the first time or trying a new seasoning in an old favourite."
The top 20 most popular dinners Brits regularly cook include spaghetti bolognese, jacket potato, curry, pizza, stir-fry, salad, sausage and mash, pasta bake, fish and chips, shepherd's pie or cottage pie, lasagne, chilli con carne, chicken and chips, soup, noodles, beans on toast, pie and chips, omelette, steak and chips, and fajitas.
The top 10 foods and flavours Brits would be willing to try for the first time include unfamiliar fruits and vegetables such as jackfruit, jerk chicken, international seasonings and spice blends such as za'atar, seafood they have never tried before, jollof rice, adobo chicken, plant-based alternatives, nasi goreng, pad kra pao, and fermented foods.
