Weekend: Food & Drink: NOSHTALGIA: The British attitude to food has changed beyond all recognition in the past half century. So here's a little reminder of the people, trends, dishes and products that shaped the nation's tastebuds

• Published in: The Guardian (London)
• Main Author: Fiona Beckett, Joanna Blythman, Richard Ehrlich, Matthew Fort, Malcolm Gluck and Roger Protz
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: London (UK) Guardian News & Media Limited 29.06.2002
• ISSN: 0261-3077; 1756-3224

The first wine exported from Chile was in 1903, a few cases of red sold to the US made by Villa Undurraga. Cousino Macul was the first Chilean winery exporting to the UK, but even as recently as 1980 total Chilean wine exports to this country were a piddling 5,000 cases. Then came the Chilean cabernet sauvignons of the mid- 1990s, and what had been a mere pebble precipitated an avalanche. Chilean cabernet was not only delicious, fruity and upfront; it was also serious and complex, deep, boldly fruity and, most important, it had tannins. Even scientists proclaimed it the healthiest red you could drink. It is now one of the most popular wines on these thirsty shores. Names such as Santa Rita, Cono Sur, Montes, Cantena, Vina Gracia, Santa Carolina, Valdivieso and Errazuriz are on every supermarket shelf. The number-one brand name is Concha y Toro, which sells nearly 750,000 cases A khaki-coloured sludge in jars hung out on UK delicatessen shelves from the 1960s onwards, but it wasn't until the late 1980s that fresh pesto, a speciality of Liguria, locked the UK in its dazzling green, aromatic embrace. There are endless arcane strands to the eauthentic' pesto debate. Parmigiano Reggiano versus pecorino? Pre-toasted pinenuts? Peppery Tuscan versus buttery Ligurian oil? A pesto manifesto summarising popularly agreed essentials goes as follows. Acceptable ingredients: loads of fresh basil, pine-nuts, parmesan/pecorino, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, salt. Method: mortar and pestle preferred, processor OK. Order: pulverise basil, garlic, nuts, salt; add oil; then, and only then, mix in cheese. Red pesto is bastardised in every sense of the word. Heat half the butter and all the oil in a deep frying pan. Add the onion, carrot, celery and bacon, and fry over a low heat until the vegetables soften and begin to change colour. Add the pork, beef, sausage meat and chicken livers, and, crumbling with a fork, fry gently until they begin to brown. Moisten with wine, cook until it evaporates, then season to taste. Dilute the tomato paste with a little stock. Stir into the sauce, cover and cook slowly, stirring from time to time, gradually adding the rest of the stock. After 1? hours, stir in the cream and continue cooking until reduced. Finally, add the remaining butter and stir until melted and thoroughly mixed in. About 250g chopped mushrooms, sauteed in butter and flavoured with garlic and chopped parsley, may be added to the sauce at the last moment, if liked.