£34,070 on curry in lifetime

The average Brit will blow a staggering £34,070 in their lifetime – on CURRY, a survey has revealed.

Researchers found the typical adult splashes out £8.19-a-head on the spicy stuff each week – including takeaways, ingredients and sauces – which totals £425 every year.

Surprisingly, one in 10 also said curry is an aphrodisiac which spices up their sex lives and a third say they get physical cravings for a hot curry.

The statistics emerged from a poll of 2,000 Brits carried out by Red Tractor beef and lamb.

Yesterday, Jane Ritchie-Smith, spokesperson from Red Tractor beef and lamb, said: “We all know how much everyone loves a curry and our research has confirmed just how much that love costs us.

“It’s very interesting to see that, despite how much we enjoy a curry, less than a third of us regularly cook them ourselves at home. Although for those that do cook, over two-thirds are also finding the time to cook mid-week, so curry isn’t just for the weekend.

“And when it came to spiciness, the majority of people prefer a fiery curry but there are still 15% of people that haven’t progressed up the heat ladder from a mild one.”

The study found a third of Brits eat curries once a week but only three in every 10 Brits feel confident in making them and even then don’t make them very regularly. However, it seems that curries aren’t just for the weekend as, when we do cook, most of us can’t get enough of the spicy stuff and like to give it a go mid-week.

According to the research, men tend to eat hotter curries than their partners whereas women tend to be less adventurous, picking the same type of curry every time.

The average Brit likes their curry at the hotter end of the scale and 15 per cent say they like it as hot as possible.

But despite these claims, it seems that the often-cited curry ‘bravado’ attitude may be true, as the nation’s most popular dishes proved to be a mild and tame korma with a tikka masala in second place and a Rogan Josh in third.

Whatever our true curry tastes, research shows that we love our curry so much that when it comes to eating almost a third of us say we don’t like to share!

Yesterday, Jane Ritchie-Smith from Red Tractor beef and lamb, said: “It’s no surprise that the traditional kormas and tikka masala were the favourite dishes but, considering the research, perhaps in time, our favourites will be from the hotter end of the scale.

“Our research quite clearly shows that we are a nation of curry lovers but that we aren’t yet a nation of curry cookers.

''Although it seems that many of us can cook a curry, we’re not getting in the kitchen very often. To encourage everyone to give it a go and show people how easy it can be to make a great curry, Red Tractor beef and lamb has launched the Big Curry Cook-in where you can find everything, including step-by-step videos, simple recipes and tips to help cook your favourite curry dish at home.

“Curry is a really versatile dish and when you cook it at home you can make it to suit your own taste and heat rating. You can experiment with different flavours, meats and hotness and, by choosing different combinations of spices, you can create a range of dishes from a mild korma to a super-spicy madras.”

Nation's favourite curries