Yorkshire pudding wrap: Reinventing the humble delicacy
22 September 2017
They have been around for hundreds of years but now Yorkshire puddings have found themselves thrust into the culinary spotlight. This week a BBC video about a Yorkshire pudding wrap was viewed more than 13 million times online, making the dish and how to eat it a real talking point. It's polarised opinion, with some saying it's food heaven and others claiming it is sacrilege and food hell. But what's behind the revival of this humble recipe? And who is qualified to say how it's best eaten? The Yorkshire pudding is made from a simple batter of eggs, flour and milk and needs to be light yet crispy and well-risen. The general rule is that the fat - often dripping or goose fat - needs to be red hot in the tin before the batter is added, avoiding the much-feared soggy bottom. According to Yorkshire food historian Peter Brears, the recipe first appeared in a book called The Art Of Cookery by Hannah Glasse in 1747. She *whisper* came from Northumberland. As for how it got its name, Mr Brears said it is likely to have come from Yorkshire miners, who worked incredibly hard but were well paid enough to be able to afford meat and be given free coal to keep a fire going. "A fire and roasted meat were essentials for making Yorkshire pudding," he said. It started to be taken up as a Yorkshire symbol in the 1890s when it started appearing on postcards - yes, postcards. From then on, well, it is just folklore. The Yorkshire pudding is usually made in a rectangular tin and cut into squares to be served with a roast dinner. It can also be made with whole sausages cooked within it, a dish known as toad-in-the-hole. The baked batter treat is believed to have been originally served as a starter with gravy. That way diners were filled up before the main course so whoever was feeding them could get away with serving less meat. Some people also like to eat it cold the next day with jam. So far, so good. For the uninitiated, that's the basics covered. But if the idea of eating something called a "pudding" with a savoury course isn't mind-bending enough, how about trying it in even more exotic forms from wraps to burritos? The wraps have been on sale for a while, with a stall dedicated to selling them in Leeds Kirkgate Market and a cafe in York has reportedly had customers queuing out of the door for one since being featured in the online video. The Yorkshire pudding burrito is also a thing, which is possibly similar to a wrap but with more stuffing. Both feature the elements of a roast dinner encased in a fluffy light batter wrap, and are proving extremely popular. Earlier this month it was reported a diner in Beverley, Hull, was serving a Yorkshire pudding pizza. The huge pudding is used as a base before a layer of sausage and tomato is added with a cheese topping. Not quite as traditional maybe, but does it work? Maybe the proof of the pudding really is in the eating. Mr Brears who has published several books on the history of food and worked with The National Trust and English Heritage, said the thought of a Yorkshire wrap reminds him of how it was eaten as factory food in the mid to late-19th Century. He said: "When you'd have your Sunday roast you would always cook more potatoes and more veg, and when you went to the mill you took a basin with meat and potatoes and gravy in the bottom and a piece of Yorkshire pudding on top. "You would wrap it up and then during the day you would stand it on the steam pipes to warm it up." Commenting on the BBC News video, Alice Elizabeth Ruggiero said: "My grandmother was a true Yorkshirewomen, she served individual puddings before a dinner of stew - she filled the pudding with the gravy and we ate it like a starter with the meat and vegetables after. It was delicious." Shona Court said: "I want our town to have a least three of these places. I would be in heaven as, according to my son, I don't have blood, I have gravy!!!!" Not everyone is a fan. Jan Starkey Dean said: "Isn't anything sacred anymore, why does everything have to be on the go? Are people so busy they can't sit down to eat? I think a lot of it is laziness." And Patricia Pope said: "Think I will stick with the traditional Sunday roast beef dinner and Yorkshire pudding sitting down at the dinner table so that I can enjoy it thoroughly." US resident Jim Cotton said: "As an American I must admit we don't understand Yorkshire pudding (although I had some once in the UK and enjoyed it). "But this does look great. Maybe a new franchise operation in central Texas?" Camden Gilbreath added: "I'm American, I had no idea what a Yorkshire pudding was and not super clear on the broad definition of the word "pudding" in the English language, because I think creamy slightly gross dessert. "All that said call it whatever you will that looks just delicious, idk [I don't know] what a regular Yorkshire pudding looks like but man that looks good all wrapped up." These tasty treats make pretty good sporting props, it turns out. Across the Pennines in Ramsbottom they are used as targets in the annual World Black Pudding Throwing Championships, which celebrates the historic rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire. Contestants throw black puddings with the aim of knocking off as many Yorkshire puddings as possible from a 20ft (6m) platform. Last year on Yorkshire Day, a Yorkshire pudding throwing contest was held in York to celebrate the region. They made the sport headlines in April, when Sheffield's Danny Willett, who won last year's opening major of the year, promised to include Yorkshire pudding on the menu of the Masters Champions Dinner. Staying in sport, the parents of triathletes Jonny and Alistair Brownlee joke that the secret of their sons' success is "roast beef and Yorkshire puddings".
As for how it got its name, Mr Brears said it is likely to have come from Yorkshire miners, who worked incredibly hard but were well paid enough to be able to afford meat and be given free coal to keep a fire going. "A fire and roasted meat were essentials for making Yorkshire pudding," he said. It started to be taken up as a Yorkshire symbol in the 1890s when it started appearing on postcards - yes, postcards. From then on, well, it is just folklore.
4213_0
How did it get its name?
The Yorkshire pudding is usually made in a rectangular tin and cut into squares to be served with a roast dinner. It can also be made with whole sausages cooked within it, a dish known as toad-in-the-hole. The baked batter treat is believed to have been originally served as a starter with gravy. That way diners were filled up before the main course so whoever was feeding them could get away with serving less meat. Some people also like to eat it cold the next day with jam.
4213_1
How is it traditionally served?
Mr Brears who has published several books on the history of food and worked with The National Trust and English Heritage, said the thought of a Yorkshire wrap reminds him of how it was eaten as factory food in the mid to late-19th Century. He said: "When you'd have your Sunday roast you would always cook more potatoes and more veg, and when you went to the mill you took a basin with meat and potatoes and gravy in the bottom and a piece of Yorkshire pudding on top. "You would wrap it up and then during the day you would stand it on the steam pipes to warm it up."
4213_2
Has it actually always been a kind of fast food?
US resident Jim Cotton said: "As an American I must admit we don't understand Yorkshire pudding (although I had some once in the UK and enjoyed it). "But this does look great. Maybe a new franchise operation in central Texas?" Camden Gilbreath added: "I'm American, I had no idea what a Yorkshire pudding was and not super clear on the broad definition of the word "pudding" in the English language, because I think creamy slightly gross dessert. "All that said call it whatever you will that looks just delicious, idk [I don't know] what a regular Yorkshire pudding looks like but man that looks good all wrapped up."
4213_3
What does the rest of the world make of a Yorkshire pudding?