Learn more about British food

Read some interesting facts about British Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire pudding is a British specialty.

• Yorkshire pudding, a common British side dish made of a simple batter (egg, flour, and milk) that is baked, traditionally, in a large, shallow tin with roast-beef drippings. It was devised in northern England in the mid-18th century as a cheap and filling appetizer that was served prior to the pricier main meat dish of beef or mutton. During that time meat was commonly roasted on a spit suspended over a fire, and the pudding was placed under the meat while it roasted, letting the hot juices drip onto it. The fierce heat of the fire helped create a light, crispy crust over the pudding. The popover-like dish was then cut into squares and served with gravy.
• Yorkshire pudding is a flour-based culinary dish that has been commonly eaten in Great Britain in Europe.
• British Yorkshire pudding is typically made of a batter of eggs, flour and a liquid, commonly milk or water, or a combination of the two, and it is traditionally cooked in fat.
• ‘Yorkshire pudding’ is a ‘batter pudding’, and it is also known as ‘dripping pudding’ due to it being originally cooked in dripping fat from meat, and it is believed to have originated in northern England.
• Most often, Yorkshire puddings are served as a side with a main meal of roast beef, or other roasted meat, although they can be served as an entrée, a main meal in themselves, or even dessert.
• There is evidence of a recipe of a Yorkshire pudding that was published in 1737, in the book The Whole Duty of a Woman, and it is one of the earliest known written records of the pudding.
• Yorkshire puddings are often tall and have a puffy texture, while the early versions where quite flat in comparison.
• Hannah Glasse, who wrote the book The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy in 1747, recorded her own version of the Yorkshire pudding.
• Gravy or other sauces, especially those made for meat or from meat juices, are commonly eaten with Yorkshire pudding.
• Yorkshire pudding varies in size and shape, although it commonly has a somewhat sunken middle and is often cooked in the oven in small tins for individual serves, that have sides to increase the height of the pudding.
• Many peasant families ate Yorkshire pudding as the main meal due to its inexpensive nature, and it was usually served with a sauce, often a gravy made from roast meat.
• Contemporary Yorkshire pudding is a typical side dish for Britain’s traditional Sunday meal—commonly known as “Sunday roast,” or “Sunday lunch”—which is usually served in the early afternoon and acts as the day’s big meal. When sausage is added to the Yorkshire pudding mix, the dish is called Toad in the Hole.