Traditional North Yorkshire food
Traditional North Yorkshire Food
My Grandma was born in 1901 and lived on the North Yorkshire coast, firstly near Robin Hood’s Bay, and then Hinderwell, until her old age. She was an excellent baker and made the best Yorkshire puddings ever.
Her Yorkshire puddings were always served as an appetiser with gravy on. Meat was expensive and serving the Yorkshire pudding like this could fill you up and allow the meat to stretch further. Yorkshire pudding was only ever served with beef, unlike today where it is common to include with any roast. Any leftover Yorkshire pudding was served the next day with jam or golden syrup as a pudding – nothing ever went to waste.
Grandma also made the best Yorkshire card tart I have ever tasted. I have never made or bought one that has tasted so good. Curd cheese is sweetened with sugar and mixed with allspice, currents and eggs, in a short crust pastry case. The Yorkshire Curd Tart was traditionally prepared to use up leftover curds from cheese-making. Curd cheese—made from separating curds and whey—was a common byproduct of the cheese-making process. The Yorkshire curd tart is now sold in Yorkshire bakeries such as Botham’s of Whitby.
Another Yorkshire recipe I remember from visiting Grandma is Yorkshire parkin. Yorkshire parkin is made from oats, brown sugar, black treacle, flour, ginger, eggs, bicarbonate of soda and butter. It is similar to gingerbread and was traditionally made for November 5th, Bonfire night. Parkin was always as much a part of bonfire night as toffee apples, sparklers and Catherine wheels.
Mucky Mouth Pie was made out of bilberries collected on the North York Moors. Bilberries are baked into a Yorkshire pudding batter. I remember collecting bilberries when I was a young girl and it took ages! Bilberry picking was always part of visiting my grandma during the school holidays. Allegedly, bilberries are good for night vision.