Pease Pudding: A Delicious Pea-and-Pudding-less History

This post is part of the History of Food series, a revived project from 2021 that explores the origin stories of traditional dishes, the lessons they can teach us, and the people who keep the food alive. In each post, we visit a restaurant that puts their spin on a classic dish. 

If you were searching for a vegan-friendly product, the butchers would be the last place you’d go.

But that’s not the case with pease pudding. The butchers is the best place to source this legendary North East condiment.

The light yellow paste, sometimes referred to as “Geordie Hummus”, may look bland, but it’s vegan-friendly and versatile.

Made from nothing more than split yellow peas, salt, pepper and water, it’s a protein-rich healthy substitute for any spread (in a stottie, for instance!), and can be infused in stews or mixed with other ingredients (a few spices, and a drizzle of olive oil and tahini, perhaps) to make a healthy dip.

The “pudding” is a direct evolution of pease pottage, a dried-pea soup similar to an Indian dal.

Pottage has been consumed in Britain since the days of Roman rule, when the pea was first introduced to the island. Peasants and nobility alike enjoyed the dish, albeit the former with more spices and herbs.

With the invention of the pudding cloth, a piece of fabric that helps to separate liquids from prepared foods, in the 17th century, the watery pottage evolved into the thick pease pudding that we know today.

Since pig ownership was common amongst British peasantry, pease pudding was often prepared in the same water as preserved shanks of ham, hence the modern connection between pease pudding and butchers.

Although heavily celebrated in the North East, pease pudding was consumed across Britain until the 18th century. At which point it faded from popularity and became regionalised.

Still, not only can you find pease pudding in London, but the condiment exists under other guises: German Erbspüree, Greek Fava, and a similar condiment is even served alongside a Candian Jigg’s Dinner.

Where to find pease pudding?

Still, nowhere is it easier to find than the North East, where it is still proudly consumed.

Visit any supermarket in the region, and you’ll be able to pick up a tub of Dickson’s Pease Pudding, produced in my hometown of South Shields.