Yorkshire Puddings: A History of Britain’s Famous Side Dish

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. 

Four-inches tall, half an inch thick.

These are the traits of a true Yorkshire Pudding according to “science.”

The roast beef side-dish, a milk, egg and flour batter baked to a crisp, exemplifies the stereotypical British allure to bland food. We love it so much that we voted it the 10th best thing about Britain.

But is it possible that our “traditional” puddings are anything but? The original 1700s “dripping puddings” were cooked below spit-roasted meat in a large tray on an open fire as meat-juice dripped into the pudding.

Instead of individual puddings, the dish was baked whole, cut into squares, and served not as a side-dish, but as a starter.

Even though the pudding is ubiquitous in the UK, why do we attribute it to Yorkshire? The relationship is unclear.

It may have came about when coal mining raged across the region and most Yorkshire homes had access to high-quality coal. This led to better fires, thus crisper, drier puddings. Another theory is that Yorkshire’s altitude impacts how the puddings bake. A third argument claims it’s “the instinct of people born and raised in Yorkshire.”

Yet, not everyone attributes the dish to Yorkshire. Americans refer to the dish as a “popover” or “dutch baby”. While the popover is made in a cast-iron pan, often sweet, and cooked with butter, not beef dripping, the fundamentals are the same.

Some claim that Americans are colonising British English. We use 500-600 Americanisms daily, up from 50-60 in the 1930s. Author Matthew Engel argues that Americanisms may absorb English by 2120. It’s plausible.

The British lost their identity when America replaced them as the dominant global power in the 1900s.

Despite this, the “popover” is mostly unknown in Britain.

And while most British food fades into obscurity, the Yorkshire Pudding is still served in any pub worth its salt. No matter how ubiquitous American culture grows, there are some aspects of British culture that cannot be touched.

Yorkshire Puddings at The Yorkshire Wrap Company, Leeds

From their stall in Leeds’ Kirkgate Market, The Yorkshire Wrap Company serve fresh puddings wrapping a filling of your choice: beef, pork or breakfast, or take a punt on a daily special.