VisitBritain recently published their top 10 regional foods as below, although I think there might be a few missing.
We’ll start with the VisitBritain list then see if you agree there are a few which really should have been included, especially as one or two of them aren’t strictly “regional”.
1. Pie and mash and jellied eels – London:
I admit I’d not heard of this one until writing a blog post a little while back on where to find London’s best street food.
Whereas us northerners like our pie, mash and gravy, it would seem that Londoners prefer the slightly if I may say so, unusual, ingredient of jellied eels. Exactly why there’s a connection with eals I’m still trying to find out, unless anyone can enlighten me?
2. Arbroath Smokies in Arbroath:
Sticking with the fish* we move all the way to the north of Scotland and a delicacy I can understand. Smoked fish isn’t particularly regional, but in northern Scotland each area has it’s own ways of doing this, possibly because of the extensive fishing industry.
To be called an Arbroath Smokie, the fish must be a haddock that has been salted and smoked over hardwood which gives it that rich flavour and burnished copper colouring. Infact so important is this that the EU has now declared only a fish smoked this way within 5 miles of Arbroath can be called an Arbroath Smokie.
* An eal is a fish, isn’t it?
3. Laverbread in South Wales:
Apparently Laverbread is made from boiling the Laver seaweed for around 9 hours until it becomes a black pulp-like liquid, which you then use to flavour various food stuffs, in a similar way to a stock.
Laverbread is a traditional breakfast dish, whereby the Laver stock is added to oatmeal and fried into so called Laverbread cakes. I’ve never come across these in my trips to Wales, but I’m guessing it’s a similar concept to eggy-bread. I will now await howls of protest from Wales if I got this wrong.
4. Pork pies from Melton Mowbray:
I never realised, but the home of the pork pie is Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire. Although as with many regional dishes they’ve expanded to be a favourite around the country, but for the true original version then head for Dickinson and Morris in Melton Mowbray and infact to be called a Melton Mowbray pork pie it must by law be made in the town.
5. Gower Salt Marsh Lamb from the Gower Peninsula:
These aren’t just any old lambs, they feed on the Llanrhidian Marsh where they feed on samphire, sorrel, sea lavender plus various special grasses. This gives the meat a very unique flavour and is sought after all over the world.
6. Colchester Oysters:
These are similar in many ways to oysters all over the world, but as far back as the Romans, the Colchester Oyster has been known for it’s sweeter and creamier texture. The Roman soldiers are supposed to have said Colchester Oysters were “the only good thing to come out of Britain”.
7. Venison from Scotland:
Calling venison a regional dish might be slightly pushing definitions, but with the coarse heather in the Scottish Highlands it is still claimed by many food critics that venison from Scotland has no equal.
8. Cornish Pasty:
As with pork pies, the Cornish Pasty has been exported to the four corners of Britain and diluted in the process, but if you want to experience the real article there are still plenty of shops in Cornwall selling them.
One important difference between a real Cornish Pasty and those made outside is the real one will have a very distinct D shape and crucially have the crimped edge on the side and not the top, as demonstrated by Ginsters. This is according to the Cornish Pasty Association at least.
There have been several attempts to ensure that only pasties from Cornwall can use the name.
9. Stilton Cheese:
It is generally accepted with recent research that it did originate in or around the village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire, home to both the cheese and the Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival (see event 4).
The EU have ruled that to use the name Stilton a number of criteria must be fulfilled, the most important being that it can only be made in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. There’s full details on the Stilton Cheese web site.
10. Haggis:
Our final entry is the mysterious Haggis from Scotland. The Haggis is a small furry creature which lives in the Scottish Highlands. It’s legs are shorter on one side than the other allowing it to run around on the steep slopes of the mountains without rolling down (especially useful on Ben Nevis). Spotting a Haggis is very hard as they are illusive creatures, but we are assured they do exist.
Since they are so hard to spot and therefore catch, the Highlanders invented a dish named after the creatures which uses most of a sheep in a similar way to how sausages are often made. I won’t divulge the exact recipe in-case you’re eating while reading this, but Haggis does taste quite nice.
Part 2 of regional foods: We’re now planning a second part of this guide to the best regional foods, but if you have any you’d like us to add just click the quote icon above or scroll down the page (if you’re on the article).
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