Yorkshire Puddings

The ubiquitous accompaniment to roast beef, Yorkshire puddings started life in the seventeenth century as so-called fire puddings, batter puddings baked in a large dish in front of the fire and under the roasting meat (back then mutton as often as beef). The puddings baked and rose happily while also incorporating all the drippings from the roast. Cheap to make, in poorer families they were a good way to stretch the more expensive meat, often filling up hungry stomachs even before the meat