How well do you think you know classic Lancashire dishes?

A food historian has written a book which might make you second guess all your know about the county’s cuisine.

Emma Kay's 'Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies: Lancashire Food and Drink' is a “historical odyssey” exploring the traditional recipes and key culinary innovations that have emerged from Lancashire over the centuries.

While Emma hails from Worcester, her husband has Lancashire links.

Emma, 51, said: “My husband is from Lancashire and many of his large extended family live in the Fylde district, which we visit regularly.

“I have become very fond of the county and think its diverse history and stunning landscapes are an inspiration.”

The book rejoices some dishes and sweet treats that Lancashire gave the world, including Jelly Babies, Vimto, Foxes biscuits, Fisherman’s Friends, even Atora suet.

During her research, Emma has uncovered many interesting facts about Lancashire dishes and cuisine that locals might not be aware of.

She said: “One of the oldest cookery books in the country dating to the earlier half of the 1400s, best known as Liber Cure Cocorum or the Book of Culinary Arts, is attributed to Lancashire.

"The dialect within the vocabulary has been identified with that of the region during this period."

Lancashire Telegraph: Emma Kay, author of 'Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies: Lancashire Food and Drink'Emma Kay, author of 'Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies: Lancashire Food and Drink'

She also said that Blackpool rock may have been first invented just down the road in Morecambe. 

She said: “‘Blackpool rock was probably first invented in Morecambe by a man named ‘Dynamite’ Dick Taylor, who sold his rock in the town during the early part of the 1900s.

"He inserted the letters TNT (Taylor’s Noted Toffees) into the rock itself.

“Whisky was also once commercially manufactured on a large scale in Manchester, Bolton and Liverpool and the county’s illicit trade was rife in the Haslingden and Blackburn regions.”

She has also uncovered some ‘hidden gem’ stories from history – including a royal link to a Lancashire town which was renowned for its gingerbread.

Emma said: “King Edward VII regularly purchased gingerbread from Sally Fyles in Ormskirk, who descended from a long line of gingerbread sellers in the town.

However, proud local foodies might also be disheartened by some of Emma’s research as she explores how some ‘classic’ dishes, such as the Lancashire hot pot, might not have originated from the county.

She said: “Some readers might be disappointed to learn that hot pot is a Medieval dish, which was known throughout the country way before Lancashire adopted the phrase.

“Its inception was actually as a hot drink made with brandy and sugar known to Londoners.

“The name ‘hotchpot’ frequently appears as a meat and/or vegetable stew in numerous medieval cookery books.

“It wasn’t until the seventeenth century that hotpot was first made using lamb or beef and the dish most probably became associated with Lancashire during the nineteenth century when ‘hot pots’ of food that were carried to relatives working in the mills, to sustain them throughout the day.

“Those who think black pudding belongs to the county should also prepare themselves for the fact that it dates to the Roman Empire who were famous for their blood puddings.”

Foots, Lonks and Wet Nellies: Lancashire Food and Drink is available to purchase from leading book retailers and via Emma’s website at: www.museumofkitchenalia.com