Lancashire Day: What foods are traditional in the Red Rose?

From hotpot to parched peas to tripe to black pudding – Lancashire has handed us some fantastic (and sometimes rather repulsive) foods.

Butter pie

A butter pie to those outside of the Red Rose county may sound a bit odd, pastry filled with potato and onion, but here it is a staple.

Also known as Friday Pie, it was originally created by Catholics in Preston who did not eat meat on Fridays and chose to substitute their beef with butter.

It is a treat for many, with dozens of chippy’s across the county putting it on the menu.

Parched peas

Another Lancashire delicacy, parched peas, also known as black peas, are a traditional Lancashire dish.

They are (or at least should be) served with lashings of malt vinegar, and traditionally on or around Bonfire Night.

Parched peas are sold at fairs and on stalls, with a mobile stall selling them all year round on the Flag Market in Preston.

Tripe

This one is definitely a marmite food. I, for one, cannot even stand the idea of tripe but there are people out there who enjoy it.

Tripe is made from a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals, most commonly cow, pig and sheep.

During the war, tripe was a staple in households as it was one of just a few meats, including sausages, that was not rationed.

If this has tickled your fancy, head down to Blackburn market where they have a stall dedicated to it.

Black pudding

A slightly controversial one this as Bury is commonly referred to when it comes to Black Pudding however East Lancashire is home to many award-winning companies, including The Real Lancashire Black Pudding Company in Haslingden.

Black pudding is another marmite one with some adoring in on their full English while others wont go anywhere near it.

Made of blood, usually from pigs, mixed with fat and oatmeal, before being packed into a sausage like casing.

Lancashire hotpot

Probably the most famous Lancashire food – a hotpot.

Traditionally made with lamb or mutton and onion, topped with sliced potatoes, it is baked in a heavy pot on a low heat

It is thought to have originated during the cotton industry in the 1800s and would have been left to cook slowly all day.

Hotpot is a very popular dish, with many Lancashire pubs selling it, especially at this time of year as it is getting colder.

Lancashire cheeses

Crumbly and creamy, it is always a good day when a Lancashire cheese is in the fridge.

Creamy Lancashire cheese was, for centuries, made by Lancashire dairy farmers' wives from surplus milk.

On small farms, there was insufficient milk from a single day to make cheese, and so each day's milk was curdled and accumulated for several days until there was enough curd to make cheese.

Crumble Lancashire was invented in the 1950s, but unlike Creamy Lancashire, it is made from a single day's milk and resembles other crumbly cheeses such as Cheshire and Wensleydale.

Chorley cake

Made using currants, sandwiched between two layers of unsweetened shortcrust pastry, there is sometimes confusion between a Chorley cake and an Eccles cake.

To clear that up, Chorley cakes are significantly less sweet and are eaten with a light spread of butter on top, and sometimes a slice of Lancashire cheese on the side.

Meanwhile, an Eccles cake uses flaky puff pastry, which after baking is normally a deeper brown in colour. The other difference is that the currants in the Eccles cake are often concentrated together in the middle while in the Chorley cake the fruit is usually evenly distributed.

Fish and chips from Blackpool promenade

We couldn’t have a list of the best Lancashire dishes without mentioning a chippy at Blackpool.

There is something so special about picking up a chippy and enjoying it while taking in the sea breeze.

You just can’t go to this part of the Red Rose county without getting fish and chips (and maybe some seaside donuts).