Why do the British eat Toad in the Hole? (2024)

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Why do the British eat Toad in the Hole? ›

Toad in the hole was originally created as a way to stretch out meat in poor households. Chefs therefore suggested using the cheapest meats in this dish. In 1747, for example, Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery listed a recipe for "pigeon in a hole", calling for pigeon rather than sausages.

Usually in America, toad in the hole refers to an egg cooked in the hole cut out of a piece of bread. But in England, it's sausages cooked in what is essentially Yorkshire pudding.

Dating back to the 18th century, it is widely assumed that toad-in-the-hole was created as a way to stretch out meat in poor households. Meat was expensive and families were large, so what little could be scraped together had to be bulked out with cheaper ingredients.

Egg in a Basket features an egg fried in the hole of a buttery slice of bread. The dish goes by several other names as well; Americans sometimes call it Toad in the Hole, but that title more properly refers to the traditional English dish of Yorkshire pudding with sausage and onion gravy.

toad-in-the-hole in American English

(ˈtoudɪnðəˈhoul) noun. Brit Cookery. a dish consisting of beef or pork sausages baked in a coating of batter. [1780–90]This word is first recorded in the period 1780–90.

Toad in the hole was originally created as a way to stretch out meat in poor households. Chefs therefore suggested using the cheapest meats in this dish. In 1747, for example, Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery listed a recipe for "pigeon in a hole", calling for pigeon rather than sausages.

A big difference between frogs and toads is that all toads are poisonous, while frogs are not. Toads have parotoid glands behind their eyes that secrete toxins.

The pub game originated around East Sussex, where the annual tournament is played in the Town Hall in Lewes. How do you play Toad in the Hole? The objective is to land your toads (or brass coins) flat on the surface of a 'toads table' or in the hole of the table to earn points.

Toad in the hole is a traditional British dish comprised of sausages baked into a giant Yorkshire pudding, typically served with an onion gravy. Yorkshire pudding is similar to popovers in the US and Dutch baby pancakes.

informal. an extremely unpleasant man, especially one who is not very physically attractive: [ as form of address ] You lying toad! (Definition of toad from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

Why is it called Yorkshire pudding? ›

It has been suggested the pudding was given the name “Yorkshire” due to the region's association with coal and the high temperatures this produced that helped to make crispy batter.

Sausages were made with cheap ingredients and high levels of water, which meant that they had a tendency to explode during cooking as the water turned to steam. 'Bangers' today are far less likely to explode. 'Mash' of course, refers to mashed potatoes.

The most commonly accepted explanation for its name is that the sausages resemble toads peeking from a crevice made of crisp batter.

There are many names for the dish, including bullseye eggs, eggs in a frame, egg in a hole, eggs in a nest, gashouse eggs, gashouse special, gasthaus eggs, hole in one, one-eyed Jack, one-eyed Pete, one-eyed Sam, pirate's eye, and popeye.

Yorkshire pudding is a savory popover-like dish made from a simple blend of eggs, milk, and flour. Yorkshire pudding was originally made with drippings from roasted meat, but many modern recipes use oil and butter in its place.

Unlike frogs, British toads have bumpy, warty-looking skin that's virtually always dry. They also have much shorter legs than frogs and prefer to crawl around rather than hop. Toads are quite squat and dumpy, with a much broader nose than the frog. Toad spawn forms in long strings.

The American toad can be found in the eastern half of North America near fresh water sources. Toads do not drink water; they absorb it through their skin. American toads have glands that produce a poisonous fluid that tastes bad to many predators.

Their bellies are white or yellow. Males, which are smaller than females, have black or brown throats while females have white throats. Similar Species: Distinguished from the Fowler's toad by the space between the cranial crest and the parotoid glands; these features abut in the Fowler's toad.

American toads are the most widespread toad species in North America. There are two subspecies of American toads, eastern and dwarf. Dwarf American toads live mainly in the west, eastern American toads live in the eastern portions of the range.