Regional Foods of Western England
The shire counties are sometimes known as the Heart of England and certainly the rolling Malvern Hills, the honey-stone Cotswold cottages and the orchards seen in these western regions are quintessentially English sights.
And at the England's Heart, you can find some fantastic regional foods of Western England that you can read all about in our guide.
Ludlow Food Fair
The region is a foodie’s delight for every year the Ludlow Food Fair highlights the huge variety of excellent fare on offer. The warm, moist climate and rich, heavy soil create fertile conditions for fruit and vegetables. Meanwhile the grassy hills have long been populated by sheep, which provide meat and wool for the weaving industries. But it is dairy farming in this region that provides ingredients for its well-known chocolate bars and yogurt desserts. Also renowned are its cheeses, such as the golden Double Gloucester. It's excellent in a variation of Welsh rarebit called Gloucester cheese and ale (page 34), where cheese and mustard are baked in brown ale.
Meat
Land where cows graze happily will also fatten beef cattle. This region hosts the famous white-faced Hereford breed, which produces meat of great flavour and tenderness. The sheep that graze the Cotswold Hills have inspired many lamb dishes. These include the curiously named Gloucestershire squab pie, which blends the meat with spices and apple. There's also the equally misleading Oxford John steak (page 124), which is actually leg of lamb with capers. Other popular meat dishes in this region are faggots (originally made from offal with herbs and spices) and the beef-based Warwickshire stew. However, pork is the meat mainstay, perhaps because pigs once did the job of removing the windfalls in the apple, pear and plum orchards of this region. There is even a ‘Midlands cut’ of bacon, and a dish popular on the borders of the Welsh Marches is loin of pork with cabbage cake.
Pork & Apple Burgers
We all know that pork and apple is a classic combination, so give these tasty Pork & Apple Burgers a go!
If you fancy trying out any of the recipes mentioned, use the page numbers provided for where to find the recipes in the Around Britain cookbook, which includes more regional recipes from across Britain.
Gooey Gingerbread
Though more 'bread' than the traditional gingerbread biscuits, this Gooey Gingerbread bake is just as tasty!
Cakes and pastries
While we’re on the subject of cake, there are several notable recipes from Western England. Brandy snaps (see page 71) and gingerbread are both local favourites. Staffordshire fruit cake is a well-known recipe made extra rich with the addition of black treacle and brandy. There is also a spiced Oxford cake and, best known of all, the Banbury cakes originating from that north Oxfordshire town. These are made from puff pastry filled with raisins and dried fruits. Other eponymous recipes include Shrewsbury biscuits (page 77), which are rather like shortbread and Coventry God cakes (a traditional christening gift from godparents). There's also the great favourite of Staffordshire, oatcakes. Actually closer to pancakes than oat biscuits, oatcakes can be eaten with sweet or savoury accompaniments.
Sauces and spreads
No review of the food from this area can omit mentioning the famous Worcestershire Sauce! A liquid that adds flavour to almost any savoury recipe, it originated when the Governor of Bengal returned to his native Worcester and tried to re-create an Indian recipe. The sauce was a complete disaster until tasted after several months when it had matured into the fine ingredient still used today. Similarly bizarre is the heritage of Cooper’s Oxford marmalade, which is famous for its chunks of bitter peel from a variety of Seville oranges grown in Andalusia. Apparently, hardly anybody else can use the fruit because it’s so bitter! If you have any pictures or videos of the West of England and its delicious food, or if you have a go at making one of the regional foods of Western England, feel free to share it with us on Instagram and Facebook!
