Spotted dick? Classic dishes hard to swallow for some
TRADITIONAL British dishes including toad-in-the-hole and spotted dick could disappear from menus, as two fifths of millennials have said they have never heard of them.
Research from Aldi looked at 2,000 adults in the UK ahead of British Food Fortnight and found that many 24 to 35-year-olds had not only never tried the classic meals, but also thought they didn’t even exist.
Two in five surveyed said they did not know what bangers and mash is, while 46 per cent said spotted dick was a made-up dish. Worryingly, 16 per cent believed that toad-in-the-hole is actually cooked with toad and potatoes.
Around 10 per cent of the 2,000 people the supermarket chain surveyed thought that black pudding, Eton mess and bangers and mash were fictitious foods. Some of the UK’S favourite snacks also were relatively unknown by younger people, according to the research. Some 22 per cent of millennials have never tried a Scotch egg, while 18 per cent think that it is not a real foodstuff.
Seren Charrington-hollins, one of Britain’s top food historians, said: “As a nation, our culinary history is rich with stories and delicious dishes.
“My work as a food historian means I understand that over time, people’s preferences and tastes tend to change, but it was surprising to learn that such a large chunk of Brits are not au fait with classics such as bangers and mash and toad-in-the-hole.”
Some of the UK’S most famous dishes are also surprisingly unpopular, according to the research.
Only half of people have heard of the Scottish classic neeps and tatties, with that number dropping to a quarter in London. A third of people in Wales have also not tried Welsh rarebit.