Yorkshire Pudding

The batter of flour, egg and milk was first recorded as a dripping pudding, cooked in a tin under a roasting joint so the fat and juices fell into it, and named a Yorkshire pudding in a 1747 cookbook by Hannah Glasse. The original purpose was economy: it was served as a first course with gravy, before the meat, so that a small joint went further among a large household, and in parts of Yorkshire it is still eaten that way. Modern practice bakes it separately in very hot beef dripping or oil in a tin or individual cups, where it puffs and hollows. The Royal Society of Chemistry issued a statement in 2008 saying a proper one should stand at least ten centimetres tall, which was a publicity exercise but is quoted seriously in Yorkshire.

What you actually see

• The starter order - served before the meat with gravy in traditional practice.
• The dripping bake - batter poured into fat heated until smoking.
• The ten-centimetre rule - a height standard quoted from a 2008 statement.
• The wrap version - giant puddings filled as a meal, a modern pub invention.

When to go

Year-round; Sunday lunch is when pubs across Britain serve it and is the natural time. Booking a Sunday table is normal in busy areas, and kitchens sell out by mid-afternoon.

Honest expectations

Frozen puddings are used widely, including in pubs advertising home cooking, and are visibly uniform. Vegetarian gravy is not always available. Portion sizes at carveries are large and the pudding is filling before the rest of the plate.

Nearby

Served across Yorkshire and the whole country; Sunday carveries are near-universal.