Toast
and Dripping – one of the best food memories from childhood: the warm kitchen
heated by the Aga, then tucking in to sumptuous gungy (totally unhealthy) toasts
coated in dripping ... a dish piled up – the bottom slice was THE BEST - it oozed
dripping!
 |
| Toast and Dripping - preferably hot and melted! |
Those
were the days when we spent our time outside and we worked or played our little
bodies to hunger needies ... so no worries about “mucky fat” – as I see beef
dripping is called in Yorkshire.
A joint
of beef was a precursor to dripping for supper another day ...
 |
| Beef Roast with delicious dripping under the joint - use for gravy or toast and dripping |
It can
be spread and served cold – but we always had ours hot ... the advantage
perhaps of the Aga and a constant cooking source ... the toasts toasted on the
top of the Aga in a toasting rack, the slices kept warm in piles in the bottom
oven ...
... perhaps
a sprinkling of salt and pepper - then hungry mouths would be ready to tuck in
– if we could wait!
It was
traditional ‘back then’ for the fish and chip shops to cook in beef dripping
... while today those times have returned with the best chips being those
cooked that way – as per the expert judges ...
 |
| Toast rack on Aga top plate |
Who is
for a slice of Toast and Dripping? -- me please – it’s cold outside!! Yummy!
Waste
not want not ... especially in the frugal period we’re in ...
That is
D for Dripping from Aspects of British Cookery
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive
Letters Inspirational Stories
44 comments:
Oh dear, Hilary. You will have the PC health brigade after you. Offer them bread and dripping, they don't know what they are missing. Lovely - outside Yorkshire too.
)h yum-yum - what (happy) memories this post has returned.
Used to love bread and dripping days - sprinkled salt a must!
Maybe, just maybe, I will ignore the Health Police...but this fat is bad for you is so ingrained...
Anna :o]
This brings back many memories of my childhood. Mum , brother and I lived with my grandparents and how I remember toast and dripping.
I wonder what today's generation would think if they were given that now?
Great post as always.
Yvonne.
The Jewish equivalent is chicken fat. My Great Aunt used to make it herself by rendering fat and onions in a frying pan until they turned crispy and brown. The liquid was poured off and left to set. It was then used as a spread for meat sandwiches because it's not kosher to have butter (milk) with meat and for frying chops etc. extremely bad for the heart but my Great Aunt and her sisters lived to a ripe old age!
The crunchy bits that were left are called gribenas in Yiddish and they were given to me as a big treat when I was a kid. Yum!!
As a vegetarian I can only admire from afar! LOL!! But I bet dripping tastes yummier with marmite!!! LOL! Take care
x
It makes me think of that French dip sandwich I used to order at a restaurant. They service beef drippings of some kind to dip a sliced beef sandwich into.
How yummy! It's only 6:30 in the morning here and dinner is sounding good about now.
Dani & Jax @ Cover Girls
We used to use beef dripping when I was a child, but I never liked it - too greasy for me! My parents were very much of the waste not want not persuasion.
We used to have dripping very often as a child and we all loved it. I remember when we first moved to Rhodesia in 1953, my mum gave some to our African gardener for breakfast and he said she must never give him that terrible food again!! Have a good day. Diane
Don't remember liking it much although hubby used to love it. I remember bone marrow on toast. Looked horrid but was delicious to eat. No more healthy though but as you said, we were running around outside all the time burning up lots of energy.
Over here a joint is a roast, took me ages to get used to that one.
JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE
When I started reading this I immediately could smell it cooking. Wow.
British cookery does have its high points. And regarding your C post ~ I think cheese may just be my most favorite food.
Just stopping by from the A-Z List to say "Hi" and good luck with the rest of the challenge!
Oh my, i haven't eaten that for years! lol
Great post!
xx
Haven't done toast and dripping, but you've got me wanting some Yorkshire pudding. :)
How fascinating to read about cooking in a different country. We don't do dripping, per se, but have often had open faced roast beef sandwiches with gravy over all, which is probably quite similar in flavor.
Happy D day--hope you get some drippings and toast today!
tm
There are so many stories from childhood days, its great to look back at what we used to do and what happens now!
@ Bob - well I was in London ... so the Tower was an option! I was worried about this post - I just hoped people remembered as I did .. they seem to thankfully!
Absolutely - they don't know what they're missing ... and yes we loved it down south and west.
@ Anna - good to see .. we made the most of all things in those days .. and so pleased you too enjoyed the bread and dripping days - I think ours was always toasted and piping hot ..
Well I'm still - and you and Bob .. so perhaps the Health Police got it wrong?!!
@ Yvonne - I suppose it came from earlier back ... after WW1, then the depression .. but we didn't waste things did we. Many of us would be happy to have another slice!!
@ Ros - so pleased you've told us about the Jewist way of doing it .. actually your Great Aunt's 'recipe' sounds delicious ... not even one recipe I see .... and those scrunchy bits from the bottom of the pan, or in your case gribenas in Yiddish ... big treat today too?!
@ Old Kitty - you're missing out! - but equally admire your food path of choice .. I don't eat much meat - but a roast occasionally is delicious.
Surprisingly the dripping tastes really 'meaty' from the drippings of the meat - so extra marmite would overpower it - but I love marmite too!!
@ Dani - it's terrible reading blogs sometimes isn't .. food at the wrong time of day... so pleased the post brings out the right thoughts though ...
@ Val - I guess some kids even then would find it too rich ... we didn't - so had to share!!
@ Diane - the memories are great aren't they ...
The story about your African gardener is too funny .. gave me the giggles on the tube in London!! I can hear him telling her too and then that added thought ".. she must never put that terrible food near him again .." - just wonderful.
@ Jo - I never found out about bone marrow til later on - now I love it and have it occasionally in a restaurant ... a New Zealand friend used to make it for supper sometimes ...
Different terminologies take a while to adjust to - don't they ..
@ Teresa .. that's great - I can smell it cooking too?!
@ Inger - I wonder how many of us would put dripping as a high point - but they're great memories .. and Cheese - writing up that post - was fascinating .. I'll come to your desert canyon for a cheese spread one day ...
@ Vikki - good to see and thanks for the Hi ... and you remember dripping too - excellent!
@ Luanne - a good roast isn't quite the same .. unless you scrape and eat the pan juices, before making the gravy. Yorkshire puddings with a good gravy are difficult to beat ..
@ TM - good to meet you .. and this is childhood food memories (well D is!) ... Roast beef sandwiches with homemade gravy would be delicious .. the dripping is just the beef join drippings (literally!) ..
Had a good day in London instead - thank you .. but a toast and dripping would be rather good!!
@ Amanda - did you have this too .. but as you say it's the memories from days gone by - lovely to see you ....
Thanks everyone .. I thought Toast and Dripping might put you all off ... here's the memories - Hilary
Give me a good pot of mucky fat and a loaf of bread any day! Yum.
My parents used bacon drippings for cooking and seasoning various dishes.
This sounds delicious! Beef fat is surprisingly very good for you if you look at some research. Thanks for this.
Wow never heard of that before! If it existed in the USA, my food nazi mom would make sure it stayed away from my house!
This will teach me to be late...two post and my stomach is screaming at me EAT. And I will.
But first, i want you to know it was interesting about how fish and chips were once cooked in beef dripping. I didn't know that.
I'm not sure I would toast and dripping, but then I haven't tried it and so maybe I would.
Anyway, I'm off to eat some lunch.
Great posts, Hilary. I'll try to on time more often:~)
I have so much to learn - I've never had this before!
My MIL was big into drippings and said during the war it was a wonderful gift. I look at drippings and feel my arteries plugging up almost instantly. LOL.
Oh, my! Sounds yummy and definitely fatty! Need to think of cholesterol tablets after reading this post!
Nas
I have not had the honor of clogging my arteries in this way. :) Sounds delicious.
That sounds so English. And it sounds good. I've never had it, but I'm tempted to try it!
Use every bit!
I'd eat that. We save our bacon grease to cook in...and we have a sandwich called a french dip (don't know if the french know this) where you get the beef and cheese yummy melty sandwich and then with each bit, dip it in the drippings...they have strained them, so the drippings are just like beef stock in their appearance. No chunks.
Man, I'm hungry. Been reading blogs for an hour and keep putting off running for a snack but no more...
Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge
I wish I could have experience your life for a little while - so different then mine. :) sandie
My husband and his brothers still talk fondly of the lamb fat that they watched their Mom catch in a pan. Me on the other hand grew up eating fruits and veges from the garden.
This post brought back memories...my godmother did the same...gosh, funny how you forget these things and then your blog opens a floodgate of delicious memories for me.
Thanks, Hilary, for sharing your "drippings" with us!
Jenny @ PEARSON REPORT
yes we always had drippings at my Grandmother's house and by her warm AGA.. My mum used every part of the steer or hen - jellied meats were Sunday suppers and lots of soups and gravies.
This is fun and rather makes me remember yummy and good things about my childhood.
Stew was not a favorite though and sweetbreads and tongue...well...
Reminds me of my mom's childhood when every bit of food was used for something. She passed her frugal ways on to me and I can't bear to throw out food. I've been known to put some interesting bits in soup or salad.
How fantastic! I have never heard of such a thing but wow, sounds positively beyond tastiness of the standard fare!
I also found it amusing, but as an American I could hear your British way of speaking... it wasn't my American accent reading at all. I had to giggle at myself for that!
Glad to have found you today!
Happy A to Z-ing!
Julie Jordan Scott
Our Literary Grannies from A to Z: D is for Denise Chavez
tweet me - @juliejordanscot
Yum! I only eat meat on rare occasions now but I think I'm going to have to have this...and soon. It's been ages.
Just thoroughly enjoying reading about other customs and favorites around the globe. Thanks for the photos, too. Great stuff!
Dana
Waiter, drink please!
@ Lee - it's interesting isn't it .. I'd only eat dripping if it was melted through toast! But delighted you remember the good times ..
@ DG - yes .. we did too and all the fat was always reused and we still do.
@ Clay - well that's very good news - that beef fat is good for us ... thanks for the update
@ JoJo - it did of course .. it was under any joint roast - but your Mother obviously decided to ignore it for your healthy of course!!
@ Sara - today's post won't help either! I expect the fat was rendered down and therefore cheaply available as a fat 100 - 150 years ago ... I had chips cooked in beef fat in Bexhill a couple of weeks ago when we were out for a talk.
As a kid you may well have tried it if it was on offer ... ? Hope you enjoyed your lunch .. good to see you ..
@ Keith - it's definitely not something we eat commonly today ... though we practise the same way with buttered crumpets!
@ Joylene - it's those austerity years .. and the times of frugality ... but Clay says the science believes it's good for you ...
@ Nas - good to see you ... and very fatty I'm afraid - yet I'm sure in moderation it's good for you - as Clay mentions ..
@ Bish - well there's always a first time .. and it is delicious.
@ Theresa - well the Canadians remember it too - so yes brought over out of English stock ...
@ Alex - waste not want not .. use every part of the food source ..
@ Tina - bacon fat is another tasty fat isn't it - so deliciously flavoursome ...
Someone else mentioned something like this - sounds good the French Dip sandwich ... pity about straining it off - that's the best bit I think?!
Hope you enjoyed your lunch .. the A - Z makes us 'work our butts off for a living'??
@ Sandie ... my mother was a very good cook - we ate well. But she and my father were good husbandry people too .. we grew most veg, and had chickens and pigs ..
@ Munir - kids and fat off the join - I can quite understand that ... but also those fresh veg and fruits straight from the garden ... you had the advantage I think ...
@ Jenny - that's wonderful .. I'm so pleased to read this and you then remembered times with your godmother - they sound much loved times ...
@ Patricia - a friend used to make brawn for my mother in Cornwall ... sadly she's died, as I'd loved to have done it with her.
I can imagine your family were frugal with their food ... eating and enjoying all parts of it.
Stews we loved, sweetbreads I had later in life .. teenage years and was rather keen on them, and tongue I still love to this day .. my mother had a tongue press .. it was well used.
@ Karen - I can imagine your family being so careful with everything .. it came over in your 'Farm Girl' book ... and with all your children .. you obviously were very careful. I too eat everything up ..
@ Julie - good to meet you and thank you for commenting ..
Well I'm so pleased my Britishness comes through and you were reading it that way .. and great to know about the giggles!
I'll be over to see you shortly ..
@ Tracy - the roast beef would be good for you ... I suspect the dripping might be rather rich -if you're almost a vegetarian.
@ Dana - delighted to see you back .. and thanks - the photos add to the ambience don't they ..
Cheers to you all ... and Happy "E" day ... Hilary
That beef roast and dripping does look delicious! On a nice night it would be delightful to go on a long walk afterward to help the heavy meal settle. That way you could make room for leftovers.
Julie
Oh, what a memory! Yummy, I haven't had that for years. Bread and dripping, and a leftover Yorkshire pud with a dollop of nan's jam, what a treat for tea.
Thanks for your encouraging words on my blog, Hilary. I put up D just for you, today. :)
Hilary, this made me smile and weep at the same time (missing my Mom). She used to spread the dripping on bread, sprinkle with salt and enjoy and I liked it, too. If my doctor saw that HE'D have a heart attack. :)
@ Julie .. the beef roast does look good doesn't it .. and that beef dripping will be just right tomorrow!
But the walk - probably essential for both meals ...
@ Glynis - well you're returning to the right place for it! Leftover Yorkshire pud and jam - now that I've never had ..
That's a pleasure and I'm just so delighted to read that the Cyprus debacle for everyone is not so disastrous for you both .. breathe a sigh of relief!
@ Talon - I'm so pleased this post brought back so many memories for everyone ... and I'm sure the doctors would be having a heart attacks themselves .. if they knew I'd stirred so many thoughts!!
Cheers to you - thanks for visiting .. happy A - Z week .. G - L ... Hilary
Oh gosh Hilary, my arteries are complaining just reading about the dripping. We never ate it, but were often given bread and butter with a smear of jam on top for supper.
Sue
Hi Sue .. we used to love Dripping on Toast ... bread and butter too with that smear of jam was a good pudding substitute or tea time treat - can't dispute that choice either!
Cheers Hilary
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