S is for Scouse ...

Scouse is a type of lamb or beef stew ... derived from lobscouse a stew commonly eaten by sailors throughout Northern Europe, which became popular in seaports such as Liverpool – giving us the term ‘scouser’ for someone from the Liverpool/Merseyside region.

 

Ship's Scouse

Lobscouse derived from the Norwegian lapskaus and Danish labskovs is a word for a meat stew, while the people who commonly ate “scouse” were the local dockers, families and sailors – who became known as  “scousers”.

Ship's Biscuit

Nineteenth century sailors made lobscouse by boiling salted meat, onions and pepper with ship’s biscuit used to thicken the dish..  There are many varieties now ...  in St Helens the dish is often called “lobbies” and uses corned beef as the meat; in Wigan “lobbies” is often made using tinned stewing steak; or there’s “blind Scouse “– made without meat!

Liverpool montage

Liverpool became a melting pot of nationalities through its early origins as a major port for immigrants to the Americas, to Asia, emigrants from Scandinavia and northern Europe ... while in those early days the sailors were grateful for any hot meal ...

... the scouse accent was primarily confined to the north west until the 1950s when slum clearances resulted in population migration ... spreading the dialect far and wide;  inhabitants of Liverpool are called Liverpudlians, but are more often described by the colloquialism “Scousers”.

 

A slightly more upmarket version of
ship's scouse

Scouse Stew is a ‘delicacy’ to try when you visit the urban areas of Merseyside – but particularly is offered in the port-side cafes.

That is S for Scouse ... a meat stew – a mixed pot ...

Life at Sea in the age of sail - Royal Museums, Greenwich ...

            ... what food was on board ship.

(PS I know the top picture looks revolting ... but remember this was served at sea centuries ago .. and in fact this kind of stew with very scraggy neck-lamb, or probably sheep, is delicious - slow cooked for a few hours ... and if on land, served with green leeks!  So it doesn't look appetising, but is just what the 'tars' (sailors) needed to set them up for the working days).

Hilary Melton-Butcher

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