...in which we are joined by Farmer's Wife author Helen Rebanks and food historian Ivan Day for a feast of Cumbrian Christmas fare. In Ivan's historic Westmorland farm kitchen we learn about the dishes that marked a traditional Christmas – 'hackin', powdered goose and sweet pie – before Helen and Ivan serve up three very different gingerbreads. Discussing her debut book, Helen speaks about food on the family farm, about memories of marmalade and about why food matters. Ivan, meanwhile, tackles a few local food queries: was ginger really a Whitehaven import?; was the Cumberland sausage introduced by German miners?; and which of Cartmel or Sharrow Bay can claim to be the true home of sticky toffee pudding? Finally, as we tuck into an early seasonal dinner, we learn about a Lowther christmas pie with ingredients that included 15 sparrows, 46 yellow hammers, 12 patridges... and a curlew.
Helen's book The Farmer's Wife is available from all good bookshops.
Helen is on Twitter at twitter.com/theshepherdswi1
Ivan is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ivanpatrickday/
123: Barrow-in-Furness – A tale of iron and ships, hair and shops
#122: Limestone of the Westmorland Dales
121: A history of paper-making on the River Kent
120: A history of boating on Windermere
119: The birth of Quakerism in Cumbria
118: James Forrest - Record-breaking round of the 214
#117: Above Great Moss: Stone axes of the earliest settlers
Countrystride #116: Review of 2023
Countrystride #114: Fell Foodie - A feast on Silver How
Countrystride #113: Why we Run - Fell and trail running in the Lake District
Countrystride #112: Melvyn Bragg - Back in the Day
Countrystride #111: The Herdwick, with Will Rawling
Countrystride #110: Eliza Lynn Linton and The Lake Country
Countrystride #109: Aira Force - Lakeland pleasure ground
Countrystride #108: To the Lakes! The early days of tourism
Countrystride #107: Tales from Little Langdale
Countrystride #106: The lichens of Borrowdale
Countrystride #105: The Old Man and the slate
Countrystride #104: Eskdale - Living the Fisherground dream
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