Comments on: Yorkshire puddings must rise four inches or higher, rule the chemists

By: pete

pete — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 11:58:44 +0000

i have never read such a load of rubbish i have been making yorkshire puddings for 50 year now, my mother before that and her mother before her, i still use the recipe my grandmother used and never have a failure
truth of the matter is you either know how to make them or not

By: Scott Thompson

Scott Thompson — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:17:58 +0000

I tried Matt Booths Yorkie recipe, in one word FANTASTIC! The BEST yorkshire puddings I’ve ever made. We live in Calgary with a reasonably high altitude & these Yorkies were the best.

The recipe makes 24 puddings and my suggestion is to split the batter into 2 parts so 2 people can fill up the tins. This way the oil doesn’t cool down as much. I found that the 1st 4 puddings poured did nor rise as well as the others, hence pour quickly & get them into the oven asap.

THANKS MATT

By: nicola torrington

nicola torrington — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:58:08 +0000

regarding altitude cooking: Because water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, liquid evaporates more quickly from your recipe. Thus a slight adjustment (extra TBS or more, depending on altitude) should be made to the quantity of liquid in any baking recipe. In my experience, an extra egg does not affect the recipe. I use 2 for 1 c. flour, 1 c. + 1½ TBS milk,

By: Chris Bishop's mate

Chris Bishop's mate — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:36:06 +0000

“someone should warn Chris Bishop…”. Chris is from Yorkshire, so put them both together and – You can tell Chris Bishop but you can’t tell him much ;~D. By the way Mrs Bishops yorkshires were a topic of conversation only this weekend and they are good.

By: Matt Booth

Matt Booth — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 05:21:21 +0000

Right, enough of this nonsense. The following is how to make PROPER traditional Yorkshire puddings of any size; batch muffin tin style or huge individual. That’s right, proper.

Delia Smith is not from Yorkshire, so we’ll not be taking lessons from either her, or that bloody Southerner Jamie Oliver. Pukka is no way to describe a Yorkshire pudding!

First things first, put away that cold tap. No room in this recipe for that water nonsense – it’s the eggs that make it filling and make them rise, not Adam’s Ale! If you’re a proper Yorkshireman, you want them BIG!

8oz of flour (227 grams)
8 eggs
1 pint of full fat milk (Yorkshire pint, 568ml, none of that nonsense American 454ml malarkey)
salt and pepper (though not essential)

Mix eggs and flour. Doesn’t matter about making a “well”. Pfft. So, mix together. Then add milk a bit at a time. Then put it in the fridge.

Did you ‘ear? I said put it int’ fridge! When you do that it does “stuff” that my uneducated Yorkshire brain don’t understand. But it works, see. Makes them more fluffy or summat.

Get your fat. If you’ve got a dicky heart or summat use oil from a bottle, otherwise use beef dripping. Put enough in each tin to coat the bottom, then stick the tin int’ oven on full whack til it’s smoking, and not before. But not like other day when i set the fat on fire. Women tend to panic when that ‘appens.

So, your beef dripping is smeachin’. With your overnight fridged-up batter, pour into each tin. With the fat being hot and the batter being cold it makes it react “more” (I hate to get technical). Pour in each tin, then whack in the oven (by which time yev turned down to 200C).

Leave it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. If thee opens t’door before then you’re a) stupid and b) going to get stern words from yours truly, so DON’T DO IT! It’ll make ‘em go flat and rubbish. And we don’t want that now, do we?

Bring out the Yorkshires, and if they’re nothing less than amazin’ you’re doing it wrong. This recipe is handed down through four generations, and comes from James Martin. He knows his stuff – he’s a chef yer know.

Here’s a photo of what they look like when they’re half way through the gestation process. Any arguments, then fly over ‘ere and we’ll ‘ave a cook off!

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs137.snc3/18478_381675765197_554345197_10407240_1835403_n.jpg

‘Ere endeth lesson.

By: tim reeves

tim reeves — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:21:54 +0000

As it’s a year later, I doubt he’ll see this but someone should warn Chris Bishop about the hazards of consuming a glass of pure ethanol while cooking.
Glad someone brought up the Maillard reaction. I learnt of it in ‘On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen’ by Harold McGee, a good book for scientific types who enjoy cooking.

By: mark

mark — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:27:17 +0000

I now swear by the TV cooks recipe (comes from mother of the Northern chappie whose name escapes me) … even more reliable than my mom’s.

Equal VOLUME of eggs, flour, milk – pinch of salt.

Hot fat from a hot oven (I use gas mark 8).

Simples (smuech)

By: Annika Clifton

Annika Clifton — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 20:24:23 +0000

The reason for the yorkshire puddings not rising as well or as easily in calgary is actually to do with the flour. Canadian flour has more gluten and therefore produces a more ‘sticky’ dough.
I used to live further north in Thompon, Manitoba which is not at high altitude and had a similar problem.
By the way this also affects pancake recipes and victoria sponge.

By: Anthony Hardwicke

Anthony Hardwicke — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:40:49 +0000

I presume you mean tristearin C57H110O6, when you mention ‘beef fat’?

By: Carrie Allen

Carrie Allen — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:41:51 +0000

My husband and I recently visited family in England where we went out for a meal to a Pub and had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. The roast beef came inside a great big Yorkshire pudding, so he had to take a photo and now that we are home he wants me to start making them like the picture. Can you tell me if there is a special tin for them? I’ve tried making them in a cake tin but they just rise in the middle and it doesn’t work. I am from Yorkshire and I have been making Yorkshire puddings for years in bun tins but, I just can’t seem to get them right in a cake tin. If anyone can tell me how to make these big round Yorkshire pudding, I would me most grateful.