Toad in the hole facts for kids
Toad in the hole, ready to be served
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| Alternative names | Sausage toad |
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| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Region or state | England |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Sausages, Yorkshire pudding batter, onion gravy |
Toad in the hole is a classic English meal. It features tasty sausages baked inside a light, fluffy Yorkshire pudding batter. People usually enjoy it with onion gravy and fresh vegetables. Sometimes, it's also called sausage toad. In the past, this dish was made with other kinds of meat too, like rump steak or lamb's kidney.
How Toad in the Hole Started
Batter puddings, which are like the base for Toad in the hole, became very popular in the early 1700s. A recipe that sounds just like Toad in the hole was written down in the mid-1700s. Back then, people in northern England often used dripping (fat from cooked meat) to make their puddings extra crispy. Southerners, however, preferred their Yorkshire puddings softer.
Dishes similar to Toad in the hole first appeared in books around 1762. They were described as a "small piece of beef baked in a large pudding." Toad in the hole was originally a clever way for families with less money to make a small amount of meat feed more people. Cooks suggested using cheaper meats for this dish.
For example, in 1747, a famous cookbook called The Art of Cookery by Hannah Glasse included a recipe for "pigeon in a hole." This used pigeon instead of the sausages we use today. Later, in 1861, another well-known cook, Isabella Beeton, shared a recipe using rump steak and lamb's kidney. An 1852 recipe by Charles Elme Francatelli even suggested using any kind of cheap meat. This shows how versatile and budget-friendly the dish was meant to be.
Why Is It Called "Toad in the Hole"?
The name "Toad in the hole" wasn't always used for this dish. For example, in a book from 1787, it was simply called "meat boiled in a crust." The first time the word "hole" was used, apart from "Pigeons in a Hole," was in a publication from 1900. It described the dish as a "batter-pudding with a hole in the middle containing meat."
Even though it's called "Toad in the hole," the dish has never actually been made with real toads! The exact reason for the name is a bit of a mystery. One idea is that it describes how the sausages peek out of the batter, much like a toad might stick its head out of its burrow in the ground.
Another interesting idea comes from a scientific trend in the late 1700s. People were fascinated by stories of live frogs or toads being found trapped inside rocks or stones. This strange idea, called the "entombed animal" phenomenon, might have inspired the name for the meat "trapped" in the batter.
See also
In Spanish: Toad in the hole para niños
