Sheffield is intrinsically linked with my interest in food and shopping. Both my parents came from Sheffield. My mother's father was a butcher (my mother says he was the only one not to make a fortune in World War 2 - as he gave credit to people who would never repay it)! My father's father started work as a miner and then, after suffering a collapsed lung, ran a corner shop. I have many happy memories of that shop, click here to gain an insight how retailing used to be.Anyway I've come to Sheffield, not to see the police boxes (which if painted blue would make a perfect tardis):
but in search of good food. The first thing I had to buy was some Henderson's Yorkshire Relish:
The packaging and taste is not dissimilar to a rival sauce made in Worcester. However there some important differences. It's a milder taste and I think nicer when sprinkled on cooked food. It's also suitable for vegetarians. Sadly it's hard to come by outside Yorkshire (although someone in Sheffield told me they'd heard it's sold in Fortnum and Mason in London for £10 a bottle! I bought my bottle for £1.09 in Somerfield in Sheffield. There were over 40 people in front of me in the queue for the tills in this shop so if I included my time in the queue it would cost more. Is this a record?
but in search of good food. The first thing I had to buy was some Henderson's Yorkshire Relish:
The packaging and taste is not dissimilar to a rival sauce made in Worcester. However there some important differences. It's a milder taste and I think nicer when sprinkled on cooked food. It's also suitable for vegetarians. Sadly it's hard to come by outside Yorkshire (although someone in Sheffield told me they'd heard it's sold in Fortnum and Mason in London for £10 a bottle! I bought my bottle for £1.09 in Somerfield in Sheffield. There were over 40 people in front of me in the queue for the tills in this shop so if I included my time in the queue it would cost more. Is this a record?It's also sold at Bakewell Farmer's Market Shop and Chatsworth Farm Shop. There's a full list of suppliers (and other interesting facts) on Henderson's web site: http://www.hendersonsrelish.com.
The next thing I associate with Sheffield is Black Beer or Yorkshire Spruce:
It's concentrated malt liquor, it's as black as the night (the bottle picture above is nearly empty). It tastes horrible on it's own (my mother gave me some neat as a small child and told me that that was what beer tastes like)! Fortunately I knew better, as I'd tasted the drips from the hand pulls in the Pearsons' corner shop.
It's concentrated malt liquor, it's as black as the night (the bottle picture above is nearly empty). It tastes horrible on it's own (my mother gave me some neat as a small child and told me that that was what beer tastes like)! Fortunately I knew better, as I'd tasted the drips from the hand pulls in the Pearsons' corner shop. If you mix it with lemonade (1 part black beer to 5 parts lemonade) you can make Sheffield Stout. According to the bottle some people drink it with milk or rum. As a child we had it with hot water, lemon juice, rum and honey to cure colds and flu. A 3oml serving contains 25% of the recommended daily requirement of Vitamin C, so maybe there's something in it? According to The Taste of Britain Black beer originated as a prophylactic against scurvy and was carried in ships' stores. The book also explains why it's called Yorkshire Spruce. Some people in Yorkshire believe that if a pregnant woman drinks Black Beer, she'll give birth to twins!
Comments