The Yorkshire pudding tops the list of Britain's favourite delicacies

A heavenly food from God’s own country? The Yorkshire pudding tops the list of Britain’s favourite regional delicacies, beating out Cheddar cheese, shortbread and Cornish pasties

•  A staggering 44 per cent of 2,000 participants chose humble Yorkshire Pudding

For Sunday lunch afficionados, the traditional roast beef dinner wouldn’t be complete without a Yorkshire pudding.

And the delicacy – made from a simple trio of milk, flour and eggs combined with meat dripping to produce a light and crisp batter – is something we can’t get enough of, it seems.

The humble Yorkshire has beaten delights such as Bakewell tart, Scotch egg, haggis, jellied eels and Melton Mowbray pork pies to top a list of Britain’s best-loved regional dishes.

When asked by pollsters to name their regional favourite, a staggering 44 per cent chose Yorkshire Puddings.

The delicacy was a country mile ahead of the nearest rivals, Cheddar cheese, and shortbread, both named by 36 percent, and Cornish pasties, picked by 34 per cent.

Yorkshire puddings have topped a list of Britain’s best-loved regional dishes

Cheddar cheese, and shortbread, came joint second on the list, both named by 36 percent

The survey of 2,000 people was carried out on behalf of Playsee, a mobile phone app which helps promote local businesses and events.

Veronica Lin, head of user experiences at Playsee, said: ‘It’s great to see from the research that so many Brits see the value in supporting local businesses and are actively eating more locally since the pandemic, and admit that we could all do our part to help them more.’

Playsee compiled a list of 20 favourite regional delicacies named by people who participated in the survey.

Other foods scoring highly were Bakewell tart (26 per cent), Scotch eggs (25 per cent) – which are believed to have originated in Whitby, North Yorkshire, and pork pies (18 per cent), which were first invented in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.

Also named were Stottie bread from the North East, Balti curries – originating in Birmingham – as well as Kendal Mint Cake and Newcastle Brown Ale. Cockney favourite jellied eels came 20th, cited by only two per cent,

Those surveyed also spoke highly of cuisine in their hometowns.

Cornish pasties were picked by 34 per cent of participants

Overall 74 per cent of people quizzed said they felt confident their hometown has some of the best regional cuisine in the UK, while 89 per cent love to enjoy local food from different parts of the UK.

On average Brits eat out at their favourite local places four times a month, with 20 per cent eating out more locally now than they did pre-pandemic, while 38 per cent praising independent restaurants and cafes for contributing to their neighbourhood.

Some 27 per cent said they think Brits have great taste in food, while 10 per cent couldn’t live without their local cafe and the same number wished they had supported a local pub or restaurant more before it shut down.

And those who had found a venue serving mouthwatering delights were sometimes keen to keep it a secret, with 25 per cent admitting to keeping their knowledge of a foodie ‘gem’ to themselves.

When it comes to where we find the best places to eat and drink, 57 per cent rely on friends and family, while 20 per cent of Brits rely on their neighbours to uncover hidden gems, the study revealed.

Yorkshire puddings are believed to date back centuries, when frugal innkeepers and cooks made use of excess meat dripping to make a batter pudding which could be used to pad out the size of their roast dinners at little extra cost.

According to tourist body Welcome to Yorkshire: ‘This method of cooking Yorkshire Puddings led to their original title – ‘Dripping Puddings’, the recipe of which is first found in the 1737 guide The Whole Duty of Woman.

‘Ten years later, Hannah Glasse coined the phrase ‘Yorkshire pudding’ as the title for her recipe in her new cookbook The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple and thus the Yorkshire Pudding was born.’

THE 20 MOST LOVED LOCAL DELICACIES: 

1. Yorkshire pudding – Yorkshire

2. Cheddar Cheese – Cheddar, Somerset

3. Shortbread – Scotland

4. Cornish pasty – Cornwall

5. Bakewell tart – Derbyshire

6. Scotch eggs – Whitby, Yorkshire

7. Pork pie – Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire

8. Welsh rarebit – Wales

9. Lancashire hotpot – Lancashire

10. Balti curry – Birmingham

11. Eccles cakes, Eccles, Lancashire

12. Haggis – Scotland

13. Pie mash and liquor – London

14. Kendal mint cake – Kendal, Lake District

15. Newcastle brown ale – Newcastle

16. Stottie bread – Newcastle

17. Banbury cake – Banbury, Oxfordshire

18. Cullen skink – Cullen, Scotland

19. Stargazy Pie – Mousehole, Cornwall

20. Jellied eels – London’s East End