Flavours of Lancashire by Malcolm Greenhalgh, Palatine Books, ISBN 1-874181-39-X

Lancashire may not immediately spring to mind as a gastronomic centre, despite the efforts of Michelin starred chefs Paul Heathcote and Nigel Haworth, but the county has a long tradition of simple, hearty food born of thrifty use of quality ingredients.

Many traditional dishes from the region, from hotpot to black pudding, have once again found favour with top chefs and discerning diners, as the overly stylised cooking of much of the 1980s and 90s has been increasingly replaced by a back to basics attitude to food.

The county is also justifiably proud of its seafood, with Morecambe Bay producing quality shellfish, and Fleetwood remaining a busy fishing port.

Flavours of Lancashire explores the rich culinary history of the county, and the book’s tagline of The Food and Folk of the Old County gives a good indication of its approach - it’s more of a social history of food than a recipe book.

The early chapters look at the typical lifestyles and diets of times past, with particular emphasis on the industrial revolution which played such a large part in Lancashire’s history, before moving on to descriptions of the ways in which staple ingredients have been and continue to be used.

One particular ‘recipe’ that stands out is Bacon Shapes which speaks volumes of the poverty many households endured in the 18th and 19th centuries. A single rasher of bacon would be fried in lard, and pressed between two slices of white bread. The bacon would then be removed, fried again, and then pressed between two more slices. The process would be repeated three or four times, before the now crispy bacon was presented to the man of the house in a sandwich. The bread, flavoured with lard and traces of bacon juices, would be given to the children.

It’s this kind of detail which makes the book of interest, especially to exiled Lancastrians such as myself, and you shouldn’t expect to read much about any modern aspects of Lancashire’s food.

All in all, Flavours of Lancashire is a sometimes fascinating look at how the north west’s food has both shaped and been influenced by the lives of its people, and while it is sometimes slightly marred by an overly ‘folksy’ style of writing, it’s a very worthwhile read.

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