The famous Staffordshire oatcake is nothing less than a local food hero. Throughout the Potteries, and even beyond, it has achieved iconic status, with more than forty traditional oatcakemakers still in business today.
The Staffordshire Oatcake: A History
True, it has come a long way from its origins as humble, cheap and filling sustenance for the poor. All manner of exotic fillings are added to the modern oatcake, though the purists will tell you that cheese and bacon are the original and best, and anything else is wrong!
Dr Pamela Sambrook, of Keele’s Centre for Local History, Potteries born and bred, has a passion for the oatcake, both as a consumer and as a historian, and her book tells the history and social history of this unique, much-loved product.
She explains how they are made using specifically designed implements, talks to those who remember the old traditions, and gives recipes for making oatcakes at home, along with suggested fillings.
The book is published by Palatine Books at £7.99.
(Book description from Amazon.co.uk)
Fantastic… can we talk?… about promoting the oatcake more locally… I have lots of ideas! Pamela pls get in touch, and congrats.
In Q95 (Barnes) we used them to make:
oatcake lasagna
oatcake pizzas
oatcake canneloni
oatcake toast (when they were a bit stale)
oatcake curried wraps (vegetarian of course)
Are they all in the recipe book?
Andy, I will pass your message on to Pam!
Bridget, I’m afraid I don’t know about that – you will have to buy the book to find out… It sounds like you had some imaginative uses for the humble oatcake!