Weird & Wonderful Yorkshire Pudding Facts

With Sunday (1 February) marking National Yorkshire Pudding Day, Toby Carvery – famed for its indulging Sunday roasts and giant Yorkshires – here are a few facts about the pud.

• Toby Carvery serves up more than  300,000 yorkshire puddings every week – that's a whopping  16,000,000  per year!

• Yorkshire puddings are often the subject of eating feats and the current record was set in May 2006 in Clifton, West Yorkshire where 400 were eaten in one sitting.

• The pudding can also be eaten as a sweet dish, with jam, golden syrup, or sugar. When filled with jam and cream, Yorkshire pudding is often referred to as 'Thunner an' leetning'.

• Just as it says on the label, Yorkshire Puddings were originated in Yorkshire but, as time has passed, attained wider popularity, with people from as far afield as the USA succumbing to the delicious dish. The first recipe for Yorkies can be traced back to 1747 in 'The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple' where author Hannah Glasse altered the name of the dish from the less appetising 'dripping pudding' to the name by which it is known today.

• It was originally intended as a cheap and filling first course for people who could not afford much meat , but now is seen as one of the best parts of a good roast dinner.  The pudding was created whilst the meat was cooked on a spit, with the pudding batter placed underneath to catch the meat juices.