Authored by Vince Russell on 03 November 2005 at 06:54PM
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Toad in the Hole
Toad-in-the-hole origin unveiled??
At last! After loads of years of trying, we have two possible answers to the toad-in-the-hole conundrum. Both Sigve and Jason have come up with possible answers for me and to them I am eternally grateful!
Toad-in-the-Hole: Origin answer 1
It is called "toad in the hole" because it looks like a toad sticking its little head out of its hole...when the sausage cooks, it pokes its "head" out of the batter
I have to say that I don't accept this answer. I've cooked toad-in-the-hole many times and it doesn't look like a toad sticking it's head out of a hole. In fact, if I wanted to name the dish based on what it looked like, I'd call it snake-in-the-sand or worm-in-the-dirt. Granted, they're not as catchy as toad-in-the-hole, but it looks more like the dish itself.
Besides which, Britain isn't know for it's toad population is it? In fact, I think I may have seen one in all my time on the Island. And do toads live in holes? I don't think they do, but my toad knowledge is not what it once was.
Toad-in-the-Hole: Origin answer 2
Toad in the Hole was 1st recorded in print in 1787, named after a pub game of disks being thrown into holes on a table. Started as frog but became toad.
Interestingly, www.tradgames.org.uk says something similar.
To me this sounds like a great answer, it apparently comes from a mobile-based service called Any Question Answered. When I look into it further though, the answer seems more like speculation than fact, I may be wrong though - I hope so!
One thing that is consistent is the date, back when this journey started, I emailed the BBC to ask them if they knew the answer, they said they didn't know but believe it originated back in the 1700's. That seems to support this answer.
So maybe the journey is over, or maybe it's somewhere in the middle. I shall not let it lie though, I will check some more sources and see if we have found the correct origin!
It's all great stuff though, thanks fellas!!
Authored by Vince Russell on 03 November 2005 at 06:54PM
Current rating:
Filed under:
Toad in the Hole
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Comments about "Toad-in-the-hole origin unveiled??"
steph said
come peeps maybe its the pub game one guess we will never no gutted.
31 January 2006 at 09:43PM
cale said
was about to make a toad-in-the-hole and wondered where the name came from so googled it and foud this on wikepedia:
"In medæval times meat was in short supply. Residents in some impoverished villages, particularly those in areas such as the Carrs regions around selby, took to eating frogs and toads. They would often supplement the protein with a baked mixture of powdered grains to protect the delicate meat from the heat of the fire. Children and the poorer members of the comunity would be given the remnants of the baked grain coating and be required to extract the "toad from the hole".
27 June 2006 at 12:20PM
george hockey said
my theory is, when toads hibernate they sometimes place themselves into soft mud for the winter in spring when the wakeup call happens they immerge from their little hidy holes and leave the shape of themselves in the mud, as from when you remove a sausage from the batter, from the toad in the hole it leaves the shape of the sausage.
19 August 2008 at 10:48AM