Hot buttered crumpet!
One of my absolute favourites, the (English) crumpet is a round, savoury/sweet snack bread made from flour and yeast.
Crumpets may have been invented by the Anglo-Saxons. In early times, they were hard pancakes cooked on a griddle, rather than the soft and spongy crumpets of Victorian times which were made with yeast. The crumpet-makers of the Midlands and London developed the characteristic holes, by adding extra baking powder to the yeast dough. The term itself may refer to a crumpled or curled-up cake, or have Celtic origins relating to the Breton krampoez meaning a "thin, flat cake" and the Welsh crempog or crempot, a type of pancake.
Crumpets are generally circular, but there are some rectangular varieties too. They have a distinctive flat top with many small holes and a resilient but slightly spongy texture, being very porous. Crumpets alone are bland and generally eaten hot and toasted with a topping (butter is best). Other popular accompaniments include cheese when melted on top of the crumpet, honey, poached egg, jam, Marmite, salt, marmalade, peanut butter, cheese spread, golden syrup, hummus, lemon curd, maple syrup and Vegemite. In Australia and New Zealand, square crumpets can be purchased from supermarkets, designed to easily fit in a standard toaster.
Those Aussies!
If you have never tried a crumpet, I urge you to do so with all speed. I know from my days in America that they are available in many large supermarket chains such as Publix and Kroger, so there is no excuse.
Crumpets are one of those foods that remind you of a certain time in your life. For me, eating a crumpet reminds me of watching Doctor Who on a Saturday evening at my Grandparents' house. Conversely, Dr. Who makes me hungry for hot crumpets with all that lovely butter melting down into those pore-like holes in the top. The springy texture, the satisfying crunch when you bite into it and the ooze of warm buttery goodness in the mouth.... mmmm. Nothing like it.
Well then, what's this week's Name This Food! food?
That crumpet looks so crazy-delicious. Now I am hungry. I'd like some honey and butter on it. The mystery food, on the other hand, looks like insect larvae :/
ReplyDeletei suspect this food is more likely to be found at the seaside .
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