Northumberland is home to some great food and drinks. Why not try crab and oysters, smoked kippers, premium grass-fed lamb and beef, and full-fat dairy ice cream. Come on in and explore what to eat and drink in Northumberland, explore Northumberland delicacies and also how to make some of Northumberland’s most famous dishes yourself at home.
Lindisfarne Oysters
Lindisfarne Oysters - Holy Island of Lindisfarne has the only oyster beds on the English coast until you reach Norfolk. You can buy and eat Lindisfarne Oysters all year round.
Craster Kippers
Craster Kippers - this smoked fish delicacy is produced in the seaside villages of Craster and Seahouses since 1843. With only one smokehouse left, that of L Robson & Sons in Craster, the best way to eat smoked kippers is simple – served up with hunks of buttered brown bread.
Ham & Pease Pudding Stotties
Ham & Pease Pudding Stotties - is a stotty is a large round flatbread with a heavy texture, otherwise known as oven bottom bread. Traditionally, stotties are halved and filled to make a huge sandwich. The most famous of these is a ham and pease pudding stotties. Pease pudding is a savoury paste made of boiled split yellow peas. Water, salt and some spices are added to it and they are cooked into a smooth and easily spreadable paste.
Singin Hinnies
Singin Hinnies - is a scone or griddlecake and it truly is Northumberland traditional food, cooked on a hot griddle pan. The singing refers to the sizzling of the fat in the dough as it’s cooked on a griddle or hot plate as if the scone is singing. Made from baking powder which is added as a raising agent to a mixture of flour, butter, lard, currants, salt and milk. . Hinny is simply a term of affection in Northumberland, proof of just how beloved this humble little scone is.
Lindisfarne Mead
Lindisfarne Mead - is a fortified honey wine blended with locally drawn water, fermented grape juice, herbs and spirits. Originally made by the monks who once lived on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne off the coast of Northumberland.
Pan Haggerty
Pan Haggerty - made in a pan where its gets its name from, an English spin on the French classic dauphinoise potatoes. Made with thinly sliced tatties, fried onions and mature cheddar cheese. The potatoes garnish the top of the dish they’re usually sliced and covered with grated cheese. Inside the dish is any meat leftover from previous meals – perhaps a roast, or corned beef.
Cheese
Cheese - many of the locally made cheeses are named after somewhere or something in Northumberland, such as Kielder, Cheviot, Northumberlandia and Hadrian.
Berwick Cockles
Berwick Cockles - is a white-coloured sweet with red stripes, originally associated with Berwick-upon-Tweed where they have been made since 1801. They were originally made and sold in Berwick by the Cowe family until their shop closed in 2010. Now the current version is described as a “crumbly” mint. This is one of the Northumberland delicacies for all the family.
Earl Grey Tea
Earl Grey Tea - was specially blended there by a Chinese mandarin for Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey and British Prime Minister (1830-1834). For a unique tea experience and sip a cup of this revered brew in the elegant Earl Grey Tea House.