18th century origins Batter puddings became popular in the early 18th century. Cookery writer Jennifer Stead has drawn attention to a description of a recipe identical to toad in the hole from the middle of the century. Dishes like toad in the hole appeared in print as early as 1762, when it was described as a "vulgar" name for a "small piece of beef baked in a large pudding". Toad in the hole was originally created as a way to stretch out meat in poor households. Chefs therefore suggested using the cheapest meats in this dish. In 1747, for example,
Hannah Glasse's
The Art of Cookery listed a recipe for "pigeon in a hole", calling for
pigeon rather than sausages.
19th century In 1852,
Charles Elmé Francatelli wrote in his
A Plain Cookery Book for the Working Classes, of "a cheap dinner" made from "6
d. or 1
s." worth of bits or pieces of any kind of meat" baked in a nutmeg-seasoned Yorkshire or suet pudding batter.
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management of 1861, listed two recipes: "
a homely but savoury dish" from
rump steak and
sheeps's kidney, and another made with cold mutton with kidneys, oysters or mushrooms. In
Pellegrino Artusi's ''La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene
(Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well
) of 1891, this dish was described as "lesso rifatto all'inglese
" (re-cooked meat in the English style
) or rospo nella tana'', which was mistranslated as "toad in the bole". In this recipe from the first modern Italian
cookbook, after being browned, the seasoned, thinly sliced meat was sprinkled with Parmesan cheese before being cooked in batter.
21st century In 2017, a marketing survey found that 23% of British people had never tried toad in the hole. In the 21st century, vegetarian and vegan versions of toad in the hole appeared. These included vegan versions made with
Linda McCartney Food's vegan sausages and a vegetarian version published by
Ravinder Bhogal that combined toad in the hole with
cauliflower cheese. == Name ==