The baked potato has been popular in the UK for many years. In the mid 1800s, baked potatoes were sold on the streets by hawkers during the autumn and winter months. In London, it was estimated that some 10 tons of baked potatoes were sold each day by this method.Guy Fawkes Night was a traditional time to eat baked potatoes, often baked in the glowing embers of a bonfire, however this is no longer common and they are eaten at any time of the year.
According to superstition, hot cross buns and loaves baked on Good Friday never went mouldy, and were sometimes kept as charms from one year to the next. Like Chelsea buns, hot cross buns were sold in great quantities by the Chelsea Bun House; in the 18th century large numbers of people flocked to Chelsea during the Easter period expressly to visit this establishment."
The Victoria Sponge cake is eaten throughout the UK, and owes its name to a past monarch.The Victoria sponge cake was named after Queen Victoria, who favoured a slice of the sponge cake with her afternoon tea. It is often referred to simply as sponge cake, though it contains additional fat. A traditional Victoria sponge consists of jam sandwiched between two sponge cakes; the top of the cake is not iced or decorated.
The origins of the pasty are largely unknown, although it is generally accepted that the modern form of the pasty originated from Cornwall. Tradition claims that the pasty was originally made as lunch for Cornish tin miners who were unable to return to the surface to eat.
There is an old Cornish saying that ' The Devil is afraid to come into Cornwall in case he is made into a Saint or put in a pie ' (not put in a pasty as is often misquoted).
Pasties are still very popular throughout Cornwall, Devon, Wales, North East England, other parts of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brittany. They are also popular in the northern United States. Pasties in these areas are usually hand-made and sold in bakeries or sometimes specialist pasty shops.
The word "oggy" in the popular Cornish rhyme "Oggy Oggy Oggy, Oi Oi Oi" is thought to stem from Cornish dialect "hoggan", deriving from "hogen" the Cornish (Kernewek) word for pasty. When the pasties were ready for eating, the bal maidens at the mines would shout down the shaft "Oggy Oggy Oggy" and the miners would shout "Oi Oi Oi" meaning yes, or all right.
"A Scotch egg consists of a shelled hard-boiled egg, wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried. Scotch eggs are commonly eaten cold, typically with salad and pickles."
