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Havercakes and the 33rd Regiment of Foot (on 23rd Feb) at Colne Valley Museum

About the event

Colne Valley Museum, Cliffe Ash, Golcar, Huddersfield

 Volunteers will be baking haver cakes on the 22nd and 23rd, and the 33rd Regiment of Foot, known as the Havercake Lads, will visit on Sunday 23 February between 1 and 3pm.

Havercake, also known as oatcake, was a traditional flatbread and once the staple food in the Pennines. It was made from oats or haver, from hafre old Norse for oats, which was the only cereal that grew well on the poor soils of the Pennine uplands.

Havercakes were made from fine oatmeal. It was mixed with water, or blue milk (skimmed milk), to make a batter and left to ‘sour’ overnight. The following morning the batter was ladled onto a wooden board dusted with oatmeal and either ‘thrown’ directly onto a hot bakestone (griddle) or transferred onto a second board covered by a piece of linen and then flipped over onto the bakestone.

When cooked on one side it was turned over with a long knife. The process produced a floppy, elongated, flat bread that was then hung over the slats or strings of a bread creel suspended from the ceiling and left to dry. Once dry it became crisp and could be stored for months. Volunteers will be baking haver cakes

The event image includes an image from artist George Walker’s famous book, Costume of Yorkshire (1815), showing a woman in a farmhouse kitchen with her children making oat cakes or to use their correct term Havercakes.

Contacts

Colne Valley Museum

Cliffe Ash, Golcar, Huddersfield, HD7 4PY

01484 659762

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Themes

Learning and interest Events related to education and careers, as well as learning for fun. Also, talks, guided walks, and events of historical or other interest.