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Learn About The History Of Scouse And Why It Is Such A Popular Dish Across The Liverpool City Region
Scouse was born out of hardship. It originated as a cheap and hearty meal for the people of the Port of Liverpool. Poverty stricken people living and working at the docks that lined the waterfront at the Pier Head, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bootle, Dingle and Seaforth all ate it as a way to survive and get by without breaking the bank. As this is what was eaten by the inhabitants of the city's port areas, the Liverpudlians across the Port gained the nickname 'Scousers' as a result due to the stews prominence across in the region.
Scouse is iconic and exceptionally important to countless people across the Liverpool City Region; after all it is the name of our famous stew firstly, it is also the name of our accent and the nickname given to the inhabitants across the region. So its status of importance cannot be understated. Scouse is not just the name of the stew but our culture - it represents the Liverpudlian culture, politics and the mindset of the Region.
Now that I have introduced Scouse and made it abundantly clear as to how important it is to our culture in Liverpool. You may be more than surprised to find that it is not particularly easy to find a cafe or restaurant that offers the regionally iconic dish on the menu.
Scouse can be found in abundance across the city region on Global Scouse Day, which however, is only once a year. If you would like to eat Scouse on any other day of the year, you can be rather hard pressed to find anywhere that offers the bowl of Scouse. Despite it being such as hearty and tasty dish, very few places seem to have the meal on the menu, particularly in the city centre. Anywhere that does have Scouse on the menu can see you paying around £9.50 which seems somewhat preposterous considering it was a dish that enabled Liverpudlians to get through difficult times for a cheap price.
No bowl of Scouse is complete without some crusty bread to go with the stew. The dish can be made with either lamb or beef and a mixture of vegetables, such as carrots, onions and potatoes that will complete the dish, provide a nourishing meal that will contently fill you up.
There are a number of cafes that sell Scouse in the densely populated inner-suburban areas, such as in the Borough of Wirral, in areas like Birkenhead, with a number of cafes in Hamilton Square, Borough Road and staple Woodchurch Road cafes such as Benricks selling the dish for more a reasonable price than in the city centre.
So the question remains: Where is all the Scouse? And why has it become almost as mythical as the Liver Birds? If you too are like me, and find yourself without your favourite dish when out and about in the City Region, let me know in the comments.