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Original poster

Is stodge ever coming back?

79 replies

Glaspeated · 21/02/2026 23:01

Suet puddings, jam roly poly, dumplings, stodge, stodge, stodge. Britain was built on it.

But is stodge going the way of the jellied eel and the lampreys and swan, and being consigned to history?

Or will it ever make a come back?

OP posts:
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mydogisthebest · 22/02/2026 17:45

We have stew with dumpling about every 2 weeks when the weather is cold. I also like to make mushroom and onion suet pudding about once a month. I use vegetarian suet as me and DH are both vegetarian.

ChelseaBagger · 22/02/2026 17:44

We still have toad in the hole, pie and mash and syrup sponge with custard in our weekly rotation 👍

ETA: fair enough we're not London, but we are home counties!

CurlyhairedAssassin · 22/02/2026 17:27

KarriTreeSullivan · 21/02/2026 23:51

You must live in London or something? In the countryside stodge is still a staple! A pie and mash shop has just opened in my area. I bake sponges most weeks, pasta is in so many meals, mash potato, homemade pastry too. I even make dumplings from time to time though not with suet. To be fair suet is probably long gone. Roast dinners are still a big thing round here with people regularly asking where's the best in the area. Sticky toffee pudding is a regular on menus round here too and loads of stuff with custard.

I think countryside people tend to lead more of an active lifestyle and would be actually hungry for stodge rather than just eating it all because they like the taste of it, and end up feeling stuffed.

Barnbrack · 22/02/2026 17:23

M and s do, or used to do, a great jam reply poly. We've not had many puddings last few years actually and if we do it's often ice cream or I do homemade apple crumbles and things but I'm going in tomorrow I think I'll have a look for the roly poly.

blackheartsgirl · 22/02/2026 17:21

how is Suet long gone? 🤷‍♀️ you can still buy it in supermarkets and I still make dumplings and suet puddings with it.

We’re on a low income and stodge makes up a lot of our diet, it’s warm and filling

Arlanymor · 22/02/2026 17:21

Stodge never went away - I have a ring of it around my midriff to prove it!

oviraptor21 · 22/02/2026 17:20

Anonanonay · 22/02/2026 00:21

We don't burn enough calories to eat stodge now.

Speak for yourself!

I love pretty much all stodge and it's still highly relevant especially in the long cold dreary winters we've had of late. Including with suet.

So much of traditional British cooking has been replaced by pasta which is just another form of stodge, especially when served up in ratios which seem to be the norm.

I will try to remember to dig out my semolina recipe which seems the same as school semolina.

onelumporthree · 22/02/2026 17:15

Sticky toffee pudding for us today.

Hicupping · 22/02/2026 17:12

Made my first cheese and onion pie yesterday. Not a big stodge person but lots of cheese in the fridge that needed using. Used this recipe - www.theguardian.com/food/2021/apr/07/how-to-make-cheese-and-onion-pie-recipe-felicity-cloake

Lemondrizzle4A · 22/02/2026 17:05

We are always hearing how people are struggling with food bills so actually I disagree, these types of foods are cheap, not the healthiest, but eaten in moderation no harm. Better that than the junk food and UPF that many children eat.

Brightlittlecanary · 22/02/2026 16:44

I also need to enquire about the swan op, was that a typo, Britain wasn’t built on eating swans, in fact I think it’s illegal to catch swans and then kill tnem and eat them,

Octavia64 · 22/02/2026 16:42

I tried jellied eel once.

the rotten shark I had in Iceland was actually nicer.

Brightlittlecanary · 22/02/2026 16:38

It’s more we became more health concious as we became obese, and these things tend to be calorific and fattening, of course not In moderation as part of a healthy diet, but its calories most wouldn’t chose to add in.

Bjorkdidit · 22/02/2026 16:34

MindYourUsage · 22/02/2026 08:44

Don't soeak too soon! If the CoL keeps spiralling we might be living on this again.

Though with suet being £1/100g we might end up with more lentil based stodge.

Show quote history

They're bulking it out with flour as well. Suet has tripled in price in no time.

But OP if you want to eat stodge, do so, it doesn't need to 'come back'.

Thepeopleversuswork · 22/02/2026 16:32

Still plenty of stodge about. People have just de-emphasised it a bit and its a treat not the mainstay of a diet. Which is as it should be. If you’re spending ten hours a day working on the land or down a mine its one thing. If you’re sitting on your arse all day and eating it twice a day you’re going to become dangerously overweight.

In a way I think stodgy food is better now because its a bit of a delicacy and people put more effort into it.

Allmarbleslost · 22/02/2026 16:30

Oh I hope so! I used to love me a bit of spotted dick and custard

Boomer55 · 22/02/2026 16:28

Glaspeated · 21/02/2026 23:01

Suet puddings, jam roly poly, dumplings, stodge, stodge, stodge. Britain was built on it.

But is stodge going the way of the jellied eel and the lampreys and swan, and being consigned to history?

Or will it ever make a come back?

I used to love all that, but no more. I can barely eat bit of a salad a day since the collapse of my appetite. 🤷‍♀️

ClawsandEffect · 22/02/2026 16:26

I'm the mistress of the microwave steamed pudding. So fast and easy to make.

voidcat · 22/02/2026 16:24

I’m up north and had stodge in hospital
cheese and onion pie with mash, gravy and peas
jam roly poly and custard
delicious, and I didn’t have to cook it
there’s also ice cream, bread roll, a jam slice, yoghurt, orange juice and 2 mugs of tea on that tray. Thought they would need to roll me out of there!

Is stodge ever coming back?
Crushed23 · 22/02/2026 16:10

I like the taste of some stodge but can’t stand how it makes me feel afterwards - sluggish, lethargic, depressed. It’s rarely worth it.

Original poster
Glaspeated · 22/02/2026 09:42

I’m delighted that stodge love still remains, especially dumplings, crispy on top, soft underneath. Amazing!

OP posts:
Dozer · 22/02/2026 08:50

Old, slower cooked stodge is just a different type to the current, beige stodge that’s still everywhere.

keepincool · 22/02/2026 08:48

My favourite stodge fest goes back to when I was a student at Liverpool Poly in the 80's. We passed some great Chinese chippies on the way home from the student union and my go to was always half chips, half fried rice and curry sauce - food of the gods!

Notknowingwhatsgoingon · 22/02/2026 08:46

Did you say swan? Who eats swans?!

MindYourUsage · 22/02/2026 08:46

StillCreatingAName · 22/02/2026 00:39

Oh yes- I know exactly what you mean about the semolina- the ready made canned stuff doesn’t come close!

Show quote history

I will NEVER forgive birds for discontininf the packet instant semolina. Childhood comfort food that I still eat (or ate) as an adult