A Visit To Sheffield's Kelham Island Industrial Museum

[knarfeng]

What are "Batchelor's Mushy Peas".

It sounds very British, but not very tasty.

 

[pertinux]

What are "Batchelor's Mushy Peas".

It sounds very British, but not very tasty.

Redundant!



Wow, Jack-- there's a lot to take in here! I'll be looking again, and then some more. Among many items of interest, I've caught sight of some wharnsfoot and lambscliffe blades.

Thanks for this Chronicle. :thumbup:

~ P.

 

[Toddwalla]

What are "Batchelor's Mushy Peas".

It sounds very British, but not very tasty.

Oh man, you haven't lived until you've had minty mushy peas alongside your fish and chips! heaven...

 

[sitflyer]

Wow Jack! You have outdone yourself this time:thumbup: I will need several days time to properly peruse these wonderfull glimpses into this rich historical interlude. Thank you so very much much for the time and effort that you so lovingly put into sharing this wealth of Sheffield's past with us. It is always a pleasure to virtual visit via your sharing here:thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Jack Black]

Thanks for all the very kind comments folks. I must say that the sustained tedium of uploading so many pics has fried what little was left of my brain somewhat!

Also, good job sneaking that Charlow into the picture of the time clock! brought a smile to my face!

Well spotted sir I only noticed it myself after I'd posted! Here's a few more from the Barlow thread.



Charlow on a Sheffield grindstone.



Charlow on an ingot of Sheffield crucible steel.



Charlow next to one of the wheels from James Dixon's workshop.



Charlow on a billet of forged Sheffield steel.



Charlow knocking on Stan Shaw's workshop door (he's away on holiday this week)!



Charlow on one of the twin Lister engines I used to work on when I first left school.



Charlow looking across the Kelham Island goit to Horseman Works.



Charlow looking across the goit to where the Kelham Wheel would have stood.



Charlow with me in The Sheffield Tap

What are "Batchelor's Mushy Peas".

It sounds very British, but not very tasty.

You've about summed them up in my opinion Frank! Mushy peas are essentially peas that have been cooked A LOT, so that they resemble guacamole! Batchelor's are a famous UK purveyor of processed foods, canned and packet goods. I could send you a can if you'd like?

 

[sitflyer]

^ sounds a bit like pea soup no?!

 

[Jack Black]

^ sounds a bit like pea soup no?!

Like pea soup with lumps! I have to admit, I'm in a minority here, in finding mushy peas pretty repellant! Some folks even bath their kids in them as a Google search revealed)! - Just realised that those are not children in the image I was about to post!!

 

[KrisNZ]

Very good Jack!

Kris,.

 

[meako]

NO NO NO
They have nothing to do with soup.
They are peas...right...they have been soaked and then slow cooked until they form a thick MUSHY (pronounced "moosh eh") mass.
You have them with chips (not fries but proper thick cut chips NO not wedges either).
You need to drink at least 8 pints of Peckinpahs Pumpwatter (a local Yorkshire beer) before you will appreciate the rich creamy texture and the subtle skin cleansing properties of Mushy peas.
Thank the gods I can get them in a local supermarket not far away.
Although I need about 100 of the 440G cans to fill my bath.

My Grandad who worked in the Nottingham pea mines once told me that the ancient secret recipe was cunningly stolen by Richard "Spotted Dick" Batchelor, a notorious highwayman. He smuggled the recipe back to Sheffield via a system of rivers and canals leading straight to Kelham Is and began cooking the peas with his brothers Walt and Jesse under the the watchful eye of Ma Batchelor.

The secret of mushy peas however originated in Nottinghamshire.
How did they get to Australia? I can tell you the story but you would not believe me.

 

[Jack Black]

NO NO NO
they have nothing to do with soup.
They are peas...right...they have been soaked and then slow cooked until they form a thick MUSHY (pronounced "moosh eh") mass.
You have them with chips (not fries but proper thick cut chips NO not wedges either).
You need to drink at least 8 pints of Peckinpahs Pumpwatter (a local Yorkshire beer) before you will appreciate the rich creamy texture and the subtle flavour of Mushy peas.
Thank the gods I can get them in a local supermarket not far away.

Just across the goi from the museum is the Kelham Island Brewery and the Fat Cat pub. The pub serve 'old fashioned Yorkshire food', it's not great, but it is traditional! For some reason, they serve tinned peas with just about everything! I'm hoping I can take Duncan and Sue there when they visit, not for the pub's culinary excellence, but more just for the EXPERIENCE! Oh, and of course, there are bottles of Henderson's Relish on the tables! :thumbup:

 

[meako]

AAAhh the experience.
In truth my grandad was a coal miner and among other things a foodie-he would make his own soups,tongue,sausages,and of course mushy peas. They are incredibly nutritious and easy to make. Ihave made them many times. He loved a good bullstory too so that all that talk of mushy peas reminded me of him and the kind of meandering sagas he would invent to explain anything.cheers

 

[festerfromnzed]

JACK...Those pics are soul food!!...Thanks for showing...FES

 

[Jack Black]

AAAhh the experience.
In truth my grandad was a coal miner and among other things a foodie-he would make his own soups,tongue,sausages,and of course mushy peas. They are incredibly nutritious and easy to make. Ihave made them many times. He loved a good bullstory too so that all that talk of mushy peas reminded me of him and the kind of meandering sagas he would invent to explain anything.cheers

Did he make pease pudding too Meako, like an even more concentrated form of mushy peas (they certainly liked their peas back then!)?

There's a Wkipedia entry about it here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pease_pudding - but when I've had it in the English East Midlands, it's been a simpler dish without any meat content, and cooked to the consistency of a cake which could be sliced into squares.

JACK...Those pics are soul food!!...Thanks for showing...FES

Glad you enjoyed them Fes, hope Duncan's mouth is watering!

 

[Campbellclanman]

Jack......... WOW........ just WOW my friend, what an incredibly interesting thread, Just look at thos marvellous old pruners-what stunning beautiful knives, the Kitchen knife display of John Petty & sons, Gregory and sons, and Joseph Mills = unreal knives, and the steel workers must have been tough - hard buggers - man that is so great - thank you Jack!
ps - I will be in touch soon Sir

 

[Campbellclanman]

Just across the goi from the museum is the Kelham Island Brewery and the Fat Cat pub. The pub serve 'old fashioned Yorkshire food', it's not great, but it is traditional! For some reason, they serve tinned peas with just about everything! I'm hoping I can take Duncan and Sue there when they visit, not for the pub's culinary excellence, but more just for the EXPERIENCE! Oh, and of course, there are bottles of Henderson's Relish on the tables! :thumbup:

Oh yeah!

 

[meako]

some like it hot
some like it cold
some like it in the pot
nine days old.

there is nothing that man could not do with a bacon bone (hmmm maybe not charlow knives)

my dad claimsthat the porridge they had as kids was so thick
they used to put it in the kitchen drawer and slice off a bit as they needed for breakfast everyday.I know this to be spurious as he also claims that they couldn't afford breakfast everyday.

 

[meako]

Duncan -don't get too excited -its only an "experience" you don't get to drink any beer.

 

[meako]

Just across the goi from the museum is the Kelham Island Brewery and the Fat Cat pub. The pub serve 'old fashioned Yorkshire food', it's not great, but it is traditional! For some reason, they serve tinned peas with just about everything! I'm hoping I can take Duncan and Sue there when they visit, not for the pub's culinary excellence, but more just for the EXPERIENCE! Oh, and of course, there are bottles of Henderson's Relish on the tables! :thumbup:

Hopefully its more like St James Gate Guinness brewery in Dublin. You get a free Guinness ticket at the start of tour which takes you through the wacky world of Guinness marketing.
You end up at the bar with a single Guinness and then all these Americans turn up with their tickets and they don't like Guinness.
So guess what?
They kindly donate pretty much a bus load of Guinness to me and my mates. Thank you all. TAAAAXXXIII.

 

[Jack Black]

Hopefully its more like St James Gate Guinness brewery in Dublin. You get a free Guinness ticket at the start of tour which takes you through the wacky world of Guinness marketing.
You end up at the bar with a single Guinness and then all these Americans turn up with their tickets and they don't like Guinness.
So guess what?
They kindly donate pretty much a bus load of Guinness to me and my mates. Thank you all. TAAAAXXXIII.

In this case, the brewery is the size of a large garden shed!

 

[Jack Black]

Jack......... WOW........ just WOW my friend, what an incredibly interesting thread, Just look at thos marvellous old pruners-what stunning beautiful knives, the Kitchen knife display of John Petty & sons, Gregory and sons, and Joseph Mills = unreal knives, and the steel workers must have been tough - hard buggers - man that is so great - thank you Jack!
ps - I will be in touch soon Sir

Here's a few bonus pics Duncan, but you'll be seeing them for yourself soon enough