Liverpool is not the starting point of the Lobscouse story, merely a stopping off point. Here it can be traced back to Norwegian sailors who had a long tradition of trading with Northern English ports. The Norwegians have a dish called Lapskaus, virtually a national dish, that uses the weekend's remaining food, usually carrots, potatoes, pork sausages in slices or beef cut small and which is served with unleavened bread.
The Norwegian ships carried German crew members who would have been familiar with a dish known as Labskaus. At a time when sailing vessels remained at sea for weeks, months, or even years, the crew had to live on provisions which lasted for a long time such as salted meat, biscuits, pickles, potatoes and onions. The Smutje (Northern German for 'mucky pup' – the ship's cook) had to provide the crew with a filling, nourishing meal from whatever provisions that were left after a few weeks at sea. It was a common joke that if anything was lost on board it would eventually turn up in the Labskaus. Sometimes beetroot was blended in with the dish rather than served as an accompaniment giving it a lurid pink colour.
Labskaus is still a popular dish in Germany and can be found on restaurant menus particularly around Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck. The dish tends to consist of salted meat or corned beef, onions and mashed potato, fried in lard. This is served with pickled herrings, beetroot and sometimes a fried egg or two on top. The basic recipe is similar to the British dish called Hash.
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