Scouse is a thick stew of diced meat, beef or lamb, slowly cooked with potato, carrot and onion. Some of the potato breaks down during cooking and thickens the broth. Each family has its own recipe, and some say true scouse uses only those ingredients, while others add whatever is on hand.
The name comes from lobscouse, a sailors’ stew common in the ports of northern Europe, with relatives such as the Norwegian lapskaus and the German Labskaus. In Liverpool, which was once one of the world’s largest ports, the dish became food for the families of dockworkers and sailors, and the name was shortened to scouse.
The connection is so strong that Liverpool residents are called Scousers, and the same name is used for the city’s accent. There is also blind scouse, the meat-free version, which in the past was made by families who could not afford meat and today also serves vegetarians.
The city’s tourism body calls scouse a local dish. On February 28, Liverpool celebrates Global Scouse Day, when bars, cafés and restaurants put the stew on the menu.