A look at the
evolution of food in southwestern Pennsylvania –
GREAT BRITAIN: Scotland Part 2-4
Although
this column briefly covered the Scots in a past column this one is dedicated to
Scotland only. Scotland has appeared in the news many times to vote again on separation from Great Britain.
History tells us that Scotland has wanted its independence from Great
Britain/England since the 13th century.
The
cultures, histories and cuisines of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are
integrated. The first large contingent of Scottish immigrants came US in the 17th
century and they consisted of 1/6 of the American colonies population and 1/3
of Pennsylvania’s population!! They were followed by the Scotch-Irish (descendants
of Ulster Scots who originally came from Lowland
Scotland and Northern England) who immigrated to North America in large numbers
during the eighteenth century. During colonial times Pennsylvania was the
Scottish capital of the colonies. Over 3% of the US population is either
Scottish or Scotch-Irish.
A few common
dishes follow.
Let’s take
syllabub, for example.
Syllabub is a sweet dish described as a drink or dessert
dish made of milk or cream, curdled by a mixture of wine, cider, or other acid,
and often sweetened and flavored. In
England: whipped cream, sherry or white wine, sugar and lemon. In Ireland: heavy cream, sweet dessert wine (or for the
heartier Irish whiskey), sugar and lemon juice. In Scotland: double cream,
Scotch whiskey, honey, lemon and nutmeg. In Wales:
heavy cream, cider, sugar and lemon.
Scotch
Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs covered with a sausage
mixture of breadcrumbs, flour, and eggs and deep-fried (I bake mine) and served warm with
or without a sauce. Made the same in all four countries. I’ve had Scotch Eggs served with béchamel
sauce and cream of celery soup thinned a little with milk.
Scones:
A scone is a single-serving cake or quick bread made of wheat, barley or oatmeal. In England and
Ireland: self-rising flour, butter,
baking powder salt, milk and egg. In Scotland:
Made the same except made with sour cream instead of milk. In Wales:
Made the same but called “cakes”.
Steak Pie
or Shepherd’s Pie: A baked pie with meat and vegetables. In all
four countries with variations: flour,
steak, butter, garlic cloves, mushrooms, vegetables, beef stock, brown ale, bay
leaf, thyme, Worcestershire Sauce and tomato puree.
Boxty (potato pancake): consisting of
finely grated, raw potato, mashed potatoes, flour, baking soda, buttermilk and egg in all four countries. Potato
pancakes are also comfort foods in multiple European countries.
Fruit
Cake: In all British
countries and the US a fruit cake traditionally includes the following
ingredients: dried fruit, candied peel,
glace cherries, nuts, eggs, tea or brandy or sherry, butter, flour, baking
powder and spices such as nutmeg, ginger and allspice.
This column
has only briefly covered the integrated cuisines of Great Britain: England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is
my hope that the Scots soul-search about their common Celtic ancestry and their
ties to the other countries of Great Britain but history will tell.
For recipes
from 1700s to 1960s and modern day links visit www.ThePAMeltingPot.com. Christine Willard, a
native of western Pennsylvania, researches and blogs about the food unique to Western
Pennsylvania. She currently resides in North Carolina. Her blog can be found at
www.ThePAMeltingPot.com.
SCOTTISH AND SCOTTISH FOOD PHOTOS
FOOD INFORMATION AND FOOD RECIPE AND VIDEO LINKS
VIDEOS
No comments:
Post a Comment