The Scots rely on natural foods found throughout the country such as game (venison and grouse, to name a few), dairy products (lots of cheese!), fish, fruit and vegetables. I live in Fife, in the middle of Scotland, towards the eastern coast. It is surrounded by 3 bodies of water - the Firth (estuary) of Tay to the north, the Firth of Forth to the south, and the German Ocean to the East, so seafood is plentiful. Parts of Fife were once mining centres (mostly coal) and Kirkcaldy, just 20 minutes south, was once known for flax spinning and linen weaving and production of linoleum and other floor cloths in the 19th century. Now what you see is miles and miles of agricultural land - both arable crops (also known as cereals), as well as livestock (sheep and cattle), and numerous polytunnels. Growing vegetables occurs mainly in tunnels, or under plastic in the fields, as the summers are very short on the 56th parallel. I was somewhat surprised to find that Fife is well known for its soft fruits, such as raspberries and blueberries, as well as currants, gooseberries and cherries. I recently made 2 plum crumbles from the plums growing in the garden where I am staying. I hadn't cooked with plums before and the crumbles were quite good.
Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup made of smoked haddock, potatoes and onions and a local specialty on the north east coast of Scotland. Cock-a-leekie soup is what you might think - chicken stock and leeks - and is known as "Scotland's National Soup" (who knew there would be a national soup!) And Scotch broth is made of barley, lamb, mutton or beef, root vegetables and dried pulses (split peas and red lentils.)
Salmon is found in almost every shop and some of the best salmon fishing in the world is found in Scotland and Ireland. Arbroath smokie is a type of smoked haddock, Cabbie claw made with young cod, haddock or whiting, Finnan haddle is cold smoked haddock that originated near Aberdeen, a kipper is a whole herring that is butterflied, salted or picked and cold smoked, and rollmops are picked herring fillets, rolled into a cylindrical shape, held together with wooden skewers.
In the meat and poultry department, lamb is on every menu (no surprise there), as well as beef, bacon and ham, goose and grouse. The bacon is much different here, as it is often boiled (called grilled) and is known as rashers. American bacon (referred to as "streaky" bacon) is made from the belly of the pig. British bacon comes from the loin, as well as the pork belly. Pigs are the most common meat product that is grown in large factory-type farms. There are large commercial sheep and beef farms, but not as common as in the US.
Beef, as we often call "hamburger", is called mince. A popular dish is mince and tatties (minced beef and potatoes.) Angus cattle come from the counties of Aberdeenshire and Angus in Scotland and are known as Aberdeen Angus. In the US, there is Red Angus and Black Angus, the latter being the most common beef breed of cattle in the US. Aberdeen Angus, the native breed, is actually on the Rare Breeds watchlist. This is the original population of native or non-imported bloodlines of Aberdeen Angus cattle. The Angus was widely exported during the 20th century and bred in the US and Canada, as well as other countries, to be longer and taller than the native breed. These were then re-imported back into the UK, so the commercial Aberdeen Angus is a much larger animal.
Scotch pie is a small, double-crust meat pie filled with minced mutton (sheep over 1 year old) or other meat. They are a type of Scottish fast-food, commonly sold at football stadiums and other venues. The term "savory" was new to me, as in the grocery store, crackers are found on the savory aisle. There are numerous types of savory pies including steak pie, steak and kidney pie, steak-and-tattie (potato) pie, cottage (from beef) or shepherds (from lamb) pie, and fish pie. Sausage rolls and pasties (a filling of meat and vegetables on a flat pastry that is folded over and crimped on the edges) are common in butcher and many other shops.
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| From the Perth Agriculture Show this summer |
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| Photo from the internet |
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| Photo from the internet |
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| Photo courtesy of the Wee Pie Company website |
Upon my arrival in Scotland, I was given a package of Scotch pancakes. I was surprised to see pancakes, already cooked, in a package. Scotch pancakes are also known as "drop scones" because soft dollops of mixture are dropped onto the cooking surface. Here, they are cooked on a flat bakestone or a girdle (that's a griddle to Americans.) The girdle is a round cast-iron flat plate with a semi-circular handle and the town of Culross in Fife was granted a royal charter for their manufacture back in 1599.
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| From the Antique Kitchenalia website |
I ventured to Costco in Edinburgh a few months back (there is also a Costco in Dublin) with the aim to purchase the cat litter my kitties favor and of course, left with much more than just cat litter. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought I was standing in any Costco in America. It was my only experience so far, feeling like I was back home. There were Scottish foods, such as haggis and many types of seafood, but the majority were Kirkland products found in the good ole U.S. of A. I did find it surprising to see American pancakes on the shelf!
Though not good for the weight loss plan, I have a soft spot for the £1 pancakes at the local SPAR shop. SPAR is a sort of mini-7-11 store that is an international retail chain and franchise founded in the Netherlands in 1932 and is now found in 35 countries. Every High Street (the American version of Main Street) seems to have a SPAR shop. It's difficult to find maple syrup here (except at Costco!), though there are shelves and shelves of honey and jams. I had read that peanut butter is difficult to find in Europe. It is in stores here, but I have found only one store that stocks the American brands of Jif or Skippy. Nutella is much more common than peanut butter.
I had a difficult time finding turnips for a recipe and couldn't locate them in the local grocery store, likely because it was too early in the summer. They do have swedes, a member of the cabbage family, that is what we know as a rutabaga. The term "neeps" refers to a dish of diced or mashed swedes. There's a humorous blog article about the difference between turnips, swedes, and neeps - seems the British aren't always sure which are which. Beets, a favourite of mine, are known here as beetroots. The courgette is from the same family as the cucumber, squash and melon and are known back home as a zucchini. Mushrooms are plentiful and some people hunt for them in the forest, though after reading about American author Nicholas Evans (of "Horse Whisperer" fame) picking and cooking the Deadly Webcap mushroom from his brother-in-laws Highland estate and eventually requiring a kidney transplant, along with his sister and her husband, I buy my mushrooms in the store. Canola, called rapeseed here, is starting to be seen as more and more in the UK. Rapeseed oil started to become popular around 2008 and is a light alternative to other cooking oils. By the way, corn is most often called by its correct name, maize, here in the UK.
I have done a lot of baking since I arrived. I don't generally eat much of my own concoctions, but enjoy baking and sharing with others. Yesterday, I made 5 batches of different types of cookies and brownies for a bake sale for cancer research. At first I couldn't find baking soda, until I realised it is packaged as bicarbonate of soda. Baking powder seems more common here than in the States and is used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali (bicarbonate of soda) and an acid (cream of tartar), plus a filler like cornflour (as we know cornstarch) or rice flour. Self-raising flour is also very common here - it is plain flour combined with a small amount of baking powder. I was quite confused by all the types of sugars available, but it's no surprise, as the Scottish (and the British) love their baked goods! There is common granulated sugar, but also caster sugar (finer than granulated), icing sugar (same as powdered sugar), golden caster sugar (used in creamed sponge cakes), demerara sugar (an intense flavour and used in coffee and sprinkled over sharp fruits), light and dark brown sugar, and muscovado sugar (lots of molasses still remaining).
In the dairy aisle, there are more types of cheddar cheese than one could imagine, along with imports from all over continental Europe. Milk is available whole, semi-skimmed (as we would call 1 or 2%), and sometimes skimmed, and as buttermilk. Pure cream (35-45% butterfat) can be whipped or poured. Double (the thickest and served served with fruits) and creme fraiche (with a high fat content, about 35%) are also found on the shelf. Clotted cream has the highest fat percentage of over 55% and is served with scones, butter and jam. I have found it difficult to locate sour cream. Only one or two of the larger markets carry it, but I recently found that I can easily make it by adding 1-2 tsp lemon juice to 150 ml or single or double cream. There are shelves and shelves of yogurt and greek yogurt has been popular here much longer than it has in the UK.
Thank goodness I can find my beloved Pepsi products here, though I do see more Coca-Cola products in stores. I drink Pepsi Max which has a little different taste than Diet Pepsi. Pepsi Max in the US is a different drink altogether and lists ginseng on the label. It also has twice as much caffeine as Diet Pepsi. The "Max" drink was introduced because it was thought that fewer men would buy a drink with the word "diet" in it. I am working on giving them up completely, so I no longer take in caffeine, and am now a lover of organic elder flower water I was introduced to at a little cafe called the Pillars of Hercules on the Falkland Estates.
Other than the SPAR shop and other local grocers, the main grocery stores in this part of Scotland are Tesco, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, ASDA (actually owned by Wal-Mart through a subsidiary), and Lidl (a no-frills grocery.) There are also a few Marks & Spencers (more common in England) and Waitrose (think expensive!)
I had a difficult time finding turnips for a recipe and couldn't locate them in the local grocery store, likely because it was too early in the summer. They do have swedes, a member of the cabbage family, that is what we know as a rutabaga. The term "neeps" refers to a dish of diced or mashed swedes. There's a humorous blog article about the difference between turnips, swedes, and neeps - seems the British aren't always sure which are which. Beets, a favourite of mine, are known here as beetroots. The courgette is from the same family as the cucumber, squash and melon and are known back home as a zucchini. Mushrooms are plentiful and some people hunt for them in the forest, though after reading about American author Nicholas Evans (of "Horse Whisperer" fame) picking and cooking the Deadly Webcap mushroom from his brother-in-laws Highland estate and eventually requiring a kidney transplant, along with his sister and her husband, I buy my mushrooms in the store. Canola, called rapeseed here, is starting to be seen as more and more in the UK. Rapeseed oil started to become popular around 2008 and is a light alternative to other cooking oils. By the way, corn is most often called by its correct name, maize, here in the UK.
I have done a lot of baking since I arrived. I don't generally eat much of my own concoctions, but enjoy baking and sharing with others. Yesterday, I made 5 batches of different types of cookies and brownies for a bake sale for cancer research. At first I couldn't find baking soda, until I realised it is packaged as bicarbonate of soda. Baking powder seems more common here than in the States and is used in cake-making. It is made from an alkali (bicarbonate of soda) and an acid (cream of tartar), plus a filler like cornflour (as we know cornstarch) or rice flour. Self-raising flour is also very common here - it is plain flour combined with a small amount of baking powder. I was quite confused by all the types of sugars available, but it's no surprise, as the Scottish (and the British) love their baked goods! There is common granulated sugar, but also caster sugar (finer than granulated), icing sugar (same as powdered sugar), golden caster sugar (used in creamed sponge cakes), demerara sugar (an intense flavour and used in coffee and sprinkled over sharp fruits), light and dark brown sugar, and muscovado sugar (lots of molasses still remaining).
In the dairy aisle, there are more types of cheddar cheese than one could imagine, along with imports from all over continental Europe. Milk is available whole, semi-skimmed (as we would call 1 or 2%), and sometimes skimmed, and as buttermilk. Pure cream (35-45% butterfat) can be whipped or poured. Double (the thickest and served served with fruits) and creme fraiche (with a high fat content, about 35%) are also found on the shelf. Clotted cream has the highest fat percentage of over 55% and is served with scones, butter and jam. I have found it difficult to locate sour cream. Only one or two of the larger markets carry it, but I recently found that I can easily make it by adding 1-2 tsp lemon juice to 150 ml or single or double cream. There are shelves and shelves of yogurt and greek yogurt has been popular here much longer than it has in the UK.
Thank goodness I can find my beloved Pepsi products here, though I do see more Coca-Cola products in stores. I drink Pepsi Max which has a little different taste than Diet Pepsi. Pepsi Max in the US is a different drink altogether and lists ginseng on the label. It also has twice as much caffeine as Diet Pepsi. The "Max" drink was introduced because it was thought that fewer men would buy a drink with the word "diet" in it. I am working on giving them up completely, so I no longer take in caffeine, and am now a lover of organic elder flower water I was introduced to at a little cafe called the Pillars of Hercules on the Falkland Estates.
Other than the SPAR shop and other local grocers, the main grocery stores in this part of Scotland are Tesco, Morrison's, Sainsbury's, ASDA (actually owned by Wal-Mart through a subsidiary), and Lidl (a no-frills grocery.) There are also a few Marks & Spencers (more common in England) and Waitrose (think expensive!)
