Page 64 - Spring2009

which was derived from the yeld [young] cattle was largely cereal-based. Fresh milk, buttermilk and whey were primary
of the farm. The practice was an ancient and by beverages for a very long time, along with supplemental ale brewed from
no means unphilosophic one. . .” barley and oats.
Another contemporary writer also recalls Whey was drunk fresh, or fermented further to create a sparkle, and
collecting vitamin D-rich blood from living was a favorite thirst-quencher. Of interesting historical note, McNeill
animals: “Some of the stronger cattle were bled explains that “Whig, (Old Scots quhig) is the acetous liquid that subsides
in the spring by an expert. The blood was care- from sour cream, and is the origin of the political term, which was first
fully prepared, salted in a tub, and set aside for applied by Scottish Episcopalians (who were almost invariably Tories) to
use. We called it black pudding.” Presbyterians, and by Presbyterians of the Established Church to those of
Blood sausages, or blood puddings, were the dissenting bodies.”
made from ox, pig’s, sheep’s and goose blood. Buttermilk was also in great demand in the summertime, both among
The blood was often thickened with oatmeal or the rural people and city dwellers. McNeill notes it “was valued as both
barley meal, enriched with suet, lard or other fat, food and drink, and was held to cool the stomach in fever and to aid the
and seasoned with onions, pepper, salt and other cure of dysentery and other ailments.” J. Jamieson in the Book of the Old
spices. Tripe skins were used as casings, except Edinburgh Club recounts the popularity of buttermilk in the city: “In old
in the case of goose blood sausages, for which the Edinburgh, throughout the summer months, one might witness daily the
skin of the goose’s neck served this purpose. picturesque sight of milkmaids on horseback riding into town with soor-
Although never great meat-eaters, the Scots dook [buttermilk] barrels strapped across the saddle behind them. . . . It
raised beef and mutton of excellent quality; in has been estimated that at the end of the eighteenth century a thousand
fact, the famous roast beef of Olde England, pounds a year was paid in Edinburgh during the months of June, July,
according to McNeill “at its best is Scots beef, August, and September for this very inexpensive beverage, which was
which always fetches a higher price in the Lon- sold for a penny the Scots pint (i.e. two Imperial quarts).”
don market.” Yet one more romantic evocation of the era from Alexander Carmi-
chael’s Carmina Gadelica paints an irresistible bucolic scene:
DAIRY PRODUCTS “The milking-songs of the people are numerous and varied. They
Milk from cows, sheep, and goats has been are sung to pretty airs, to please the cows and induce them to give their
an important cornerstone of the Scots diet, and milk. The cows become accustomed to these lilts and will not give their
especially to help eke out the times when the diet milk without them. This fondness of the Highland cows for music induces

CHEESE IN SCOTLAND

The Scots have made cheeses since time immemorial, and although they never matched the inventiveness and variety of
the French, their cheeses have been an important and loved food for generations. Here is a recipe for a fresh curd cheese
that was often made especially for children.
HATTED KIT
(An old Highland Recipe)
Buttermilk, new milk, sugar, nutmeg, double cream
“Warm two quarts of buttermilk slightly at milking time. Carry the vessel to the side of a cow and milk into it a pint of
milk. Stir well. At the next milking, add another pint and stir again. Let it stand till it firms and gathers a hat. Remove the
curd, place it on a hair sieve, and press the whey through till the curd is stiff. Put into a mould and leave for half an hour.
Turn out and strew with sugar and nutmeg, and serve with thick cream.”
“Crowdie” is another common farmstead cheese product—”crowdie” derives from Old Gaelic for “curd.” In good times,
oatcakes were adorned with thick coatings of crowdie.

CROWDIE OR CRUDDY BUTTER
“In Iverness and the Ross shires there is a rural breakfast article called crowdie, not the common composition, oatmeal
and water or milk, but made thus: Take two parts fresh sweet-milk curd and one of fresh butter. Work them well together
and press them in a basin or small shape and turn it out, when it will slice nicely. When whey is much used for drink in hot
weather the curd may be usefully thus disposed of. It is eaten with bread and butter and keeps a long time, if goût is liked.
This preparation, when the curd is well broken and blended with the butter, is sometimes made up in wooden moulds and
kept for months, when it becomes very high flavoured though mellow.”
62 Wise Traditions SPRING 2009