The Art and Mystery of Food

Assorted Haggis

Diverse haggis recently tasted at home here in Edinburgh:

Above: Various haggis sourced from different regions of Scotland (including Stromness, Orkney;  Stornoway, Isle of Lewis; Nairn, Highlands; Aberfoyle, Trossachs; Edinburgh; Carluke, Lanarkshire). As you can see is there is great deal in variation in these haggis, indicating a wide range in preferences for a particular style of haggis in Scotland.

 

Above: Two different Haggis made from historic recipes. On the left is a 17th century English haggis:

"The Accomplish'd lady's delight in preserving, physick, beautifying, and cookery (1675)

To make a Haggess-Pudding 

Take a fat Haggess, par-boyl it well, take out the Kernels, shred it small, and temper it with a handful or two of grated Manchet; then take three or four Eggs well beaten, Rose-water, Sugar, Cloves, Nutmeg, Cinamon, and Mace finely beaten, Currans and Marrow good store; temper them all together with a quantity of Cream, being first moderately seasoned with salt."

Interestingly, in this recipe the haggis is used to make the stuffing, not as a container. I quite liked the taste of this but many people found it very challenging. It is quite sweet and perfumed, with a very light texture, but there is also the slight faecal aroma, much like an Andouillette. In fact as many similar recipe specific the use of "Calves Chaldron" (entrails), this type of haggis would qualify as an Andouillette.

The Haggis on the right is an based on an early 18th century Scottish recipe. Sheep lung, heart and kidney are boiled and mince. These are mixed with breadcrumbs, lots of herbs, spice, eggs, currants and cream. While quite difference to the extant haggis recipes, it was similar enough that many people really liked it. Its useful to recreate these recipes, due to the bread/eggs/cream the texture of this is completely different to a modern Scotish haggish made with oats and offal, like a very light textured meatloaf, rather then being crumbly or a moist hash.

 

Some Views on Florence

Above: Pork Fillet with red peppercorns, sausages and wurstel. Funny enough wurstel never really gets a mention in the many descriptions of Tuscan food, although it is ubiquitous enough.

Above: Most people are aware of the British connection to one of Florence's most famous dishes, "Bistecca" ("Beef Steak"). Less well known is the local version of British "Roast Beef".

Above: A great deal of the Butchers goods are actually prepared foods in one form or another. Not exactly Slow Food, but that doesn't make it bad or unpleasant.

Above: a local verison of one of the Mediterraneans oldest documented sausages. Luganega is mentioned by Apicius and Varro.

Above: Stuffed chicken necks. Tasty enough, but the stuffing coming out of the chickens beak tends to give it a look of vomiting.

Above: More Tuscan fast food that you will not see mentioned in any regional cookery books.

Above: Stuffed pork loins. Because of the time of the year, these tend to have a lot of fruit.

Above: skewers of bread, fatty pork and sausage. A direct desendent of spit cookery.

Above: Grapes specifically for making "schiacciata con uva" (flatbread with grapes). This is a special seasonal treat, made with very sweet red wine grapes. Worth noting that these are not a local product, although the bread it a regional dish.

Above: Schiacciata con uva, delicious.

 

Above: Porchini mushrooms. The green herb is Nepitella (Lesser Calamint; Calamintha nepeta) which is commonly used in mushroom dishes, and has a very strong mint flavour, similar to penny royal.

 

Above: Boiled udder.

Above: Beef Diaphragm

Above: A Peruvian stall at the Florence central market.

 

Above: English salted herrings, the last remains of a trade going back to the medieval period.

 

Above: one of Florence's many tripe and lampredotto stalls

 

Above: another of Florence's many tripe and lampredotto stalls

 

Above: Florence's most famous tripe stall Nerbone's in the central market

Above: Lampredotto with porchini

Above: Menu at the tripe stall.

Above: The heart of the Italian kitchen - the Nonna.

Above: A legacy of the British "Roast Beef", although the local fashion is to serve the beef with copious amounts of local olive oil.

 

Above: Amanita caesarea (Caesar's Mushroom) known locally as "ovolo" (plural "ovoli).

 

Above: The Forno in action.

 

Above: an outdoor lunch.

 

Above: battered carddons, porchetta, spinich and zucchini.

 

Above: a menu at a local bar, with some interesting local and regional dishes.

 

Above: Delicious head cheese.

 

Above: Pici with wild boar sauce, one of Tuscany's few native pasta.

"To Make A Snake" - An Early English Syringed Fritter

In a previous post, I discussed the origin of syringed fritters in English 18th century cookery books. These were almost certainly derived from French sources. However, in Robert May's 17th century "The Accomplisht Cook" the presence of a recipe titled "To fry Paste out of a Syringe or Butter-squirt" indicates that there may have been a tradition of making these fritters in England independently of fritters derived from the french sources. May's recipe is quite basic, but does include the important detail that these fritters, like the modern Churro, are not only squirted out of a syringe or butter squirt, but they use a hot water paste.

"To fry Paste out of a Syringe or Butter-squirt.

Take a quart of fine flower, & a litle leven, dissolve it in warm water, & put to it the flour, with some white wine, salt, saffron, a quarter of butter, and two ounces of sugar; boil the aforesaid things in a skillet as thick as a hasty pudding, and in the boiling stir it continually, being cold beat it in a mortar, fry it in clarified butter, and run it into the butter through a butter-squirt."

Recently I came across a much more detailed 17th century English recipe for a syringed fritter in the manuscript recipe collection of Elizabeth Jacob (MS.3009; Wellcome Trust Library).

"To Make A Snake

Take a pint of new milke, sett it on the fire till it boile, then put in fine wheaten flower, and stire it well together, till it be very stiffe, and it must boile soe long till it comes round like A ball, then take it out of the skillet, and put it into A mortar, then take 6 Egges, and break in one of them, and beate that Eggs with that round ball very well, then break another in, and beat that as before, thus break your 6 Egges; one After another, till they be all beaten in, then beat all well together you must beat Every Egge single soe long till you see it, and the Egge hanging on the pestle when you put him up, then season him with a little salt, Nutmegg, and rosewater and then beate it all together A little, then take your frying pan, and some Beasts lard that is fryed up with 2 or 3 cloves, and take neare about half A pound, and put in your Stuffe into your Spout, and when it is full, Spout it round About the frying pan, it must be done quick, and with great Strength, and it is in the frying pan; hold it on the fire and let it bake, then turn it with your knife, and let it bake on the Other side, Let it not be to browne, but look of a pale yellow, it will quickly be baked, and it will quickly burne, if you looke not to it, then take it up, and lay round, one another, in the dish you Intend to Serve it in then take A little Sweet butter and rosewater melted together, and with A feather, wash it all over, as it Lyes in the dish, then Scrape A pretty quantity of Sugar on it, and some round the dish sides, an soe serve it to the table, it must be done quick, or Else it will be cold before it comes to the table."

 

So it does seem that although it is not a common recipe, there is evidence of these fritters being made in english households from at least the 17th century.

Grandmother's Cookery

Rachel Laudan recently made the point that while there have been much dietry advise given along the lines that we 'should not eat food that our [great] grandmothers wouldn't recognise as food' (i.e. don't eat "processed" foods), the fact of the matter is that is is actually very difficult for us to know exactly what our ancestors recognised as food. While the way people interact with food has changed hugely in the last century, most commentary in the general media have only placed emphasis on the fact that the average Westerner should feel bloody guilty about their relationship with food. Everything was better in the old days (except in the UK where people have a somewhat disfunctional relationship with their food history - "Food is much better now then in the past" v "Food was much better and wholesome in past"). Well it maybe difficult to know what people thought about the food they were eating, but at least in the England we can look at some of their eating trends. Below is a graph of household consumption in England from the post war period until the mid-90's.

Well one thing is clear from this, if "grandma's chicken" tasted better, not many people knew about it as very little of it was being eaten before the 1960's. Cabbage is less popular also it seems....

As both of my grandmothers have recently died, all of this made me think that it is a worthwhile exercise writing down what I can remember about the food they cooked for me.  For some background, Grandmother Pickles was of British descent and lived on a relatively isolated Australian farm. The farm was mostly sheep and grain, but for family consumption there was a milk-cow, chickens, pigeons and geese as well as the endless mutton.  Baka Balic came from a very poor rural family in Croatia, but in Australia lived in a middle-class suburban home - no animals. She worked as a house-keeper for an even more middle-class family, converting the rose garden into a potato patch in her spare time

 

Grandma Pickles:

1. Roast leg of hogget/mutton - my uncles killed a weather once every 7-10 days
2. Chops - from the above
3. Shepard's Pie - made from left over roast - as it should be
4. Liver, eggs, bacon and kidneys -served for breakfast the day after the kill
5. Roast veg, mashed potatoes (sometimes mixed with swede/pumpkin)
6. Pressed tongue
7. Mushrooms on toast - when in season my grandmother would take me out to pick buckets of field mushrooms (Agaricus campestris), which were cooked in butter and milk.
8. Eggs - from free ranging hens of various breeds, poached fried or boiled
9. Hogget/mutton stew - carrots, onions, celery, barley
10. Chicken Stew - as above, made with excess cockerels, which were far too tough roast
11. Mince - as above , made with mince
12. Chicken with Apricots - chicken cooked in apricot nectar with a packet of dried French onion soup mix, pasta added towards the end.
13. Toad in the Hole - sausages poached in a curry flavoured white sauce, not the usual dish of the same name of sausages baked in a Yorkshire Pudding batter.
14. Sausages, rissoles (sausage meat balls)
15. Roast Goose, Orange Jelly, Ham (canned). All served for Christmas, geese raised on the farm. The jelly was made with orange juice and mint and served with the goose
16. Roast Ducks - during shooting season
17. Green salad - very rare
18. Rice Pudding - yes cooked in an wood fired stove
19. Jelly/Flummery - commercial jelly mix, Flummery was this made with milk, rather then water
20. Junket
21. Ice cream
22. Stewed fruit -in season
23. Tinned fruit - huge amounts of tinned peaches
24. Scones - made regularly, especially during the shearing season
25. Jam (tinned, normally plum) and Bread (sliced white), Salted Butter
26. Sandwiches of all sorts
27. Cups of milky tea
28. As a special treat I would be taken into the local town (1.5 hours drive) to go to a Chinese restuarant and I would have "Special Fried Rice" and a bottle of Coke bought for me, followed by "Deep fried icecream".

Baka Balic:

1. Chicken Noodle Soup (all main meals started with this soup)
2. Home made Bread, un-salted, cultured Butter
3. Roast Pork
4. Roast Chicken
5. Veal schnitzel
6. Cevapcici
7. Roast Turkey with Mlinci - an Easter meal
8. Green bean salad  - beans dressed with garlic, olive oil and vinegar while hot, searved cold
9. Green Salads - very common
10. Bean Soup
11. Sauerkraut Soup
12. Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
13. Stuffed Peppers
14. Baked Fish
15. Strudel (walnuts or poppy seeds or apple)
16. Polenta
17. Gnocchi
18. Seafood Risotto (rare)
19. Papricka stew
20. Spit roasted pig or lamb - for large family gatherings
21. Cured meats
22. Cakes and biscuits

 

This is what I can recall of meals mostly made in the 1970-80's. I'm not sure that either of my grandmothers actually enjoyed cooking. Certainly it wasn't a hobby or passion for either of them, it was a duty. Which isn't to say that the food was made grudgingly or was bad, actually it was very good. Baka in particular was a stellar cook. But, ultimately cooking was something that they had to do, at least twice a day, every day. However, I think cookery was easier for them then for me, after all I have to produce family meals day after day and work full time which means being out of the house. The daily grind of providing a family with meals can be very wearisome, not matter how passionate you are about food.

So I don't think that either of them would have objected too much to processed foods. Grandma Pickles could have preserved fruit until the cows came home (literally), but she didn't. She bought in tinned fruit in thick sugar syrup. In terms of what I eat now, well I think that this would have been quite shocking for them. I eat a much wider range of foodstuffs then either of them, from a much broader range of ethnic backgrounds. I'm pretty sure that they would have considered much of the ethnic foods to be beyond the Pale. So I'm not going to feel too guilty about my relationship with food, I was very lucky to have had the influences of my grandmothers cookery, but I am just as lucky to be in the position of being passionate about cookery having been exposed to a whole range of foods that are completely outwith my grandmothers experiences. 

Historical Sources of Early Scottish Haggis

A few years ago I wrote about an early manuscript source for Scottish haggis, making the point that this early 18th century Scottish recipe looked much the same as English recipes from the 16-17th century. Further research over the years has turned up very few other early Scottish haggis recipes. While we have references to the haggis in Scotland as early as the first half of the 16th century (about 100 years after the first mention in English sources), the first recipe published in Scotland was at the end of the 18th century. This was several centuries after the first published English haggis recipe. This has resulted in some difficulty for some modern Scots, the Haggis is a national treasure, a modern Scottish icon, so how can it be shared with England?

One point that is rarely made though is that by the time Scotlands first cookery book was published in the first half of the 18th century, many dozens of cookery books had been published in England. Simply due to the huge amount of cookery material produced in England from the 16th century onward, this will obviously have a large impact on the development of cookery in Scotland. Specifically, the haggis was a relatively common recipe in English cookery texts. Historical inventories of books from private households in Scotland list many English cookery books. Looking through the texts 18th century Scottish cookery books, it is actually rather hard to see much evidence of a purely Scottish cookery tradition. Least you should think that these books are not actually representative of the food cooked and eaten in Scotland, it is worth knowing that these cookery books were written by Scottish cookery teachers. They were not only producing cookery texts, they were teaching Scottish women how to cook, an by and large these women were being taught how to cook dishes that were common to England and Scotland.

This is reflected many of the Scottish cookery manscripts of the 18th century: 

The National Library of Scotland, Manuscript Ms.10281, Dumfries (1722-1764) 

 'A Large Collection of Choice Recipes for Cookrie, Pastrie. Milks, Sauces, Candying, Confectionating, and Preserving of Fruits. Flowers, etc'

.................................................

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That such Receipts as marked (E) are taken from an English Manuscript, wherefore Whatever Weights or Measures are mentioned  in any of these Receipts, must be understood to be of the weights and measures of England: And those marked (*) are such as are taught by one of the best Paistrie Mistrises in Edinburgh to her Schollars - Mrs Johnston"

So not only were Scottish cooks using printed English sources they were obtaining recipes from English manuscripts also. Interestingly, this 18th century Scottish cookery manuscript has a very rare mention of a recipe for a haggis:

The National Library of Scotland, Manuscript Ms.10281, Dumfries (1722) 

"A Haggish Pudding

Take a fat Haggish, parboil it very well, take out the Kernals, shred small, temper it it with a handful or two of grate Manchote; then take 3 or 4 eggs well beaten, Rosewater, sugar, cloves, Nutmegs, cinnamon & Mace, Currans & Marrow good store, temper them all together, with a quantity of Cream, being first moderately Seasoned with salt."

 

The lovely thing about this specific recipe is the original source can be traced. Although the recipe is not marked as coming from either an English manscript or Scottish cookery teacher, the recipe is near identical to a recipe published in England:

 

The Ladies Cabinet Opened (1639) Printed by M.P. for Richard Meighen, London.

"To make a Haggesse Pudding

Take a fat Haggesse; purboyle it well, take out the Kernels, shred it small, and temper it with a handfull or two of grated Manchet, then take three or foure Egges wel beaten, Rosewater and Sugar, Cloves, Nutmegs, Sinnamon, Mace, very finely beaten, Currants and Marrow good store, temper them altogether, with a fit quantity of Creame, being first moderately seasoned with Salt."

 

The Ladies Cabinet Enlarged and Opened by M.B. (1654), London.

"To make a Haggesse Pudding

Take a fat Haggesse; perboil it wel, take out the Kernels, shred it smal, and temper it with a handful or two of grated Manchet, then take three or four Eggs wel beaten, Rosewater and Sugar, Cloves, Nutmegs, Cinnamon, Mace, very finely beaten, Currans and Marrow good store, temper them all together, with a fit quantity of Cream, being first moderately seasoned with Salt."

 

Comparing the three copies of the recipe, it seems most likely that the 1654 recipe is the source of Scottish recipe, but even so these is a very large gap between 1654 and the date of the Scottish manuscript recipe collection. Was the Scottish recipe copied directly from the cookery book, or was it passed from person to person until it was written down in this Scottish collection? Irrespective of this, it worth noting just how much Scottish cookery in the 18th century was influenced by English sources, even for the iconic Haggis.  I don't think that this takes anything away from the modern Scottishness of the Haggis. Haggis isn't an English dish anymore, but it is very much part of modern Scottish culture. The Scots should be rightly proud that they still have a dish with such a long history of production and consumption. The vast majority of dishes have a relatively recent origin, to be able to trace the history of this dish that is now eaten on a daily basis, back to the 15th century is very very rare. Does it matter if most of the history was a shared history or do we have to re-brand our own history as well to feel comfortable in our own skins?

 

Finally I would like to thank the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland for permission to reproduce these recipes.

The Evolution of the Yorkshire Pudding

Recently a consortium bid (including industrial manufacturers - Roberts, the Real Yorkshire Pudding Company, and Aunt Bessie's) failed to gain EU Protected Geographical Status (PGS) for the Yorkshire Pudding on the basis that it was "too generic" to be deemed regional.  In theory, PGS aims to protect the integrity of heritage foods while at the same time being a way to raise the profile of regional products and skills. This allows the consumer to distinguish "authentic" from a ubiquitous food products without all the bother of having to find anything out about the food in question. Although, one has to wonder how much profile raising a company that produces millions of Yorkshire puddings a week actually need. On the other hand, the decision to award a PGS or not to a particular product can have very large and expensive consequences, even for large food companies. There is now a rush in the UK to gain PGS for a whole range of food stuffs. This has been accompanied by a number articles published using terms like "heritage", "tradional", regional and even the occasional "terroir", which unfortunately have failed to show any understanding of what Protected Designation of Origin (PDO); Protected Geographical Indication (PGI); and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) actually mean. According to the European Commission:

 

PDO- covers agricultural products and foodstuffs which are produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised know-how.

PGI- covers agricultural products and foodstuffs closely linked to the geographical area. At least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation takes place in the area.

TSG- highlights traditional character, either in the composition or means of production

Amazingly, not mention of  "Nostagia food", "Comfort food" or "Emotional eating", which are clearly just as important marketing terms for the businesses involved, as gaining a PGS label for these products.  It will be interesting to see if the PGS labels will be perceived as maintaining its integrity in the future. One wonders how many times it will be reported that X product will "have the same status as champagne or Parma ham.", before people start to question the statement?

 

Central to the failed Yorshire Pudding bid was the claim that the term "Yorkshire Pudding" was first described by the 18th century cookery book author Hannah Glasse and that this pudding differed from other similar dishes which all suggests it is originally from Yorkshire. The recipe in question is as follows:

The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1747)

"A Yorkshire Pudding.

Take a Quart of Milk, four Eggs, and a little Salt, make it up into a thick Batter with flour, like a Pancake Batter. You must have a good Piece of Meat at the fire, take a Stew-pan and put some Dripping in, set it on the Fire, when it boils, pour in your Pudding, let it bake on the Fire till you think it is high enough, then turn a plate upside-down in the Dripping-pan, that the Dripping may not be blacked; set your Stew-pan on it under your Meat, and let the Dripping drop on the Pudding, and the Heat of the Fire come to it, to make it of a fine brown. When your Meat is done and set to Table, drain all the Fat from your Pudding, and set it on the Fire again to dry a little; then slide it as dry as you can into a Dish, melt some butter, and pour into a Cup, and set in the Middle of the Pudding. It is an exceeding good pudding, the Gravy of the Meat eats well with it."

By 1755 the Glasse had sold the copyright of "The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy" due to bankruptcy and the text is outwith her control. While it was prehaps most popular and influencial English cookery book of the 18th century, most editions were not in fact the work of Hannah Glasse. If Glasse knew of a regional Yorkshire connection with the pudding, within a few years of  publishing the recipe, that direct link was lost. A later version of the recipe:

The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse (1784)

"A Yorkshire Pudding.

TAKE a quart of milk, and five eggs, beat them up well together, and mix them with flour till it is of a good pancake batter, and very smooth; put in a little salt, some grated nutmeg and ginger; butter a dripping or frying pan, and put it under a piece of beef, mutton, or a loin of veal, that is roasting, and then put in your batter, and when the top-side is brown, cut it in square pieces, and turn it, and then let the under-side be brown; then put it in a hot dish as clean of fat as you can, and send it to table hot."

These recipes were extensively copied in other cookery books in the 18th and into the 19th century. By the early 19th century Yorkshire Puddings were being made in many locations throughout the UK. In fact there are early 19th century references to Yorshire Pudding being cooked in Anglo-Indian households.  If it was ever a regional dish, it became widely produced throughout the country within a generation of its publication by Glasse. So is there any case for the Yorkshire Pudding being a regional dish historically?

One thing that is worth mentioning the technique used to make the 18th century Yorkshire Pudding is different to how Yorkshire Puddings are made now. Domestic technology has changed a great deat since the 18th century, Yorkshire Puddings are no longer cooked in front of a fire using radiant heat, even in Yorkshire. This is a major change from the original recipe. The second point, that has often been made, is that although Hannah Glasse may be the first person to publish a recipe using the term "Yorkshire Pudding", the pudding was published in an earlier work under a different name.

 The Whole Duty of a Woman (1737)

"Dripping Pudding

Make a good Batter as for Pancakes, put it in a hot Toss-pan over the Fire with a Bit of Butter to fry the Bottom a little, then put the Pan and Batter under a Shoulder of Mutton instead of a Dripping-pan, keeping frequent1y shaking it by the Handle and it will be light and savoury, - and fit to take up when your Mutton is enough; then turn it in a Dish, and serve it hot."

In fact, as discussed by Jennifer Stead in the introduction to Prospect Books facsimilie edition of the first edition of Glasse's "The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy", "The Whole Duty of a Woman" was the source of many of Glasses recipes.  Given that Glasse re-published so many recipes without a change to the original name, why did she use the term "Yorkshire Pudding" and why is her recipe so much more detailed? Given the specific changes made to the recipe it does seem that she had some personal experience, did she also know of a specific Yorkshire regional connection?

It is unlikely that we will ever have an answer to this question. While it is the case that Glasse lived in northern England for the early part of her life, this was Northumberland, not Yorkshire. It is possible that Glasse encountered this pudding in Yorkshire, but it is equally the case that the name of the pudding could be her own creation. Regionally named dishes tend to be quite rare in early English cookery texts. Glasse gives recipes for "Yorkshire Pudding" and "Welsh Rabbit", fine, but she also gives recipes for "English Rabbit" and "Scotch Rabbit". It does seem more likely that Glasse created some of these names, rather then finding a specific regional recipe for "cheese on toast" in each corner of the kingdom so why not coin "Yorkshire Pudding" too?

 

However it is worth while asking if these types of puddings had any obvious regional distribution early in their recorded history. In terms of ingedients and cooking techniques that define this pudding we have: 

1) Composition: a batter

2) Techniques: upper surface cooked in front of a fire by radiant heat, lower surface cooked on top of the fire by direct heat. Positioned underneath a  roating meat joint to catch the juices.

Given how simple it is in composition, it will come as no surprise that historically batter is a common base for a wide range of food stuffs in the British kitchen. Batter was boiled in a cloth to produce puddings, used to produce various fritter or made into pancakes. It is this latter batter that is essentially the basis of the Yorkshire Pudding. Many early historical recipes produce products that are very similar to the Yorkshire Pudding:

The Wellcome Library Western Manuscripts; MS. 3009, pg. 178

(1654-1685)

"To make a Pan Pudding

Take 2 or 3 spoonfulls of malt flower, put itt into some milk and soe much salt, pepper, cloves, and mace as will season it, then strew in some wheaten flower, stiring it together till it be About the Thickness of batter, soe you may poure it out of a ladle or spoon, then butter an Earthern pan, round About the sides, and bottom, then poure in your pudding, and bake it with brown bread, but you may draw it out, before your bread. After it halth stood in the Oven something aboue an houre."

 

The Wellcome Library Western Manuscripts; MS.4054, pg. 127

(1690-1710)

"A Fraze or Pan-Pudding

Beate 6 or 7 eggs & putt to them a pinte of creame & thicken it with flower, not all together so thick as pan-cakes batter season it with salt & a little pepper, fry it with butter; when one side is enough, turne it with a plate, and fry the other, you may putt in Corrints & shread suet with rose-water, nutmeg & sugar for seasoning."

A collection of above three Hundred Receipts in Cookery, Physick, and Surgery by several hands (1717)

"A very good Tansie.

TAKE a pint of Milk, and a pint of Cream, about a pint of Juice of Spinnage, which must be well dried, after washing, before you stamp it; strain it and pour it in; beat fifteen Eggs with a little Salt, leave out eight. Whites, strain them into the other things, put in near a pint of grated Bread or Bisket, grate in a whole large Nutmeg, and as much Sugar as will make it very sweet, thicken it over the Fire as thick as a Hasty-Pudding; put it into a butter'd Dish, and a cool Oven: Half an Hour bakes it"

So the use of a batter to produce a baked pudding is not specific to the Yorkshire Pudding. These recipes are not cooked under a roasting joint of meat by radiant heat, but then again neither are modern Yorkshire Puddings. MS. 3009's "Pan Pudding" will be a dish similar to a modern Yorkshire Pudding, and for that matter it is similar to many European recipes such as Le Far, Flan du Perigord, Clafoutis and Flognarde. But, none of these batter puddings, historic or extant, are cooked underneath a roasting joint. In fact this seems to be a relatively uncommon technique over all, although William Ellis writes in 1744 that for potatoes  "a very common Way [is] to boil them first, then peel them and lay them in the Dripping-pan under roasting Meat". It is the uncommon nature of technique that may indicate where these types of recipes originated. The majority of  examples of recipes using the technique of cooking a pudding by radiant heat in front of a fire originate in the northern part of the UK. Very north.

The technique of cooking a pudding using the radiant heat of a fire is found in several recipe manuscript collections from Scotland:

 

The National Library of Scotland, Manuscript Acc. 12242, pg. 10

Mrs Janet Maule hir Book of Receipts, (1701)

"A Baken pudding before a fire

Take a Chopin of sweat milk or creame and boile it with a little sweat butter, taike six eggs and three whyts beat them wel with a spoonful of cold cream and when the milk is preffic cold, put in the milk eggs sweattened with sugar then thicken it with a little grated wheat bread and seasoned it with a little nutmeg and sinamon then mix al wel togither and butter the dish ye mind to bake it in before ye putt in the mixture, then put the dish after the mixture is in on top of a pot ful of boiling water before a fire and serve it up with forsed sauces for ye may taike the same ingredients for a quaking pudding.

A Baken pudding in a Frying-pan

Take a Chopin of milk and twelfe eggs wel beatt and mix them togither then with flour thicken it and shred Sewat and season with shugar and sinamone beatt, butter the sydes and bottome of the frying-pan before ye putt in the mixture then sit it before a fire and when it is hardened sett it on a fire stil shifting it til it be baken then serve it up with a sauce of beat butter, Ginger and sugar.

 

The National Library of Scotland, Manuscript Ms.10281, pg 172

Dumfries (1722) 

"A Baken pudding in a frying-pan

Take a Chopin of sweet milk & 12 eggs well beat, & mix them together; then thicken it with flower &  shred Sewat, season it with Sugar & beat Cinnamon; butter the sides & bottom of ye Frying-pan before you put in ye Mixture; then set it before a Fire, & when it is hardened set it on a Fire, still shifting it till it be baken. Then serve it up with a sauce of beat Butter, Sugar & Ginger."

Another

Take a Mutchkine of sweet milk, 8 eggs & some grated bread, mix all together, & when well beat thicken them with flower; put in a little Ginger, Flower & Salt; butter the Frying-pan about the sides & Bottom; put all in and set before the Fire till well hardened; shift it sometimes and when well baken butter or sugar it."

The " Baken pudding in a frying-pan" recipes are the same near identical in both manuscripts. While there does not appear to be a direct relationship between Ms.10281and the  earlier Manuscript Acc. 12242, the majority of recipes from the  former work are repeated in the latter. This suggests that there is an earlier (17th century) source for these "Baken" puddings. While, it is not stated that these puddings are baked under roasting joints of meat, this is mentioned as an alternative cooking technique in several mid to late 18th century Scottish cookery books and one cookery book from the very north of England.

 A New and Easy Method of Cookery by Elizabeth Cleland (1755)

"To make a Plain Tansy. 

TAKE a fine stale Penny Loaf, and cut the Crumb in thin Shaves; put it in a Bowl, then boil a Mutchkin of Cream, and when boiled, pour it over the Bread, then cover the Bowl with a Plate, and let it ly a Quarter of an Hour ; then mix it with eight Eggs well beaten, two Gills of the Juice of Spinage, two Spoonfuls of the Juice of Tansy, and sweeten it with Sugar, Nutmeg, and a little Brandy ; rub your Pan with Butter, and put it in it; then keep it stirring on the Fire till it is pretty thick; then put it in a buttered Dish ,you may either bake it, or do it in the Dripping-Pan under roasted Meat."

 

The Lady's, housewife's, and cookmaid's Assistant by E. Taylor (1769), published at Berwick on Tweed.

"A Pudding to bake under meat.

A Quart of milk, six eggs, a little salt, make it into a batter with flour, as thick as for pancakes; put some dripping or butter into a stewpan or frying-pan, boil it upon the fire, pour in the batter, and hold it upon the fire two or three minutes to harden the bottom, then set it under the meat before the fire. Give it a heat upon the fire several times, shifting it in the pan when it is stiff enough to bear it. Make the pudding of such a size as to be baked enough when the meat is ready. Slide it upon a dish, and send it to table, with melted butter"

 

Cookery and Pastry by Susanna MacIver (1789)

"To make a Tansy Cake.

Beat fix eggs with four or five spoonfuls of flour; mix with them a mutchkin of sweet cream or new milk; sweeten it to your taste ; season it with some nutmeg and a little salt; put in as much of the juice of tansy as bitter it to your taste, and make it green with the juice of spinage; mix some oiled butter in it, and cast them all well together; you may fire it in a frying-pan on the top of the fire, but take care not to burn it. You may fire it below meat that is roasting, or in an oven; but be sure to butter the plate very well that it goes in. In case it is fired below meat, pour off all the fat from it before you send it to the table; strew sugar over it.

 A common Potatoe Pudding to be fired below roasted meat.

 Boil and skin as many potatoes as will fill the dish; beat them, and mix in some sweet milk; put them on the fire with a good piece of butter; season them properly with salt and spices. Some choose an onion shred small, and put in it. Put it in the dish and fire it below the meat, until it is of a fine brown on the top cast three eggs well, and mix in with the potatoes before you put them in the dish; it makes it rise, and eat -light; pour off all the fat that drops from the meat, before you send it to the table : it eats very well with roasted beef or mutton.

 A Bread Pudding to be Fired below meat.

Take a chopin of milk, and slice down as much of the. heart of a fine loaf as make it very thick; put it on the fire and boil it. If you see it too thin of ,bread, put in a little more; let it boil until it is pretty thick, stirring it from the bottom of the pan to keep it from burning; put in a handful of suet; if you have none, put in a piece of fresh butter; take it off the fire and sweeten it to your taste; season it with what spices you choose ; beat six eggs, and let the pudding be a little cold before you put them in; mix all well together, and put it into a dish, and fire it below the meat; turn the dish often, to make it of an equal brown; pour off all the fat before you send it to the table"

These recipes are also found in 19th century Scottish cookery books, although the domination of the Yorkshire pudding was becoming firmly established.

The new practice of cookery, pastry, baking, and preserving by Mrs Hudson and Donat (1804)

Lancashire Pancake Pudding.

"Two eggs, three spoonfuls of fine flour and a little salt, beat these together, and add to them near an English pint of water; take of the drippings of roasting mutton one or two spoonfuls, and put them into the frying pan, set it over the fire, when hot, pour in the above mixture, then set the pan over a chaffing dish of red hot coals, and set it before the fire; bake it as^quick as you can about ten or fifteen minutes : It must not be turned."

The Cook and Housewife's Manual by Meg Dods (Christian Isobel Johnstone; published in Edinburgh, 1826)

 

"Yorkshire Pudding to bake under a Roast. — Mix four ounces of flour very smoothly with a pint and a half of milk, four beat eggs, and a little salt, and also ginger, if liked. Butter a shallow tin pan; pour the batter into it, and place it below the roast. When settling, stir up the batter; and when browned on the upper side, turn over the pudding,* first drawing a knife round the edges to loosen it. Brown the other side. It should be about an inch thick when done. This is the favourite English accompaniment to a sirloin of beef, or a loin of veal or mutton; finely-minced parsley, eschalot, onion, and also suet well-beat, may be added."

Interestingly, while these published recipes post-date "The Whole Duty of a Woman" and "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy", they are sufficently different to these recipes to suggest that either they are up-dated versions of earlier recipes. It seems incredible that the technique for cooking batter type puddings would be confined to a particular region. Compared to English texts, Scottish cookery texts either in published or in manscript form are much less common. The relative over representation of original recipes for batter puddings 'baked in before the fire" in far north of the UK does suggests that this is there historic heartland. However, while these puddings were relatively common in 18th century Scottish sources, by the early 19th century only Yorkshire and Potato pudding were found in Scottish texts, and by the end of the 19th century, only the Yorkshire pudding remained in Scotland. So it seems that the Yorkshire Pudding wasn't created in Yorkshire, it was created in British cookery books.

 

Finally I would like to thank the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland for permission to reproduce these manuscript recipes.

Did Burns Know the Neep?

 

 Above: The trinity of Haggis, neeps and tatties as produced by The University of Edinburgh's catering department.

 Each year on the 25th of January the poetry and life of the 18th century Scottish poet Robert Burns is celebrated by thousands of people around the world as a de facto Scottish National  Day. Central to these celebrations is the Burns' Supper, where there is a recital of Burns' "Address To a Haggis" and the consumption of Haggis. By and large, the Haggis is always served with sides of Tatties (mashed potatoes) and Neeps (mashed swedish turnip/swede/rutabaga). Neither of these latter two items is mentioned by Burns in his poems, but the combination of these three items is now seen as essential, as they perfectly capture the essense of one aspect of the Scottish character, as described by Burns. Honest, uncomplicated, unfussy and egalitarian. Not that this has always been the case, earlier menus for Burns' Supper were rather more grand, with no mention of Haggis or neeps. In fact Haggis is only added to this very Scottish themed dinner menu in later editions of Meg Dods' "'The Cook's and Housewife's Manual". Given how central Haggis, Neeps and Tatties are to the modern Scottish national identity, how and when did this occur?

 

 The Cook's and Housewife's Manual (1828)

 

 

 The Cook's and Housewife's Manual (1847)

 

What is a "Neep"?

Most sources on the subject state that in Scotland there is a root vegetable known as a "Neep", which is the same vegetable as the English "Swede". The popular explanation of this difference in name is that "Swede" is a contraction of "Swedish turnip", which distinguishes it from other types of turnips grown in England, whereas in Scotland, only this one type of turnip is commonly grown, therefore the "Swedish" bit was dropped and turnip was contracted to "Neep". As it happens, this is not correct. "Neep" is not a contraction, it is actually quite the opposite. The Old English for turnip is "næp" from Latin "napus" (turnip). "Turnip" basically indicates the round rooted nature of the Neep, just as "Pasnip" indicates a carrot/parsnip like Neep ("Parsnip" is the combination of the Latin "pastinaca" (carrot/parsnip) and Neep/Nip). Simple. The Scots are not the only people in the UK to use the term Neep, until the begining of the 20th century it was a common term in much of England. Most Scots that I know don't tend to use the term Neep, more often the vegetable is called a "turnip".  So how does a turnip different to a swedish turnip? Is it simply a matter of colour?

While it is true that most modern varieties of British turnip are white fleshed and Swedish turnips yellow, this is not definative. Some strains of turnip are yellow fleshed and there are also white fleshed swedish turnips. In 19th century Scotland it was the a yellow fleshed variety of turnip, not Swedish turnip that was especially prized.

Turnips, plain.

"Of turnips there are many varieties. Choose the pale yellow, small, fine-grained, juicy sorts. Pare off all that would be woody and stringy when boiled. Boil in plenty of water for from three-quarters of an hour to nearly two hours, according to the age and size. Swedish, four hours. Drain and serve them whole, or, if too large, divided, or, best of all mashed. A bit of the green top-shoot is left on early white turnips, and melted butter or white sauce poured over them. Swedish turnip-tops are delicate greens when young. If boiled in their coats, and then pared, old Swedish turnips will be more juicy."

 

 

In fact while the two vegetables are very similar there are some very important differences.

The Triangle of U

 As noted above, the turnip (Brassica rapa var. rapa) was cultivated since ancient times, however the Swedish Turnip ( Brassica napus var. napobrassica) was first documented in the 17th century. The Swedish turnip is not simply a variety of turnip, but a complicated hybrid of a turnip and cabbage. As determined experimentally by the Korean botanist Woo Jang-choon in the 1930's, as the number of chromosomes differs between these two species, in order to produce a fertile hybrid between a turnip and a cabbage the chromosome content in any fertile progeny must be doubled. So a cabbage has 18 chromosomes, the  turnip has 20, but the Swedish turnip has 38 chromosomes. This also means that the new hybrid is unable to cross breed easily with its parents. Thus, the Swedish turnip is a turnipy cabbage or a cabbagey turnip, combining traits from both parents. While Woo delibrately created these hybrids, it seems that the Swedish turnip was created serendipitously, prehaps no earlier then the 16th century.

Introduction of the Swedish Turnip to Scotland

By the middle of the 18th century, the agricultural developments that had taken place in England began to be applied to Lowland Scotland. At the beginning of the 18th century, farming in Scotland was conducted in a manner that was essential the same as that of the Medieval period. Fields were cultivated using a three year cycle, in the first and second year crops were planted, in the third the land was allowed to go fallow. This practice placed limitations on the amount food that could be grown for human consumption and did not allow grazing of food animals. One outcome of this was that the raising of cattle in Scotland was servely limited. Without pasture grazing or winter foods cattle starved and so did the people, as can be seen in the following accounts:

General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr (1793)

".....the agriculture of Ayrshire was in a most wretched condition. There was scarcely a practicable road; the farmers' houses were mere hovels; the lands were overrun with weeds and rushes. The arable farms were small, for the tenants had not stock for larger occupations; the tenure was bad, and the tenant harassed by a multitude of vexutious services to the landlord. The land, divided into the croft or infield, and outfield, was either neglected or worn out by successive crops of oats, as long as they would pay for seed and labour, or by an ill-managed rotation of two or three successive crops of oats, one of bear (or four-rowed barley), followed by a year of rest. The wretched condition of the country may be judged of by the fact, that little butchers' meat was used by the farmers, except a portion salted at Martinmas for winter stock; porridge, oatmeal cakes, and some milk or cheese, constituted the chief of their diet. Even in the town of Ayr, containing from 4 000 to 5000 inhabitants, not more than fifty head of cattle were slaughtered annually. A succession of bad seasons, at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries, obliged hundreds of families to fly for subsistence to the north of Ireland; and the poor were not unfrequently obliged to subsist by bleeding their cattle, and mixing the blood with any oatmeal they could procure."

"Although, therefore, the practice of draining, enclosing, the cultivation of artificial grasses, turnips, and potatoes had been introduced by the middle of the last century to a limited extent in the south-east part of the kingdom, on the estates of some of the land proprietors who paid attention to agriculture, their example was not followed by the tenantry generally, who laboured under a great deficiency of capital, and who were unwilling to adopt changes till they saw them succeed when tried by men in their own rank. Green crops being almost unknown, fresh animal food could not be obtained during one half of the year. Each family salted in October or November its supply of beef till Whitsunday. If the cattle were alive in the spring, and able to go to the pastures without assistance, it was thought sufficient."

 "In the spring, their cattle were so weak, that when they lay down, they could not rise of themselves till they lifted them up. They fell into mosses and quagmires through weakness, and were drowned. In the spring season, it was a constant custom to gather their neighbours together, to assist in lifting their cows and horses, and to drag them out of moss holes."

Most cattle had to be slaughtered at the begining of Winter, and those that were kept only barely made it through until the new feed grew in late spring. So weak were they that that had to be carried out to pasture. Traditional farming is not automatically kinder to animals then more modern methods it seems.

 

 Above: Turnips varieties; White, red topped, Swedish and green tankard types.

 

All this was to change with the introduction of a seemingly magical vegetable in the mid-18th century. That vegetable is obviously the turnip. By the mid-18th century the four year crop rotation method had been introduced into the England. This was one of the key events in the Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century. Rather then having two years of crops then a fallow year, the four year crop rotation (generally wheat, barley, turnips then clover) ment that fields could be kept in continous production, with the additional benefit of being able to support sheep and cattle. More sheep and cattle in turn ment more manure and thus an ability to futher improve the fertility of arable soils. When this system of agriculture was introduced in Scotland it had several major and immediate effects. With increased stock and the possibility of over-wintering cattle, peoples diets changed. Fresh meat became avaible throughout the winter:

The Farmer's Magazine (1837)

 "....until the introduction of turnip husbandry, all fat stock was, of course, grass fed; and if they were kept on during the ensuing winter, their condition fell off and had again to be made up in the summer of the ensuing year. Meat markets were thus only supplied in summer, and people were then content to eat salt meat all winter. Turnips at length afforded fat meat fed in winter, all of which was readily consumed at home, but, by the extension of their cultivation, a portion of the fat stock was exported to England. The southern counties of Scotland first cultivated the turnip, and, of course, first enjoyed the benefits of feeding cattle in winter."

So turnip cultivation gave Scotland an oppertunity to increase the number of cattle farmed, however, Scotland is not England and has its own specific issues - even in farming. Problems were found with keeping turnips in good condition during the early spring, as they tended to either rot or sprout, which lowers their fodder quality. The solution to this was to trial other similar root vegetables - enter the Swedish Turnip:

Letters and papers on agriculture, planting, &c (1792)

"Extract of a letter from a Gentleman in Scotland concerning the Ruta-baga.

I Have introduced into this country the Ruta-Baga, or Swedish Turnip, conceiving that it might be of great use as an article of green food after the month of March, when usually our common turnips run all to seed, and we find ourselves at a loss for food until our grass grounds are ready; which they seldom are until the first week of May: hence my experience of this plant is mostly confined to the spring."

The Statistical Account of Scotland  by Sir John Sinclair (1793)

"The Ruta baga or Swedish turnip, was introduced into this parish [Kilconquhar, Fife] about 4 years ago. Its leaves resemble the rib kail plants, the root resembles field turnip, not so large in general, but heavier in proportion to its size, and of much firmer texture. It is believed, that as great weight of this root may be raised on an acre, as of field turnip; this plant seems to be gaining ground here; it is proof against the most intense frost; the season for sowing it is from the 1st to the 20th May; it may either be transplanted as cabbage, or managed as field turnip."

But just as the Scots experimented with Swedish Turnips as an animal food, they also tried it themselves:

 Letters and papers on agriculture, planting, &c (1792)

Extract of a letter from a Gentleman in Scotland concerning the Ruta-baga.

"In winter I began taking up a few for my table; they seemed in general smaller than our common turnips, and longer, mostly of the figure and size of a quart bottle ; but twice as heavy as a turnip of the fame size. For their use for the table, I can confidently recommend' them as of superior flavour, so much so indeed, that after eating them none of my family would taste the other turnips."

 So not only did the Scots find the Swedish turnip edible, they found it delicious. In Edinburgh at least, the non-Swedish types of turnips had been part of the normal fair of high and low class Scots for centuries. Interesting, in addition to eating them cooked in various ways, they were also consumed raw - much to the amazment of the English.

The Songstresses of Scotland (1871)

"In a dearth of fruit for dessert at the dinner-tables of the principal men in Edinburgh, an English traveller remarked that dishes of small raw turnips — called " neeps " by the natives — were eaten with avidity."

 

"The Expedition of Humphry Clinker" by Tobias Smollett (1771)

"You know we used to vex poor Murray, of Baliol College, by asking', if there was really no fruit but turnips in Scotland. Sure enough, I have seen turnips make their appearance, not as a dessert, but by way of hors d'oeuvres, or whets, as radishes are served up betwixt more substantial dishes in France and Italy . But it must be observed, that the turnips of this country are as much superior in sweetness, delicacy, and flavour, to those of England, as a musk melon is to the stock of a common cabbage. They are small and conical, of a yellowish colour, with a very thin skin; and, over and above their agreeable taste, are valuable for their antiscorbutic quality."

Prehaps a taste for raw turnips is the inspiration for this 19th century Edinburgh market cry:

"Whae'll buy neeps? - neeps like sucre! whae'll buy neeps?"

So from a late 18th century agricultural innovation, the Swedish turnip gradually appeared on the Scottish plate throughout the 19th century, and by the end of the 19th century we first see mention of Neeps and Haggis together.

 

Robert Burns certainly would have known the "Neep", or turnip, but given that he died in 1796, only a few years after the Swedish Turnip had been cultivated in Scotland for the first time on a small scale experimental basis, it is very unlikely that he ever ate the modern dish of "bashed Neeps" (Swedish Turnips) that is now the staple of every dinner given in his honour. The introduction of turnip cultivation brought Scottish agriculture out of the Medieval and into the modern era and introduced a year round fresh meat and a new vegetable to the Scottish diet. However, there was another side to agricultural improvement in Scotland, that of the effect on the people that worked the land. Improved land that could support more animals for a small change in actual working practices resulted in a surplus of farm workers. While it doesn't have the historical glamour of the Highland Clearances, the Lowland Clearances resulted in the displacement of thousands of Lowland Scots and the enlargement and development of towns such as Glasgow. Turnips replaced people, during the period of the later Highland clearances, Elizabeth Gordon, 19th Countess of Sutherland was able to write of her husband that "he is seized as much as I am with the rage of improvements, and we both turn our attention with the greatest of energy to turnips". One has to wonder what Burns, the Lowland Ploughman Poet,  would have thought about the Neep in light of the fact that it greatly contributed to so many of the great social changes in Scotland that he observed and commentated on? The humble turnip, the most unfussy and egalitarian of all vegetables, yet within a generation of its introduction "tradional" Scots live styles changed forever.

English Caudle and Greek Avgolemono: Culinary Cousins?

Previously I have discussed the history of a long lived British culiary technique which involved the serving cooked meat with sauce thickened with egg and a flavoured with a souring agent. Typically, in early recipes the souring agent was verjuice:

A Book of Cookrye by A. W. (1591)

To make balles of Mutton.

Take your Mutton and mince it very fine with Suet.  Then season it with Sugar, sinamon, Ginger, Cloves & Mace, Salt, and raw Egges.  Make it in round balles.  Let your broth seeth ere you put them in.  Make your broth with Corance, dates quartered, whole Mace and salt.  Thick it with yolkes of Egges, and Vergious [verjuice], and serve it upon Sops.

* Out of interest it is worth comparing this 16th century English dish with a modern Greek dish of Youvarlakia me Avgolemono.

Verjuice is the juice of sour (or unripe) grapes, but in the English tradition it could also made from the juice of other sour fruit, such as crab-apples. Directions for producing simulated verjuice are quite common in Medieval and Early Modern cookery texts for the simple reason that verjuice was a hugely popular cookery ingredient. Verjuice is present in almost every European Medieval recipe collection and it is also commonly found in Medieval Arabic texts. In both cases this was largely due to the fact that during this period both Christian Europeans and Muslims followed the same theory of dietetics, that of "Hurorism".  This theory was based on the belief that body was composed of four "humours", when these were in balance, good health insured, when out of balance illness and disease was the outcome. Diet was thought to be a useful method of balancing humours and ensuring health. If you were of a Sanguine temperament (hot and moist), then you needed to counteract this tendency to ensure health. Verjuice was considered by nature to be extremely cold and dry, so perfect in this context. However, it is only in European texts do we fine the combination of egg thickened broth, soured with verjuice. This egg-verjuice sauce was either made from the broth of stewed meat or used to thicken the liquids in pies.

While I have previously discussed the English use of these egg-verjuice sauces, essentially the same type of recipe is found in Medieval and Early Modern English, French, Catalan, Spanish, Dutch and Italian recipe collections. While this was a widespread European tradition that lasted for hundreds of years in Europe, the vast majority of the recipes stopped being made long ago. However in the Pie class of dishes there are at least two notable survivals. Interestingly, in both cases the dishes are considered to be traditional and regional dishes and neither is located in Europe.

The first dish is the South African "Hoender Pastei" (Chicken Pie), a Cape Dutch speciality. This dish is very similar to the ancestoral 17th century Dutch recipes for Chicken "Pastey", as detailed in historic recipe collections such as "The Sensible Cook", the only significant change is that verjuice has been replaced with lemon juice in the modern recipe. Interestingly, this Dutch recipe has inspired another version of the dish in the Cape Malay community. In "South African Cape Malay Cooking" by Sonia Allison and Myrna Roberts, "Hoender Pastei" is described as being "considered de rigeur by Cape Malays for weddings and other celebratory occasions". The main difference between that Cape Dutch and Malay dishes being the inclusion of sago in the latter version.

The other survival of this ancient style of Chicken Pie is the Moroccan "pastilla", ( "bisteeya", bistayla "bastila" or "basteela"). In this instance a tradional Moroccan Pastilla would contain young pigeon or chicken. As in the case of the Cape Dutch  "Hoender Pastei", the older style combination of verjuice and egg has been replaced by lemon juice and egg.

Are there any other survivals of this ancient culinary technique of serving meat with a egg and verjuice sauce? In general cuisines are dynamic, while there are well recognised regional cuisines and individual dishes it is well worth considering that most dishes are of relatively recent origin. Ingredients change, culinary techniques change, individual dishes, indeed, whole classes of dishes come in and out of use. Unless we are dealing with an unusual degree of cultural inertia/conservatism, Survival or Relict dishes are rare, and usually survive because they develop a cultural importance outwith the context of deliciousness. Food can be symbollic as well as delicious and where a particular symbollic significance is retained, so might a particular dish. Verjuice was a popular cooking ingredient in Europe because it was thought to be extremely healthy when consumed in the correct manner. Once its significance as a healthy ingredient was diminished then so did its popularity as an ingredient and the dishes that it was used in. Deliciousness doesn't last, most of the worlds delicious foods are now found in libraries, not on the table.

But there are examples of this ancient class of dishes that still exist. Of these "Survival" dishes we have the culinary techniques of thickening a sauce by the use of a liaison. From the Medieval period in the English tradition sauces thickened with egg yolk were know as either a "Caudle" or "Lear". With the rising influence of French cusine during the 17th century the French term "liaison" began to be used in English cookery texts, especially for liquids that were thickened with items other then eggs.  From the 17/18th century:

 "To make a Caudle for a sweet Veal Pie.  Take about a jill of white wine and verjuice mixed, make it very hot, beat the yolk of an egg very well, and then mix them together as you would do mull'd ale ; you must sweeten it very well, because there is no sugar in the pie."

"...Lear, made thus: Take the Yolks of Eggs, a little white Wine or Verjuice, a Piece of sweet Butter, and a little grated Nutmeg; toss these well together, just as you are going to serve them away, till they are thick; garnish your Dish, and serve them up hot"

"For I should have said, that when you put in the Herbs, you squeese in also the juyce of half a Limon (pared from the yellow rinde, which else would make it bitter) and throw the pared and squeesed half (the substance) into it afterwards. The last things (of Butter, bread, flower) cause the liaison and thickening of the liquor. If this should not be enough, you may also put a little gravy of Mutton into it; stirring it well when it is in, least it curdle in stewing, or you may put the yolk of an Egg or two to your liaison of Butter, Flower, and ladleful of broth."

Both the English "Lear" and the French "Liaison" , mean "to thicken" and derive from the same etymological roots.  In the modern dishes a liaison still often uses egg, but other thickening agents are also used. The modern white Fricassée is most similar to the 17th century original.

In many of the other Survival dishes, ancient verjuice has almost entirely been replaced by lemon juice. The most striking example of this is seen in the Sephardic Jewish community. In the Eastern Mediterranean Sephardic community there are a range of dishes using a sauce thickened with egg yolks and soured with lemon juice. These sauces are popular are they give a creamy texture to a sauce in a cultural background were there is a proabition on eating dairy produce with meat. These dishes are commonly known as "agristada", indicating their origin as being derived from an older Spanish recipe containing verjuice, not lemon juice, as "Agraz" is Spanish for verjuice. Agristada dishes are found in the Sephadic communities of Greece, Turkey, Syria, Bulgaria and in cities with large Jewish communities such as London. Often the original Judeo-Spanish "Agristada" is replaced by terms from the non-Jewish community, such as the "Tarbiya" in Egypt, "Terbiye" in Turkey, but most often as a local variation of "Egg and lemon" sauce, such as Arabic "Beda b'lemume" or Greek "Avgolemono". In many cases this Sephardic culinary technique has been adopted by the non-Jewish communities, most famously in the case of the Greek "Avgolemono". As the combination of egg and veruice thickened sauces is unknown in Medieval Arabic cookery texts and rare in modern Arabic cuisines, it would seem that where these dishes are found they are derived from the Jewish community.

In modern Spain "Agristada" has survived as a drink of verjuice sweetened with sugar, in Italy the same drink was known as "Agrestata" ("Agresto" is Italian for verjuice), however in Bartolomeo Scappi's "Opera" (1570), Agrestata was a verjuice sauce, that was either thickened with breadcrumbs or egg yolks. Compareing Scappi's recipes with the modern Survival dishes we can see a shift from the use of verjuice to the modern lemon juice; Scappi gives a recipe for Brodetto (broth thickened with egg yolks and flavoured with verjuice), which has survived as  a "Brodetto Pasquale" in Florence, except in this case the verjuice has again been replaced with lemon juice. In Rome "Agnello Brodettato" or "Brodetto Pasquale", are again Easter dishes this time stewed lamb is thickened with an egg and lemon sauce. Greek food authority Aglaia Kremezi has told me that a similar Easter Soup/stew is made in Greece and is known as "Magiritsa".*

So while the dishes that have survived that are representative of this ancient class of egg-verjuice thickened sauces may be delicious in their own right, they seemed to have survived in part due to cultural conservatism. Either they are associated with a particular religious festival or because they are associated with a particular religions probation on eating certain combinations of food stuffs. In some cases this class of food has moved outwith this original  context, Avgolemono is now consumed by a non-Jewish community without any religious connotations in most cases. But  Avgolemono and related dishes in the Eastern Med. would not have developed without the Survival dish Agristada being transported from Spain as part of a cultural package of the Shephardic Jews. Cultural conservatism becomes the catalyst for dynamic cuisine change, a new class of dish becomes a regional classic. How many more of these seemingly dynamic cuisine developments are dependent on the influence of much more conservative cultural elements? How many regional "Classics" are the products of external, rather than internal developments? What are the drivers of these changes? Is it the momentum generated by a huge mass of cultural conservatism or down to more stochastic forces? Connecting the dots between various regional dishes and demonstrating a shared history is interesting, but ultimately not very informative. The important questions to be addressed is how these food networks develop, and what are the processes that drive this development?  Cultural conservatism seems to be one process that drives the formation of regional foods, what are the implications of this?

 

 * It was also Aglaia that first told me about the connection between Avgolemono and Agristada.

The Fishy Tale of Bœuf à la Bourguignonne

 

 
Above: "Pièce de Bœuf  a la Bourguignonne",

If ever there was a European dish that deserved the label "Classic", then Bœuf à la Bourguignonne (also Bœuf à la Bourguignon, Beef Bourguignonne/Bourguignon or Beef Burgundy) would have to be high on the list. It has appeared around the world at family meals, dinner parties and resturants for many decades and currently a Google search for the term results in over one million hits. Indeed, in the English speaking world the term "Beef Burgundy" has become synonymous with "beef stewed with red wine", even if it is simply filling for a pie. In France pre-cut cubes of stewing beef are labeled for sale simply as "Bourguignon". Which is all rather amazing for a stew.

While "Beef Burgundy" may have become synonymous with beef stewed in red wine, this an over simplification.  Classically the garnish for the dish was as, if not more, important to the definition of the dish, then the use of red wine. Other similar beef stews use red wine, but classically a garnish "à la Bourguignonne" implies the use of small onions, mushrooms and lardons, although these elements are increasingly being dropped from modern interperatations of the dish. The association of the dish with the French region of Burgundy (Bourgogne) brings to mind the the areas gastronomic riches. Famous for high quality beef, poultry, mustard, cheese and wine, Burgundy has been called the "gastronomic heart" of France. Labelling a beef stew "à la Bourguignonne" implies that the dish will possess a level of elegance and richness beyond that of other beef stews. But there is a dirty little secret lying at the heart of this dish, for all of its association with Burgundy, it is not thought to be a proper regional specialty. Increasingly in discussions on the nature of food, a lack of regionality implies a lack of authenticity and this can be perceived as a big negative.

 So what is the origin of this dish? The most common histrory for the dish given is that it was a peasant dish that was raised to a higher level by professional chefs.  Auguste Escoffier is often quoted as the indvidual that modernized the recipe at the begining of the 20th century. The recipe in  Escoffier's "Le Guide Culinaire" (1903) was quickly followed by dozens of similar recipes published by various authors in the next decade. The number of "new" recipes continues to rise. As it happens, Escoffier's recipe is actually for "Pièce de Bœuf  a la Bourguignonne", that is a single large piece of beef, rather then lots of small cubes of beef. However, the following American recipe indicates that the modernization of the  recipe did not orginate with Escoffier.

"The Post-Graduate Cookery Book" (1903) by Adolphe Meyer

 

Terrine De Boeuf A La Bourguignonne - Beef In Terrin, Burgundy Style

 Cut 5 or 6 pounds of rump of beef in pieces about 2 inches square, also cut 1/2. pound of lean salt pork in small squares and parboil them.

Heat some lard or beef suet in a pan; season the beef, and put in the pan to brown lightly with the salt pork, add 4 large carrots and 4 large onions; cut in quarters; also add a faggot of herbs and 1 clove of garlic. When well browned, drain the fat and sprinkle 2 or 3 spoonfuls of flour over the meat; stir well and let cook for a few minutes; then moisten with I quart of claret and enough beef stock to have the stew well covered. Put a lid on the pan, and cook the stew in a moderate oven for about 3 hours.

When the meat is done, remove it piece by piece into a clean pan, reduce the sauce to good consistency, and strain it over the meat. Next add 3 dozen small glazed onions and the same amount of small heads of mushrooms (which, if fresh, should first be sauted in butter); give one boil to the stew, and serve it in a well-heated tureen."

Meyer was born in the Alsace, but became chef of the Union Club in New York. As both Meyer's and Escoffier's recipes were published independently in the same year, this implies that there are earlier origin for the modern recipe. While there are several recipes published before 1903, the most likely source of Escoffier and Meyer's recipe is the brilliant "Dictionnaire Universel de Cuisine Pratique" (1894) by Joseph Favre. Favre's masterful work anticipates Escoffier and is often refered to by Escoffier. Both chefs worked at "La Maison Chevet", a hugely important caterer at the Palais Royale in Paris. Favre mentions that Chevet supplied food not only to Paris high society, but also catered to high society all over Europe. Could it be that "Bœuf à la Bourguignonne", rather then being a cheffy refinement of Burgundian peasant cookery, is actually in origin Parisian catering to high society?

Favre's recipe gives a clue to this origin.

 "Bœuf  braise à la bourguignonne

Couper le boeuf en morceaux, le mettre dans un sautoir avec du beurre; et lorsqu'il est bien roussi, le degraisser, poudrer de farine et ajouter, selon la quantite de boeuf , une ou deux gousses d'ail, autant d'echalote, le tout hache. Mouiller avec du bon vin rouge et un tiers de boullion. Ajouter un bouquet garni, saler, poivrer a point et laisser cuire jusqu'a parfaite tendrete.

D'autre part, faire glacer des petis oignons avec petis lardons, les poudrer de sucre pour les faire dorer, les ajouter au boeuf lorsqu'il est aux trois quarts cuit, et au moment de servir des champignons sautes, ou cuites selon la regle.

Retirer le bouquet garni et dresser dans un plat creux chaud."

Favre's recipe is essentially the same as most modern recipes, to date I have not found an earlier recipe, so at this point it is indeed likely that the modern dish originates with Favre, and possibly high class Parsian catering. A clue to the latter point is in Favre's description of the recipe as "Cuis[ine] de restaurant", in other words restaurant level food. Seperately Favre describes "Garniture a la bourguignonne" as being composed as glazed small onions, lardons, small meatballs and sauted mushrooms, moisted with red wine. Drop the meatballs and we have the what is still now the modern garnish for the dish. Interestingly the orgins of this garnish "a la bourguignonne" are much older then Bœuf à la Bourguignonne itself.

It was during a period of modernisation and codification of of French haute cuisine in the late 18th and early 19th century that references to a Burgundian style ragout (garnish and sauce) began to appear. However, this was never paired with beef. This is  Careme's typical recipe for both a Burgundian style red wine sauce and ragout for fish from early part of the 19th century

SAUCE A LA BOURGUIGNOTTE

 Apres avoir habille une moyenne anguille, vous la coupez par troncons et la mettez dans une casserole a ragout ave deux oignons, deux maniveaux eminces, deux gousses d’ail, deux echalottes, un bouquet assaisonne, une pincee de poivre en poudre, une demi-bouteille de vin de Volney; faites mijoter et reduire un peu sur un feu doux; ensuite vous passez cette essence avec pression a l’etamine; puis vous y joignez deux grandes cuillerees a ragout d’espagnole travaillee, et deux maniveaux tournes et leurs fonds. Faites reduire a grand feu et selon la regle; puis vour y versez de nouveau un verre de volney. Lousque la sauce est reduite a point, vous la deposez dans une casserole a bain-marie. Au moment de service, vous y joignez beurre d’ecrevisses, une trentaine de queues d’ecrevisses, et le meme nombre de petits champignons bien blancs. Servez.

Cette sauce est des plus savoureuses, et convient pour le poisson de riviere cuit au court-bouillon et a l’eau de sel.

 J’ai servi cette sauce pour la premiere fois a la princesse de B***.

 RAGOUT EN MATELOTTE A LA BOURGUIGNOTTE

 A l’egard de ce ragout, vous procedez sa preparation ainsi qu’il est demontre ci-dessus; seulement vous employez la sauce maigre matelote indiquee a la bourguignotte; pius vous ajoutez a la garniture de l’entrée quelques groupes de queues d’ecrevisses, six croutons pares en Coeur passes au beurre et glaces, et quatre belles ecrevisses prepares pour garniture; servez le reste de sauce dans une sauciere avec quelques champignons, onions et queues d’ecrevisses.

 

Recipes for "Bourguignotte" (Burgundian) style fish are in most French cookery books of the early 19th century, and often in English language cookery books of the period. Parallel to this was the the increase in Matelote dished in English language cookery books. This is a Scottish example.

"The cook and housewife's Manual (1828) by Meg Dods

Sauce d la Matelote for Fish.—To a large pint of brown roux heated, or of Espagnole, put six onions sliced and fried with a few mushrooms, or a little mushroom-catsup, a glass of red wine, and a little of the liquor in which the fish was boiled. Give it a seasoning of parsley, chives, or bay-leaf, salt, pepper, allspice, and a clove. Skink it up, (using a large spoon) to make it blend well. Put veal-gravy to it if wanted more rich, or a good piece of butter. Strain it, and if wanted exceedingly rich, add small quenelles, (forcemeat-balls,) proper for a fish-dish, glazed onions and mushrooms, a little essence of anchovy and a squeeze of lemon. Serve over stewed carp or trout.

Obs.—This sauce is exceedingly admired by some gourmands, indeed preferred to all other ways of serving fish"

Fish stews known as "Matelotte" ("Sailor style") were common enough all over France, but the Burgundian style indicated the use of red rather then white wine. Denis Diderot's 18th century Encyclopédie indicates defines a Matelotte as a strong ragout, flavoured with salt, pepper, onions, mushrooms & wine and commonly made in the inns located along the rivers. So why "Burgundian? Almost certainly because of the use of red wine. We may see the pairing of red wine and beef in cookery as "natural", but odd as it may sound the use of red wine in French cookery prior to the 19th century was rather limited. The Burgundians seem to have been unusual in their use of red wine in cookery, enough so that a sauce described as "Burgundian" came to mean "with red wine". A 19th century description of these sauces (for fish) in "Mémoires de lʹAcadémie des sciences, arts et belles-lettres de Dijon"

"This mode of preparation, always used, is known in Burgundy, under the name of "môrette", pronounced "meurette", which is a picturesque expression whose name indicates the dark color of sauce".

Meurette was seen as an interchangeble name for a red wine based Matelotte, which was extremely popular at the begining of the 19th century:

"Mais la manière la plus générale, et certainement la meilleure de la manger, est celle qui est connue sous le nom de matelotte ou de meurette"

It is by the name "Meurette" that these red wine sauces are still known in Burgundy.  So it would seem that this Burgundian regional way of preparing fish made its way into Parisian cookbooks by during the period of the late 18th to early 19th century.  Rather then use the regional name of "Meurette", the authors of thee books used the general term for fish stew with wine ("Matelotte") and described it as Burgundian due to the use of red wine. "Oeufs en Meurette" (Eggs in a red wine sauce) is considered to be another classic dish of Burgundian cookery, yet again in the 19th century, recipes for "Oeufs en Mattelote" are far more common in cookery texts, then "Oeufs en Meurette".

This Burgundian sauce and garnish combination also was used for a very few non-fish items, such as woodcock or hare.

The red wine Matelote also began to be combined with beef.  Not as "Bœuf à la Bourguignonne", but as perhaps what was the poor cousin of this dish, "Bœuf bouilli en Matelote". Due to the large quantities of beef stock/broth used in the early 19th century haute cuisne for sauces, soups and braises, there was always a large amount of boiled beef in excess. By and large these were considered not to be very nourishing as the "goodness" had been extracted into the bouillion. But a way to use up all this beef was found. Generally these chunks of sodden beef were sliced thinly, and warmed through in a range of sauces. One such combination was boiled beef combined with the now vary familar Burgundian style Matelotte sauce. At the end of the 19th century Favre refers to these Boulli Matelotte as "Cuis[ine] de cabaret". In other words, unlike "Cuisine de restaurant", this was a recipe that was only worthy of a venue where the food was not a major focus of the diners attention. There was no reference to Burgundy, as this wasn't a dish worthy of the name.

"Bœuf bouilli en matelote à la Bourgeoise.

Épluchez des petits ognons, que vous mettrez dans une poêle - avec un peu de beurre ; faites-les roussir avec un feu qui ne soit pas trop ardent; quand ils le seront, mettez plein une cuillère à bouche de farine; sautez-la avec vos ognons; mettez un verre de vin rouge, un demi-verre de bouillon, quelques champignons (si vous en avez), du sel, du poivre, une feuille de laurier, un peu de thym; achevez de cuire votre ragoût; quand il le sera, vous le verserez sur les tranches de bouilli que voifs aurez mises sur le plat; faites-le mijoter une demi-heure pour que le bouilli se pénètre de la sauce."

So it would seem that by the end of the 18th century the use of red wine as a basis sauce for fish was recognised as being typically "Burgundian", both in Burgundy itself and also amoungst the new wave of professional chefs working in Paris. These chefs worked in the recently developed restaurant trade, but also as private caterers. In this environment a "Burgundian" sauce and garnish were codified. The haute cuisine method of making a Matelotte required the production of a seperate sauce which was combined with the other elements of the dish.  This "sauce matelote a la bourguignotte" eventually began to mean not only an individual dish, but "Matelotte" became a culinary technique, an ingredient cooked in a wine sauce. This was a way for the professional chef to produce a vast arrange of different dishes by combining a few basic recipes. In Parallel to the development of the Matelotte as a culinary technique, the Burgundian style sauce and ragout became codified. So from the local Burgundian manner of cooking fish, haute cuisine developed a Burgundian style sauce and ragout (later a garnish) and "Matelotte" style of cookery.

Some 19th century examples of the development of Burgundy style dishes from English cookery books.

"CARP, A LA BOURGUIGNOTTE. Stew the carp whole in red wine, when done, drain and place it on an oval dish; sauce it with a rich Bourguignotte sauce (No. 28), garnish with soft roes and cray-fish, and send to table.

SALMIS OF WOODCOCKS, A LA BOURGUIGNOTTE. Roast the woodcocks, cut them up, and prepare the croutons as in the foregoing case; make an essence with the trimmings, and add this to a Bourguignotte ragout (No. 195). Warm the salmis with a little of the sauce, dish it up, garnish with the ragout and sauce, place the croutons round the base, and serve."

 

The older "Burgundian style ragout" for fish ( at its basic level glazed onions and mushrooms, moistened with red wine sauce) became a  "Burgundian style garnish", red wine was no longer a vital element, as the use of the garnish implied the use of a red wine sauce. This garnish at its most simple was glazed onions and mushrooms, but could include other elements like meatballs, crayfish tails or truffles. Eventually, these were combined with non-fish ingredients, such as game. Red wine sauce was used to perk up left over boiled beef. At the very end of the 19th century rather then dressing for left over boiled beef, good quality beef was braised in the red wine sauce and dressed with the garnish just before service. The shift from leftovers to original dish, is a subtle, but important change. This late 19th century dish is in essence the old Burgundian style haute cuisine fish Matelotte of the early 19th century, but now the fish had been replaced by beef.

So where does this leave "regionality"? Well from this it seem that there has been a long recognised use of red wine in Burgundian cookery. What is less clear is if beef was typically ever cooked in this manner in the region. To date there is no documentation of this prior to the development of recipe in Paris. Certainly early regional cookbooks like Alfred Contour's "Cuisinier Bourguignon" gives no such recipe. But lack of documentation is in the end, simply that. Potentially the developent of the recipe in Paris was due to parallel developments in Burgundy. Dijon was a well recognised gastronomic centre during this period for instance. More to the point, what ever the convoluted origin of Bœuf à la Bourguignonne, having spent time in Burgundy I would have to say that this dish now seems to be recognised as a local dish. It is difficult to argue that a dish is not authentically regional, when it has a local cultural identity. I would argue that rather then spending time on defining a dish as "regional" due to historical continuity of development, it is better to consider its importance in defining cultural identity. Nothing is local for ever after all.

Effectively one reason why many people suggest that Bœuf à la Bourguignonne is not a regional dish is because we have a decent amount of documentation on the development of the dish. But is this relevant? How many "regional" dishes are considered local/native/ours simply due to lack of documentation? Or if there is documentation, does that help at all? Recently the the origins of the iconically Scottish Haggis were shown to be common to both England and Scotland. This caused much outrage amoungst the easily angered in Scotland. Currently in Italy food as cultural identity is being heavly politicised. When it comes to food and cultural identity, opinions seem to range from the charmingly naïve to savagely racist. Which is one reason why I love living in the UK. The cuisine in the UK is dynamic, respectful of its past, but open to new ideas and most importantly, the British, on balance, are not so paranoid about their own cultural identity that they fall into all the usual depressing cliches. After all, from some perspectives, a well defined "regional cuisne" looks a lot like cultural inertia.

Scottish Tablet and Russian Toffee

 

 
Above: Scottish Tablet/Russian Toffee

Many families have their own particular traditions and mine is no exception. Every Christmas my Mother-in-law makes two special confections. One of which, "Coconut Ice", is quite widely known but the other has been something of a mystery. Called "Russian Toffee" by the family, these are pale brown squares which are sweet, rich and buttery, but unlike the similar looking fudge they have a firm and finely granular texture. As they quickly melt in the mouth, this gives the impresion of creaminess without being cloying. We knew little of the origin of this sweetie, other then that it was brought to Australia from Dundee sometime in the late 1930's and has always been thought of as Scottish by the family.

So it was a great surprise when looking through a recently published Sri Lankan cookery book (the excellent "Serendip" by Peter Kuruvita) that I saw a photgraph of two Sri Lankan sweets that looked very similar to Coconut Ice and Russian Tablet. In this case the sweets were called "Coconut Rock" and "Milk Toffee". A little bit of research indicates that "Milk Toffee" is found in many parts of India and is especially popular in Sri Lanka.  The interesting question is if there is any connection between these these two widely spaced group of sweets?

In terms of a Scottish origin for my families recipe, once  my wife and I moved back to Scotland, we found the exactly the same sweetie being sold all over Scotland. Exactly the same in all respects, except for the name. In Scotland the confection was sold as "Tablet". Until recently I have assumed that "Russian Toffee" was a self-conscience renaming of Tablet, so it was quite a surprise to find a recipe for "Russian Toffee" in the 1938 edition of "The Scottish Women's Rural Institutes Cookery Book". A little futher research indicates that "Russian Toffee" was hugely popular by the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. Recipes are found in cookbooks as widespread as Scotland, Kenya, Zimbabwe and New Zealand.

 
Above: an early 20th century hand wriiten recipe for Russian Toffee.

While there are now thousand of similar recipes for Russian Toffee online, this 1913 recipe from New Zealand published "Evening Post" gives an indication of it's early origins:

Russian Toffee. – To make proper Russian toffee thick sour cream should be used, but condensed milk will answer the purpose admirably. Add half a pint of sour cream to one pound of sugar, and boil together until the mixture thickens. Add one teaspoonful vanilla essence and one tablespoonful of sherry. Boil again until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan clean. Turn into a oiled tin, and cut into squares when set.

So what is the relationship of Scottish Tablet with Russian Toffee?

"Tablet" is a celebrated and iconic sweetie in Scotland. Its early Scottish history is usually traced back to at least the begining of the 18th century where the household book of Lady Grisell Baillie (1692-1733) mentions the purchase of "taiblet for the bairns". The two earliest Scottish cookbooks, Mrs McLintock's "Receipts for Cookery and Pastry-Work" (1736) and Mrs CleLand's "A New and Easy Method of Cookery" (1755) give very similar recipes. Essentially sugar is boiled in water until it begins to form a candy, flavourings (Cinnamon, rose, orange or ginger are common) are added and this is poured out and as it sets in is marked to break into squares. Some recrystallization of the sugar is mentioned as important, especially if the boiling mixture is rapidly mixed just before it is ready to be poured, this would give a granular texture, not unlike modern "Kendal Mint Cake". While the modern Scottish confection is called "Tablet" these older recipes mention "Tablets" and this gives the clue to the origin and purpose of these confections.

 

Above: the fine granular texture of Tablet.

In fact the early recipes for Tablet(s) are not so much confectionary in the modern sense, but rather medicine. Lady Baillie's "taiblet for the bairns" may have been appreciated by the children for its sugar content, but its primary purpose was medicinal. This 18th century recipe from The Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia demonstrates how these Scottish Tablets straddled the line between medicine and confection.

"TABELLÆ ROSACEÆ. (Rose tablets).

.....The sugar of roses was formerly made, by boiling a pound of fine sugar with four ounces of the juice of red roses, over a gentle fire, till the juice was almost all evaporated ; then throwing in an ounce of dry red roses reduced to a very fine powder; after which the matter was poured out upon a marble, and formed into lozenges. ....These preparations are chiefly valued for their agreeableness to the eye and palate. .Some likewise esteem them, medicinally, as light restringents; and look upon them, not undeservedly, as an excellent addition to milk in phthisical and hectic cases. " 

In most of Britain the term "Tablet" was dropped in as a term for confectionary during the 19th century, but in Scotland its use continued into the present era.

These pre-20th century Scottish Tablet recipes do contain milk or cream, this now standard additon (mostly in the form of condensed milk) seems to have occured in the early 20th century. The 1938 edition of "The Scottish Women's Rural Institutes Cookery Book" gives an indication of how this inclusion occured, giving very similar confectionary recipes for "Russian Toffee", "Swiss Milk Toffee" and "Swiss Milk Tablet". "Swiss Milk" is simply condensed milk produced by Nestlé. The main difference between these early Toffee and Tablet recipes was not the ingredients, which varied slightly from recipe to recipe, but in the technique. In the toffee recipes the ingredients were often boiled to a higher degree then Tablet, and in Tablet recipes the mixture was always well beaten just before boiling, giving the characteristic granular texture of earlier non-milk/cream Scottish Tablet. Later the two recipes converged so that in my families recipe for "Russian Toffee", the mixture is also well beaten to give a granular texture. In effect "Russian Toffee", Swiss Milk Toffee" and Tablet are now all the same type of confection, with the usual variation in recipe to recipe that you would expect from an item that is still largely produced on a domestic, rather then commerical scale.

So why "Russian Toffee"? According to the Glasgow journalist and writer John Joy Bell, a "Mr. Assafrey had just invented, compounded and produced the first Russian Toffee". A. T. Assafrey was born in Estonia and became ran a well know confectionary business in Glasgow (establish in the 1870's) who produced Scotlands first chocolate. It seems that Assafrey's produced a locally famous confection known as "Russian Toffee", this was copied by other Glasgow confectioners and a recipe for Assafrey's "Russian Toffee" was then published in  "The Queen Cookery Book" series (1902). Other Russian Toffee recipes were widely published within the next three deacdes. After the 1950's the term "Russian  Toffee" seems to have been largely dropped in Scotland, although still remembered by older people as a special treat. Confectionary made by boiling cream (sour, fresh or condensed milk) and sugar is still made in Russian and throughout the Scandinavian and Baltic States, where they are known variously as "kinuski, tšinuski, russisk fløtekaramell, rússnesk rjómakaramella,  rysk gräddkola or тянучка". In other words "Russian Caramel". Many of these recipes now also substitute condensed milk for sour cream. So it would seem that thanks to Mr Assafrey, in Glasgow a cream toffee was introduced at the end of the 19th century and this recipe is likely to have influenced the development of Tablet in the early 20th century.

This is not to say that modern Scottish Tablet is simply a redeveloped version of Assafrey's Russian Toffee. This isn't simply the case of a direct linear descent, more the combination of several well established recipes to produce somthing new. There are likely to be more contributing factors in the development of modern Scottish Tablet then I have mentioned here (how do other similar confectionary items like "Helensburgh Toffee" fit into the story for instance?). However, at its most simple it seems modern Scottish Tablet is the combination of a widely known European technique for making cream toffee, combined with a Scottish technique for producing a granular textured confection. This new style of Tablet was so popular that it is now the only variety of Tablet in Scotland that is made commonly.

 

In reference to the original question of whether there is a connection between the Scottish and Sri Lankan confections, well both Cream and Milk Toffee recipes are common in Anglo-Indian cookery books at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. "The Ceylon Daily News Cookery Book" (1964, first edition 1929) gives recipe for both old style Scottish Tablet ("Peppermint Tablet", Rose Tablet") and Milk Toffee using condensed milk (and also a Coconut Milk Toffee). Is this a case of the Scottish Dispora disseminating recipes from home or simple coincidence? Did the various Milk/Cream Toffee recipes published in 19th century Anglo-Indian texts influence the development of Scottish Tablet? It would be interesting to fine out.