Pronunciation watch

[Don Petter]

Seriously Cheddar Cheese Skons, topped with Philadelphia and chopped walnuts. have you never tried that? Guaranteed to blow your socks off.

Seriously, you wouldn't want to meet me with my socks off.

[scottycelt]

Just to confuse the issue, Booth's supermarket in Windermere sells a delightful structure called a Selkirk Bannock, a rich flat fruit bread. I've never been able to find it anywhere else, perhaps scotty can advise ?

I believe, within the divinely simplistic confines of a Glaswegian upbringing, this delicacy was commonly referred to as 'a slice of fruit loaf', Ferret, but maybe Mangerton, whose family clan is deservedly the most celebrated and influential in the Borders area, might wish to expand a little further ... ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Just to confuse the issue, Booth's supermarket in Windermere sells a delightful structure called a Selkirk Bannock,

I'm off to the Lakes on Friday, so I'll look out for it.

[Ferretfancy]

Bryn,
Thanks for the recipe! I love trying my skill at bread making, and turn out a couple large wholemeal loaves every week, so now for the bannock!

scotty,

A slice of fruitbread eh? Well maybe so, but a bit special I think you'll agree. Sadly, I don't get north of the Border often enough to sample all the goodies!

[mangerton]

I believe, within the divinely simplistic confines of a Glaswegian upbringing, this delicacy was commonly referred to as 'a slice of fruit loaf', Ferret, but maybe Mangerton, whose family clan is deservedly the most celebrated and influential in the Borders area, might wish to expand a little further ... ?

Thank you as ever, scotty, for your kind words. Selkirk bannocks, of course, originated in Selkirk, and are highly delicious, though not necessarily nutritious. A few minutes' googling established that they are still made in Galashiels, 7 miles from Selkirk. It's interesting to me as a Borderer by ancestry (and by residency; I lived in Hawick for five years 50 or so years ago during my peripatetic childhood) to see that a number of border towns are known for sweet things of one sort or another.

Apart from Selkirk bannocks, there are soor plooms from Galashiels, Hawick balls, Jethart (Jedburgh) snails and going a little further afield the original Moffat toffee.

scotty, my mother, almost 90, is still making fruit loaf for slicing, much to my and my sister's consternation. In Edinburgh, I believe it's known as "you'll have had your tea".

So many named Good Things to eat and drink come from Scotland. Forfar Bridies, Arbroath smokies, Finnan haddies, Cullen Skink, Abernethy biscuits, Dundee cake, Edinburgh rock, Atholl brose, Lorne sausage from Glasgow, rowies from Aberdeen, and whisky from just about everywhere.

A pity they're all so bad for us!

[french frank]

We always referred, not to rowies, but 'butteries'. I've just found this description: "a saltier, flatter and greasier croissant". Lovely!

[kernelbogey]

Glaswegian Joke:

Customer, going into cake shop and pointing at cakes: 'Is that a doughnut or a meringue?"
Sales Assistant: 'No, you're right, it's a doughnut!.'

[marthe]

I won't join the discussion about scon/scoans, muffins etc. but wonder if anybody has a good cake recipe to share? We've nearly finished the Christmas Cake, a traditonal English fruitcake made by someone else. My husband can't stand American cakes because he finds them to be overly sweet and too "soft and fluffy" as he puts it. I need to make something with a bit more substance than Betty Crocker-type cakes. Any suggestions? Sorry, I don't mean to divert the discussion away from the fine points of pronouncing the word scone. BTW it's "scoan" rather than "scon" over here. But what do we know...?

[mangerton]

BTW it's "scoan" rather than "scon" over here. But what do we know...?

marthe, actually, I thought you called them biscuits there.

For a cake, I recommend a Dundee cake. Well, I would, wouldn't I? :cool2:

There's lots of recipes online, but Delia Smith is generally regarded as safe and reliable:

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/entertaining/traditional-dundee-cake.html

and there's one with whisky (NB not whiskey):

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/sweet/scottish-whisky-dundee-cake.html

[Ferretfancy]

More of a diversion I'm afraid, but any biscuit lovers around here might like to visit -www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com - for excellent biscuit reviews and informed opinion!

[Don Petter]

More of a diversion I'm afraid, but any biscuit lovers around here might like to visit -www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com - for excellent biscuit reviews and informed opinion!

Good site Ferret!

I was pleased to see that Biscuit of the Week (Club Milk) was, in fact, a reissue, but disappointed to see the article was dated August 2008. I had hoped there might be a regular section devoted to historic reissues. Perhaps Rob could be persuaded to take this over when Gramophone goes under as a result of the FoR3 boycott?

[scottycelt]

So many named Good Things to eat and drink come from Scotland. Forfar Bridies, Arbroath smokies, Finnan haddies, Cullen Skink, Abernethy biscuits, Dundee cake, Edinburgh rock, Atholl brose, Lorne sausage from Glasgow, rowies from Aberdeen, and whisky from just about everywhere.

A pity they're all so bad for us!

Indeed, Mangerton, and I still miss dreadfully those succulent Roon' Pies that used to be piled up in wooden huts on dubby, urine-soaked Scottish fitba' terraces ... 'fower roon' pies an' fower buvrils, please, Jimmy' was a common cry frequently heard at both Ibrox and Porkheid. Alas, things appear to have changed a lot from those halcyon days.

The pies are predictably called 'Scotch', south of the border, and can be purchased in most supermarkets, though they are a very pale shadow of their former selves.

I believe mutton is the main ingredient enclosed in the pastry, but apparently the recipe is remarkably flexible, and manufacturers' employees can be sworn to some secrecy regarding the actual constituents of the company's particular pie.

[mercia]

fitba'

my late lamented dad used to use this word. Are it's origins north of the border?

[scottycelt]

I've never heard the word used anywhere else, hercule ...

[Paul Sherratt]

>>can be sworn to some secrecy regarding the actual constituents of the company's particular pie.



I think that's probably true for all pie people !