Pronunciation watch

[mangerton]

They are of course called "pehs" in my adopted home city, scottycelt.

Thre are some very good pie makers in this area, but the price is frightening. I remember when they cost sixpence!

You may find this of interest. Apologies in advance if it makes you feel homesick.

http://www.scotchpieclub.co.uk

One of my claims to fame is that I was at primary school with the founder.

[mercia]

according to the BBC News website, having launched a lifeboat today (as one does), Kate Middleton (Mrs Prince William) will be eating some bara brith, apparently Welsh fruitcake

[Mary Chambers]

When I had bara brith it was more like a fruited bread than cake. It means 'speckled bread', I'm told.

[Pianorak]

When I had bara brith it was more like a fruited bread than cake. It means 'speckled bread', I'm told.

brith = flycatcher, either pied or spotted

[amateur51]

When I had bara brith it was more like a fruited bread than cake. It means 'speckled bread', I'm told.

My abiding childhood memory of bara brith is that it was always cut ultra-thin and smothered in thick salty Welsh butter in the homes of maiden great-aunts of which I seemed to have an endless supply thanks to the First World War. It was served with te coch (red tea - tea without milk) and lots of sugar.

[salymap]

I have a friend who makes bara brith for her Welsh husband, and, having sampled it some time ago, it was a fruity bread- like cake but very 'more-ish'.

[Flosshilde]

I thought I knew what a pancake was. Now I don't know my muffin from a hole in a crumpet. I think I'll stick to sliced pan! Pass the biscuits, please.

I'm surprised Scotty or Mangerton haven't mentioned Scottish crumpets & pancakes, & the confusion they can cause in un-tutored English minds (this one, anyway). Crumpets are about 6" across & very thin - as flat as a pancake, one might say - but do have holes in the upper surface. Pancakes, however, are about a centimetre thick and 4 inches across (apologies for the dual measuring system), with no holes. They are sometimes called drop-scones or griddle (or girdle) scones. I found it very difficult at first to remember that the thin ones weren't the pancakes.

[mangerton]

I'm surprised Scotty or Mangerton haven't mentioned Scottish crumpets & pancakes, & the confusion they can cause in un-tutored English minds

Flosshilde, after the confusion brought about by muffins, we probably thought we'd better not. But since you have raised the matter.....

"Pancakes" in our house, ruled over in the 50s by a traditional Scottish housewife and mother, always meant pancakes, aka drop scones, such as you describe, made on a cast-iron girdle about 15" in diameter. Together with scones and potato scones, they featured at high tea, with butter and home-made jam.

Potato scones were made with mashed potatoes left over from lunch, or "dinner" as we called it then. And of course these "tea breads" could all be fried the next morning with the bacon and eggs.

[Flosshilde]

Potato scones were made with mashed potatoes left over from lunch, or "dinner" as we called it then. And of course these "tea breads" could all be fried the next morning with the bacon and eggs.

& one of the delights of travelling with CalMac to the islands is the breakfast with potato scones (there really does need to be a emoticon for licking the lips, given all the talk of food & drink on these boards)

[Curalach]

Potato scones were made with mashed potatoes left over from lunch, or "dinner" as we called it then. And of course these "tea breads" could all be fried the next morning with the bacon and eggs.

Ahh ... delicious!

[mercia]

talking of fruity bread I'm a bit partial to that Soreen malt loaf you get in supermarkets (or petrol stations) though it's probably an adulterated version of something much posher

what do we think of Eccles cakes?

[scottycelt]

I do hope I'm not coming across as overly nationalistic on this thread, but do Scottish members here remember (and maybe even continue to enjoy) yet another truly wonderful treat in younger days ... ?

http://www.scottishhampers.co.uk/item.html?id=408

Alas, yet another utter delight no doubt frowned upon by the medical profession these days ...

Floss ... those pancakes are particularly delicious smothered in raspberry or strawberry jam!

[Pianorak]

Alas, yet another utter delight no doubt frowned upon by the medical profession these days ...

Last time I went up to Scotland (alas, too many a year ago) I seem to remember enjoying "mutton pies". Could that be correct or is my memory here at fault? Whatever they were, they were delicious!

[scottycelt]

talking of fruity bread I'm a bit partial to that Soreen malt loaf you get in supermarkets (or petrol stations) though it's probably an adulterated version of something much posher

what do we think of Eccles cakes?

Very tasty, hercule ... really nice with a cup of PG Tips, I have to say ... not so sure about the Soreen though ... far too 'doughy' for my delicate palate. :cool2:

[scottycelt]

Last time I went up to Scotland (alas, too many a year ago) I seem to remember enjoying "mutton pies". Could that be correct or is my memory here at fault? Whatever they were, they were delicious!

Well, I'm glad you enjoyed them too, Pianorak .. . They were known as 'roon' when I was a wee boy in Glasgow, but you are correct, the more knowledgeable/posher adults refer to them as 'mutton', these days, I understand.