A Glossary

Arbroath smokies
Smoke-cured fish, unlike Finnan haddock they need no more cooking. They are gutted with the heads removed, though kept closed, and are smoked in pairs.

Bannock
Cake or bread baked from barley flour or oatmeal; formerly cooked with no raising agent.

Bashed means Mashed.

Bawd means Hare.

Black Bun
Spiced cake wrapped in a short pastry dough.

Bree means Soup.

Bridie
Pastry casing for meat filling, traditionally flavoured with beef dripping.

Brose
Oatmeal or barley cooked with milk or water from the vegetables or meat.

Chappit tattles Mashed potatoes.

Clabbie dubhs
Derived from the Gaelic, this shellfish’s name translates as ‘big black mouth’. Otherwise known as horse mussels.

Clapshot is Potatoes and turnips.

Clootie dumpling
A fruit dumpling boiled in a cloth (‘cloot’), often made with oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs.

Cock-a-leekie
Chicken and leek soup

Collops
Thin slices of meat, usually from the leg.

Cranachan
Whisky, heather honey, toasted oatmeal and soft-fruit pudding.

Crappit heids
Haddock heads stuffed with fish intestines and boiled in fish stock.

Crowdie means Cottage cheese.

Cullen skink
Soup of Finnan haddie with milk and potatoes.

Dundee cake
Whisky-flavoured fruit cake studded with almonds.

Edinburgh rock
Pastel-coloured, crumbly candy sticks.

Finnan haddie
Smoke-cured haddock with no added dye; the fish are gutted, heads removed and split open.

Haggis
The classic haggis recipe was given in The Simpsons by Willie the Grounds-keeper as follows: ‘Chopped heart and lungs, boiled in a wee sheep’s stomach! Tastes better than it sounds!’

Held (as in Potted held) Head, usually of a sheep.

Hough means Shin of beef.

Mealy pudding
Black or white puddings made from animal intestines.

Neep means Turnip (swede or rutabaga).

Partan means Crab.

Porridge
Oatmeal boiled in water.

Potted means moulded, set and jellied.

Rumbledethumps
Mixed potatoes, onion and cabbage, topped with cheese and grilled.

Selkirk bannock
Rich, fruit, yeasted bannock.

Shortbread
Baked plain short biscuit made of flour, butter and sugar in 6-4-2 proportions.

Skink
A soup of vegetables boiled in a beef stock.

Skirlie
Onion and oatmeal fried with dripping.

Sloke means Laverbread.

Spoots means Razor fish.

Stovies
Potatoes cooked au gratin.

Sugar-ally means Liquorice.

Tablet
Candy made of condensed milk, butter and sugar; harder than fudge but crumblier than toffee.

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