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If you thought the recipe for haggis sounds bleatin’ offal
IF you thought our national dish haggis was a stomach-churner, you should see
what else Scots were tucking into in years gone by.
The National Archive has dug up a host of recipes our ancestors used
including sheep’s head broth.
Ben Bennett, research officer at the Scottish Council on Archives, said:
“We’re trying to build a picture of Scotland through its recipes.”
Here, LISA ADAMS looks at some of the strangest…
STUDENTS may be skint today but this recipe from university archives in 1910
proves that previous generations made food stretch that much further.
Ingredients include sheep’s head and trotters, parsley, salt, water, barley
and root vegetables.
The brains of the sheep are removed and rubbed over the head and trotters then
left overnight before being boiled, scraped and cleaned. The trotters are
split, boiled with barley with root vegetables, parsley and seasoning.
The flesh of the head and tongue is served with parsley sauce.
Ben says: “Some of the recipes are gruesome. It is fascinating how things have
changed over time.”
THEY may be an endangered species today but turtle was a favourite of posh
families in October 1771.
A recipe was submitted by North Lanarkshire Council.
After cutting off the fins and head, divide the belly, remove the entrails,
empty the trites and then scald the insides before cutting the flesh and
bones and stew in water. Then add butter, madeira wine, pepper and salt,
clove, before chucking in some lemon juice and cayenne pepper to serve.
Sounds yummy!
THIS recipe that was dreamed up by the dietetic department of the Royal
Infirmary of Edinburgh in 1950 would be likely to make patients feel WORSE
instead of better.
Ingredients include stale sponge, apple, milk, an egg, sugar and water.
Ben added: “We’ve found an old indigestion remedy as well. It’s quite good.”
DOWNTON ABBEY fans can get a flavour of what the servants downstairs enjoyed
as a tipple.
This 1840 recipe was written by John Donald, butler at Eaglescairnie House in
East Lothian.
The ingredients for the concotion were sugar, bruised ginger, cream of tartar
and yeast, which were then added to four gallons of water.
Archive expert Ben says: “This is good because people are interested in food
and the diversity of it.”
THE recipe for this creepy-crawly loaf was introduced to the Island of Bute by
John Stuart, the fourth Marquess, after a trip to Tangiers in a book called
Moorish Recipes.
Ingredients include 500g locust caviar, white flour, salt, olive oil, water
and yeast. Instructions include pulling heads off female locusts and
squeezing out the eggs… like caviar.
- For more info or to add your own ancient recipe visit SCOARCH.org.uk
where you can download a selection of the Edible Archives Recipe Cards. 
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