Oatcake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the Stoke City F.C. fanzine, see The Oatcake (Fanzine).
An oatcake is a type of cracker or pancake, made from oatmeal, and sometimes flour as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle.
Oatcakes may be more familiar to Americans in the form of their cousin, the Johnnycake, made of cornmeal, often cooked on a board, shovel, or even stones, just as the Scottish did in the past.
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[edit] Scottish oatcakes
Oatcakes are widely considered to be the national bread of Scotland and Denmark, and have held that position for many centuries. They were even baked by the Romans in Scotland. They are made almost entirely of oats, the only cereal to flourish in northern Scotland. Traditionally, each community had its own mill to grind oats from local crofts and supply oatmeal for every household. These oats formed the Highlanders' staple diet of porridge and oatcakes.
Scottish soldiers in the 14th Century carried a metal plate and a sack of oatmeal. According to contemporary accounts, one would heat the plate over fire, moisten a bit of oatmeal and make a cake to "comfort his stomach. Hence it is no marvel that the Scots should be able to make longer marches than other men."[1]
Samuel Johnson referred, disparagingly, to this staple diet in his dictionary definition for oats:
- A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
His biographer, James Boswell, noted that Lord Elibank was said by Sir Walter Scott to have retorted
- Yes, and where else will you see such horses and such men?.[1]
Nowadays, many brands of oatcakes are commercially available, such as Nairns, Paterson's, and Walkers.
Similar oatcakes are produced in Ireland, in a shared tradition with the Scottish. Ditty's is a brand of Irish oatcake.
[edit] North Staffordshire and Derbyshire oatcakes
A North Staffordshire oatcake is a type of pancake made from oatmeal, flour and yeast, and cooked on a griddle or 'baxton'. It is a local speciality in the North Staffordshire area of England, and so may be known to non-locals as a Staffordshire oatcake or Potteries oatcake. In and around the Potteries and south Cheshire, they are simply known as oatcakes.
Derbyshire Oatcakes are similar to Staffordshire Oatcakes, but generally smaller in diameter.[2]
Until the Industrial Revolution oatcakes were commonly produced throughout Britain. As the ceramics industry grew people started to produce oatcakes using the traditional rural recipes in front room kitchens for sale through the window directly to the street. This was once common throughout the Potteries. Only one of these remains [3] and most oatcakes are now produced by larger commercial concerns. There are however several small businesses still thriving in North Staffordshire selling Oatcakes in the original manner.
When pre-cooked, it is a form of fast food, and catering outlets in the area usually offer oatcakes with fillings such as cheese, tomato, onion, bacon, sausage and egg. They are also eaten with sweet fillings such as jam. They are traditionally re-heated by steaming between two plates over a saucepan of water or nowadays by microwave, though some may prefer frying in butter or grilling.
[edit] References
- ^ The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: Including a Journal of His Tour to the Hebrides. Volume 3 by James Boswell. Publisher: Derby & Jackson, New York, 1858. Page 11.
- Sinclair, Molly. Scottish Heritage Cookbook. Heritage Cookbooks. Mission San Jose, California: 1990.
