Oatcake
Encyclopedia
An oatcake is a type of cracker
or pancake
, made from oatmeal
, and sometimes flour
as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle
(girdle in Scotland) or baked in an oven.
In Scotland, oatcakes are made on a girdle
or by baking rounds of oatmeal on a tray. If the rounds are large, they are then sliced into triangular shapes. Oats are one of the few grains which grow well in the north of Scotland and was, until the 20th century, the staple grain used.
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."
Samuel Johnson
referred, disparagingly, to this staple diet in his dictionary
definition for oats:
Lord Elibank
was said by Sir Walter Scott
to have retorted
The texture may vary from rough to fine depending on how the oats are ground. Oatcakes may be slightly chewy or hard depending the water content and how long they are cooked. Oatcakes were traditionally eaten with every meal as a major source of carbohydrate
in the diet. From the 19th century onwards they were commonly served to accompany soups, meat and fish dishes. Today they are sometimes eaten as an alternative to bread or toast at breakfast.
Nowadays, many brands of oatcakes are commercially available, such as Nairns, Paterson's, and Walkers
. Apart from those larger commercial manufacturers of oatcakes, there are many local bakers providing variations on the basic recipe.
Similar oatcakes are produced in Ireland
, in a shared tradition with the Scottish. Ditty's is a brand of Irish oatcake.
Queen Elizabeth II typically has Scottish oatcakes for breakfast and Walkers Oatcakes carry a Royal Warrant
. British Prime Minister David Cameron
named Scottish oatcakes as his favourite cake.
A North Staffordshire oatcake is a type of pancake made from oatmeal, flour and yeast. It is cooked on a griddle or 'baxton'. The oatcake is a local speciality in the North Staffordshire
area of England
. They are normally referred to as Staffordshire oatcakes or possibly Potteries oatcakes by non-locals, because they were made in this area. In and around Staffordshire
and Cheshire
they are often simply known as oatcakes.
Derbyshire oatcakes are similar to Staffordshire oatcakes, but while following a similar (or even the same) recipe are generally larger in diameter, and thicker. For example the same recipe will make four Derbyshire or twelve Staffordshire style oatcakes..
It was once common throughout the Potteries
for oatcakes to be sold directly from the window of a house to customers on the street. Only one producer of this style remains; however, there are many small commercial premises who sell oatcakes. Larger commercial enterprises exist that sell oatcakes to supermarkets and other large distribution chains.
When pre-cooked, oatcakes are a form of fast food
. Catering
outlets in the area usually offer oatcakes with fillings such as cheese
, tomato
, onion
, bacon
, sausage
, and egg
. They can also be eaten with sweet fillings such as golden syrup
, jam or banana, but this is less common. 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
.
, which brought immigrants to Prince Edward Island
in 1775. Caught in a storm just off the coast of the island, the settlers and crew all survived and made it to the island in life boats, where they waited for three days for the storm to die down. When they returned to their ship to retrieve their possessions and provisions, they discovered that several barrels of oats were among the few foodstuffs that remained. The oats were full of sand and salt water, but that didn't stop them from breaking out the frying pans and cooking oatcakes as their first meal in days. One settler wrote in his journal, "This I thought was the Sweetest morsel I ever Ate in my life though the Outside was burnt black and the middle was not half done".
Oatcakes in Canada gradually moved from being a mainstay of the diet, to being a part of afternoon tea. Sweet and savoury versions were developed, to be served with jam or cheese respectively.
Cracker (food)
A cracker is a baked good commonly made from grain flour dough and typically made in quantity in various hand-sized or smaller shapes. Flavorings or seasonings, such as salt, herbs, seeds, and/or cheese, may be added to the dough or sprinkled on top before baking...
or pancake
Pancake
A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some use a yeast-raised or fermented batter. Most pancakes are cooked one side on a griddle and flipped partway through to cook the other side...
, made from oatmeal
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....
, and sometimes flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
(girdle in Scotland) or baked in an oven.
Scottish oatcakes
Griddle
A griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
or by baking rounds of oatmeal on a tray. If the rounds are large, they are then sliced into triangular shapes. Oats are one of the few grains which grow well in the north of Scotland and was, until the 20th century, the staple grain used.
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."
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
referred, disparagingly, to this staple diet in his dictionary
A Dictionary of the English Language
Published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language....
definition for oats:
- A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
Lord Elibank
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank . Son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank and Elizabeth Stirling. An author and economist much respected in his own time. Member of the Cocoa Tree Club and The Poker Club. Uncle of Major Patrick Ferguson killed at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780.In 1722...
was said by Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
to have retorted
- Yes, and where else will you see such horses and such men?
The texture may vary from rough to fine depending on how the oats are ground. Oatcakes may be slightly chewy or hard depending the water content and how long they are cooked. Oatcakes were traditionally eaten with every meal as a major source of carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
in the diet. From the 19th century onwards they were commonly served to accompany soups, meat and fish dishes. Today they are sometimes eaten as an alternative to bread or toast at breakfast.
Nowadays, many brands of oatcakes are commercially available, such as Nairns, Paterson's, and Walkers
Walkers Shortbread
Walkers Shortbread is a Scottish manufacturer of shortbread, biscuits, cookies and crackers. The company is Scotland's biggest exporter of food....
. Apart from those larger commercial manufacturers of oatcakes, there are many local bakers providing variations on the basic recipe.
Similar oatcakes are produced in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, in a shared tradition with the Scottish. Ditty's is a brand of Irish oatcake.
Queen Elizabeth II typically has Scottish oatcakes for breakfast and Walkers Oatcakes carry a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
. British Prime Minister David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
named Scottish oatcakes as his favourite cake.
North Staffordshire and Derbyshire oatcakes
North Staffordshire
North Staffordshire describes an area of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It contains the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire Moorlands and the City of Stoke-on-Trent. The Stoke and Newcastle areas make up The Potteries Urban Area, whilst the Moorlands are largely...
area of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They are normally referred to as Staffordshire oatcakes or possibly Potteries oatcakes by non-locals, because they were made in this area. In and around Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
they are often simply known as oatcakes.
Derbyshire oatcakes are similar to Staffordshire oatcakes, but while following a similar (or even the same) recipe are generally larger in diameter, and thicker. For example the same recipe will make four Derbyshire or twelve Staffordshire style oatcakes..
It was once common throughout the Potteries
Staffordshire Potteries
The Staffordshire Potteries is a generic term for the industrial area encompassing the six towns that now make up Stoke on Trent in Staffordshire, England....
for oatcakes to be sold directly from the window of a house to customers on the street. Only one producer of this style remains; however, there are many small commercial premises who sell oatcakes. Larger commercial enterprises exist that sell oatcakes to supermarkets and other large distribution chains.
When pre-cooked, oatcakes are a form of fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
. Catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
outlets in the area usually offer oatcakes with fillings such as cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, bacon
Bacon
Bacon is a cured meat prepared from a pig. It is first cured using large quantities of salt, either in a brine or in a dry packing; the result is fresh bacon . Fresh bacon may then be further dried for weeks or months in cold air, boiled, or smoked. Fresh and dried bacon must be cooked before eating...
, sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
, and egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
. They can also be eaten with sweet fillings such as golden syrup
Golden syrup
Golden syrup is a pale treacle. It is a thick, amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup, made in the process of refining sugar cane juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance similar to honey, and...
, jam or banana, but this is less common. They are traditionally re-heated by steaming between two plates over a saucepan of water or nowadays by microwave, though some may prefer frying
Frying
Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat, a technique that originated in ancient Egypt around 2500 BC. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, but the distinction is only made when needed. In commerce, many fats are called oils by custom, e.g...
in butter or grilling
Grilling
Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...
.
Canadian oatcakes
Scottish immigrants to the New World brought the recipe for this sustaining food to Canada. One such journey was HMS ElizabethHMS Elizabeth (1769)
HMS Elizabeth was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 October 1769 at Portsmouth Dockyard.She was broken up in 1797....
, which brought immigrants to Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
in 1775. Caught in a storm just off the coast of the island, the settlers and crew all survived and made it to the island in life boats, where they waited for three days for the storm to die down. When they returned to their ship to retrieve their possessions and provisions, they discovered that several barrels of oats were among the few foodstuffs that remained. The oats were full of sand and salt water, but that didn't stop them from breaking out the frying pans and cooking oatcakes as their first meal in days. One settler wrote in his journal, "This I thought was the Sweetest morsel I ever Ate in my life though the Outside was burnt black and the middle was not half done".
Oatcakes in Canada gradually moved from being a mainstay of the diet, to being a part of afternoon tea. Sweet and savoury versions were developed, to be served with jam or cheese respectively.