The Food of The Scots, Scottish Life and Society by Alexander Fenton is my go-to book for anything historical regarding our food history in Scotland. It’s a fascinating account of what we ate hundreds of years ago in different parts of the country; describing what we ate at different times of the year in astonishing detail.
Up until the 1970s we all seemed to eat a diet based on food grown locally. There didn’t seem to be a problem with over-eating—it was a good, balanced, simple diet without many options for fussy eaters. From porridge and parton bree (crab soup) to brose and bannocks, the study of what we ate, what we farmed and how this was distributed to the people is fascinating.
For example, in the 1790s we existed mainly on oats, potatoes, turnips, herring, salt pork, blood in the form of black pudding, peasemeal, eggs, kale and sometimes butter. Wheaten bread was kept as a delicacy reserved for baptisms and marriages. Breakfast mainly consisted of porridge, or brose made from peasemeal; and lunch was something similar, with potatoes or bacon if you were lucky. A stew of sorts with veg and a bit of mutton was enjoyed, and oatcakes were popular right back in time as oats were easy to grow in our harsh climate.
Soups and broths were also hugely popular, and this tradition carried on well in to the 70s and 80s as our own memories can recall the pot of soup always on the go. A great reference book. Everyone interested in their food history should keep this book close at hand.
