Why is porridge called porridge?

The origin of the word “porridge” can be traced back on the one hand to the expression 'pottage', a variation of the French word 'potage' – a name for soup – and on the other hand to the word 'pot', the saucepan.

Is porridge Scottish or English?

The dish has traditionally been closely associated with Scotland, possibly because oats can be successfully cultivated on marginal upland soils.

What do Scots call porridge?

Brose is a Scots word for an uncooked form of porridge: oatmeal (and/or other meals) is mixed with boiling water (or stock) and allowed to stand for a short time. It is eaten with salt and butter, milk or buttermilk.

Why is porridge called gruel?

The Old Norse word grautr, meaning "coarse-ground grain", gives way to the Icelandic grautur, Faroese greytur, Norwegian grøt (nynorsk graut), Danish grød, and the Swedish and Elfdalian gröt, all meaning porridge, of which gruel is a subtype.

What was Victorian gruel?

Gruel was a popular offering in Victorian workhouses, where wage workers in terrible conditions were required by law to be fed a certain number of times a day. Gruel was the cheapest thing the workhouses could justify calling a meal for their labor, so they made it. Lots of it.

How to Make Perfect Porridge - 5 Ways | Jamie Oliver

What was Victorian gruel made of?

It includes a recipe for gruel – a watery porridge consisting of oatmeal, treacle, water and salt.

Do Scots eat porridge?

The Scots have been enjoying their porridge for centuries, and rightly so. Made from oats (which are one of the few grains that grow well in Scotlands' climate), Scottish porridge is tasty AND nutritious, and is packed full of fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Did the Scottish invent porridge?

Porridge, or Oatmeal, is a dish that has existed in Scotland for over thousands of years. To make porridge, simply boil oatmeal, or rolled oats.

Can dogs eat porridge?

Yes, dogs can eat porridge oats as long as they're plain. Don't give your pup any of those instant or flavoured porridges because they simply aren't as healthy for your hound.

Why do Scots eat porridge with salt?

As the comments above suggest, adding salt is a shibboleth, a test for Scottishness or identification with Scotland in the vast diaspora of Scots. And it makes practical sense if one is cooking a porridge to keep cold for the next day or the rest of the week (more on that later).

Who first invented porridge?

The preparation of rice porridge has been documented in China for about 4,500 years, while in other regions of Asia quinoa was consumed in the form of porridge more than 3,000 years ago. Porridge was also common in the Mediterranean area, Africa and Latin America.

Why do you put salt on porridge?

An important thing so many people forget is salt. It adds depth to the porridge and will bring out the sweetness of any toppings – so add a pinch of the stuff as it's coming to the boil and mix it all around.

What food is Scotland famous for?

Is porridge eaten or drunk?

Porridge is generally defined as a dish made by stirring oatmeal or rolled oats into boiling water and simmering the mixture gently until it is cooked. It is usually eaten hot; often, though not invariably, for breakfast.

Does porridge make you fat?

Oatmeal is also a great meal for weight gain since you can easily add extra calories. First, choose rolled oats, steel cut oats, or unflavored instant oatmeal. This way, you can add healthy, high calorie ingredients while limiting added sugar.

What did the Scots eat before potatoes?

Before Sir Walter Raleigh's introduction of the potato to the British Isles, the Scots' main source of carbohydrate was bread made from oats or barley. Wheat was generally difficult to grow because of the damp climate.

What did the Scots eat in the 1700s?

Common foods included oat breads, porridge, stews and thick soups called pottage. Those who lived close to the sea also had fish in their diets. Honey was used to sweeten food and some people kept cows for milk and chickens for eggs. Vegetables such as kale, beans, peas and onions were commonly used.

What did Scottish highlanders eat?

The staple diet of the Highlanders at this time was oatmeal porridge, cakes made from barley or stoneground oat-flour, vegetables, milk, butter, eggs and cheese with occasional fish, beef, venison, wild fruits, honey and the famous Scottish soups.

Do the Scots put salt on porridge?

Scottish traditionalists insist that porridge should contain nothing more than oats, water and salt, but such an attitude strikes me as depressingly dour: after all, if no one had ever experimented, then we'd still be eating be eating pease pottage, morning, noon and night.

Do Scottish people put salt on their porridge?

Originally only made with water and salt, the paste, or porridge as it became known, bore little likeness to the thick, creamy mixture we know today. The traditional Scottish dish can have many tastes and textures. Some like it thick and sweet, some with salt.

What is a full Scottish breakfast?

What's in a Scottish Breakfast? Ingredients vary from place to place, but the basic ingredients to a traditional breakfast include square lorne sausage, link sausages, fried egg, streaky bacon, baked beans, black pudding and/or haggis, tattie scones, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, and toast.

What was the food like in the workhouse?

The main constituent of the workhouse diet was bread. At breakfast it was supplemented by gruel or porridge — both made from water and oatmeal (or occasionally a mixture of flour and oatmeal). Workhouse broth was usually the water used for boiling the dinner meat, perhaps with a few onions or turnips added.

What did gruel taste like?

The BBC asked some brave samplers what they thought of the concoction. But the slushy gruel, containing oats, water, milk and onion, got a mixed response from tasters. "It's extremely bland," said Jennifer Gilson, a retired scientist. "There's no flavour at all without the onion."

What was the soup Scrooge was eating?

Scrooge said he saved money by eating gruel in "A Christmas Carol". Gruel was used frequently to feed people with ailments in previous centuries. Thin grain-based soups were considered fairly digestible and better for the stomachs of recovering invalids.