Scotch Broth Information
Scotch broth is a filling soup, originating in Scotland but now obtainable worldwide. The principal ingredients are usually barley, stewing or braising cuts of lamb or mutton (or, less authentically, beef), and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips or swedes. Greens, particularly cabbage and leeks, can also be added, usually towards the end of cooking to preserve flavour and texture. Dried pulses are often used too. The proportions and ingredients vary according to the recipe or availability.
Scotch broth is often sold ready-prepared in cans. As with many slow-cooked composite dishes, it is often claimed to taste even better when re-heated.
A method of preparation traditional to the country areas of the Outer Hebridean island of Lewis in Scotland is as follows. The method is very economical of fuel and highly conservative of nutritional value.
- Put a suitable joint of mutton or lamb (often leg, shoulder or flank) in a closely fitting pot, cover with water, and simmer for about an hour.
- Add barley, and pulses if liked, and simmer a further hour. [At this point, start to cook some boiled potatoes (ideally home-grown Kerr's Pink) in their skins in a separate pot. Check frequently that they do not over-cook].
- Add chopped root vegetables and simmer until all done, adding shredded cabbage towards the end.
The resulting soup is served as a first course.
The meat, generously salted, is then sliced and served as a main course, with the carefully cooked potatoes heaped on an ashet in the middle of the table, often along with a jug of milk and sometimes butter. Diners help themselves by spearing potatoes with their forks and carefully peeling them with their table knives.
Victorian recipe
From the 1881 Household Cyclopedia (U.S. units of measure):
- Set on the fire 4 ounces of pearl barley, with 6 quarts of salt water. When it boils skim it, and add what quantity of salt beef or fresh brisket you choose, and a marrow-bone or a fowl, with 2 pounds of either lean beef or mutton, and a good quantity of leeks, cabbages, or savoy, or you may use turnips, onions, and grated carrots; keep it boiling for at least 4 or 5 hours, but, if a fowl be used, let it not be put in till just time enough to bring it to table when well done, for it must be served separately.
See also
| Food portal |
| This soup-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. · · |
Categories: Scottish cuisine | Soups | Lamb dishes |
|