Dictionary Definition
oatcake n : thin flat unleavened cake of baked
oatmeal
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Extensive Definition
- For the Stoke City F.C. fanzine, see The Oatcake (Fanzine).
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.
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."http://outremer.co.uk/feasting.html
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?.
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.
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.http://www.bbc.co.uk/derby/features/2002/10/oatcakes.shtml
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
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=256959&command=newPage
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.
References
- Sinclair, Molly. Scottish Heritage Cookbook. Heritage Cookbooks. Mission San Jose, California: 1990.
External links
oatcake in Scottish Gaelic:
Aran-coirce