Scottish Blog

Scottish cereals were a staple of Scottish diet in the past, and are still widely eaten today in various forms.

Scottish cereals were a commonly eaten food, as they were a relatively abundant source of nutrition in times and places where other food was scarce. Scottish cereals were also good as “fillers” in meals, providing substance to what would otherwise seem like an empty dish. Sowans and Skirlie were both very common Scottish cereals.

Sowans is a well known Scottish cereal, and is made from a byproduct of milling oats. When oats are processed, their inner husks can be kept and laid to ferment in water for several days. The result will be a mixture of liquid and a starchy substance. The liquid is strained off, and the remains are left to settle. Any further liquid is drained and the remains can be eaten. The sowans are typically served with butter, and have a characteristic sour flavor.

Skirlie is another type of Scottish cereal, which can be eaten on its own or used as a stuffing for chickens. As oatmeal was a staple ingredient, people came to use it in many different ways in Scottish cooking. It was found that oats are excellent for soaking up the flavor of other ingredients, which led them to be used in a variety of ways. Generally, the skirlie would be cooked by frying oatmeal in oil or suet, along with some onions. Variations of this general idea would be used to repurpose the recipe for stuffing, or as a side dish.