An oatcake is a type of flatbread similar to a

cracker Cracker, crackers or The Crackers may refer to: Animals * ''Hamadryas'' (butterfly), or crackers, a genus of brush-footed butterflies * '' Sparodon'', a monotypic genus whose species is sometimes known as "Cracker" Arts and entertainment Films ...

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be sa ...

, or in some versions takes the form of a pancake. They are prepared with

oatmeal Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground) or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are ...

as the primary ingredient, and sometimes include plain or

wholemeal A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated wit ...

flour as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle (''girdle'' in Scots) or baked in an

oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...

History

Oatcakes have been documented as existing in Scotland since at least the time of the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, and likely before then. Oatcakes have also been described as being the "mainstay of Scottish breads for centuries".

Jean Le Bel Jean Le Bel (c. 1290 – 15 February 1370) was a chronicler from Liège. Biography Jean Le Bel's father, Gilles le Beal des Changes, was an alderman of Liège. Jean entered the church and became a canon of the cathedral church, but he and his b ...

, around AD 1357-60 describes the

Beguine The Beguines () and the Beghards () were Christian lay religious orders that were active in Western Europe, particularly in the Low Countries, in the 13th–16th centuries. Their members lived in semi-monastic communities but did not take form ...

nuns making "little pancakes rather like communion wafers". This is thought to be an early description of a Scottish oatcake.

Regional variations

Oatcake variations exist based upon the different preparations in various countries and regions.

Great Britain

Seen as a typically Scottish food item, oatcakes have also long been made elsewhere in Britain. Oatcakes may replace toast at breakfast in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

typically had Scottish oatcakes for breakfast and Walkers Oatcakes carry a Royal Warrant. British Prime Minister David Cameron named Scottish oatcakes as his favourite cake.

England

''The Universal British Directory of Trade, Commerce and Manufacture'' of the 1790s notes the bread of High Furness being thin oatcakes, whilst in Lancashire a leavened oatcake known as riddle bread was made. The

Staffordshire oatcake A Staffordshire oatcake (a type of savoury pancake) is made from oatmeal, flour and yeast to make a dense pancake. It is cooked on a griddle, "backstone" or "baxton". The oatcake is a local speciality in the North Staffordshire area of Engla ...

is quite different from those from Scotland, being more of a pancake in form, containing a significant proportion of wheat flour along with oatmeal. In Yorkshire, only one side of oatcakes is cooked, and they are bubbly in appearance. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment was nicknamed the Havercakes due to their

recruiting sergeant A recruiting sergeant is a British or American soldier of the rank of sergeant who is tasked to enlist recruits. The term originated in the British army of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The playwright George Farquhar served as an inf ...

s bearing oat cakes on the end of their swords. File:Oatcakes.jpg,

s File:Oat cakes in the Beamish Museum.JPG, Oatcakes in the

Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it w ...

, near

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham * County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

, England

Scotland

In Scotland, oatcakes are made on a

girdle A belt, especially if a cord or rope, is called a girdle if it is worn as part of Christian liturgical vestments, or in certain historical, literary or sports contexts. Girdles are used to close a cassock in Christian denominations, including t ...

(or ''griddle'', in other forms of English) or by baking rounds of oatmeal on a tray. If the rounds are large, they are sliced into farls before baking. Oats are one of the few grains that grow well in the north of Scotland and were, until the 20th century, the staple grain used. Scottish soldiers in the 14th century carried a metal plate and a sack of oatmeal. According to contemporary accounts, a soldier 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."''

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford D ...

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.''

Lord Elibank Lord Elibank, of Ettrick Forest in the County of Selkirk, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1643 for Sir Patrick Murray, 1st Baronet, with remainder to his heirs male whatsoever. He had already been created a Baronet, of E ...

was said by Sir Walter Scott to have retorted :''Yes, and where else will you see such horses and such men?'' The texture may vary from rough to fine depending on how the oats are ground. Oatcakes may be slightly chewy or hard, depending on the water content and for how long they are cooked. Oatcakes were traditionally eaten with every meal as a major source of carbohydrate in the diet. From the 19th century onward, they were commonly served to accompany soups, meat, and fish dishes. Today, they are sometimes eaten as an alternative to bread or toast at breakfast. Nowadays, many brands of oatcakes are commercially available, such as Nairn's, Stockan's, Paterson's, and Walkers. Apart from those larger commercial manufacturers of oatcakes, there are many local bakers providing variations on the basic recipe. File:Girdledalgarven.JPG, A

from Dalgarven Mill in North Ayrshire, used for baking oatcakes and other foods such as

bannocks The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oreg ...

File:OatcakesTrangia.JPG, Oatcakes being cooked outdoors File:Clapshot and oatcakes.jpg, Oatcakes (top) with

clapshot Clapshot is a traditional Scottish dish that originated in Orkney and may be served with haggis, oatcakes, mince, sausages or cold meat. It is created by the combined mashing of swede turnips and potatoes (" neeps and tatties") with the addition ...

Wales

In Wales, oatcakes tend to resemble savoury pancakes. They were sometimes crumbled up and used as one of the ingredients of brewis, a staple breakfast.

Ireland

Oat cakes, Ulster American Folk Park - geograph

Oatcakes similar to the Scottish variety are produced in Ireland, in shared tradition with the Scots. ''Ditty's'' is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

brand of oatcake.

Canada

Scottish immigrants to the New World brought the recipe for this sustaining food to Canada. One such journey was HMS ''Elizabeth'', which brought immigrants to Prince Edward Island in 1775. Caught in a storm just off the coast of the island, the settlers and crew all survived and made it to the island in life boats, where they waited for three days for the storm to die down. When they returned to their ship to retrieve their possessions and provisions, they discovered that several barrels of oats were among the few foodstuffs that remained. The oats were full of sand and salt water, but that didn't stop them from breaking out the frying pans and cooking oatcakes as their first meal in days. One settler wrote in his journal, "This I thought was the Sweetest morsel I ever Ate in my life though the Outside was burnt black and the middle was not half done". Oatcakes in Canada gradually moved from being a mainstay of the diet to being a part of afternoon tea. Sweet and savoury versions were developed, to be served with jam or cheese respectively.

References

External links

Oatcakes recipes
from

BBC Food BBC Food is a division of the BBC which controls a recipe website part of BBC Online, an online streaming channel, and a former international commercial television channel focusing on food. Website BBC Food is the public service website whic ...

{{Scottish cuisine British breads Crackers (food) Pancakes Irish breads Scottish breads Oat-based dishes