Butterscotch is a type of

confection Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates, although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somew ...

whose primary ingredients are

brown sugar Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...

and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

. Some recipes include

corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup that is made from the starch of corn/maize and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to soften Mouthfeel, texture, add vol ...

, cream,

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

, and salt. The earliest known recipes, in mid-19th century

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, used

treacle Treacle () is any uncrystallised syrup made during the refining of sugar.Oxford Dictionary The most common forms of treacle are golden syrup, a pale variety, and black treacle, a darker variety similar to molasses. Black treacle has a distinctiv ...

(molasses) in place of, or in addition to, sugar. Butterscotch is similar to

toffee Toffee is an English confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepar ...

, but the sugar is boiled to the soft crack stage, not hard crack. Often credited with their invention, S. Parkinson & Sons of

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

made butterscotch boiled sweets and sold them in tins, which became one of the town's best-known exports. They became famous in 1851 after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

was presented with a tin when she visited the town. Butterscotch sauce, made of butterscotch and cream, is used as a topping for ice cream (particularly

sundae A sundae (Sunday Ice) () is an ice cream frozen dessert of American origin that typically consists of one or more scoops of ice cream topped with a sweet sauce or syrup and other toppings such as sprinkles, whipped cream, marshmallows, chocola ...

s). The term "butterscotch" is also often used more specifically for the flavour of brown sugar and butter together, even if the actual confection butterscotch is not involved, such as in butterscotch

pudding Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a Savoury (dish), savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based des ...

(a type of

custard Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on sweetened milk, cheese, or cream cooked with Eggs as food, egg or egg yolk to thicken it, and sometimes also flour, corn starch, or gelatin. Depending on the recipe, custard may vary in con ...

Etymology

Food historians have several theories regarding the name and origin of this confectionery, but none is conclusive. One explanation is the meaning "to cut or score" for the word "scotch", as the confection must be cut into pieces, or "scotched", before hardening. Alternatively, the "scotch" may derive from the word " scorch". In 1855, F. K. Robinson's ''Glossary of Yorkshire Words'' explained Butterscotch as "a

ball with an amalgamation of butter in it".

History

Early mentions of butterscotch associate the confection with

in Yorkshire. An 1848 issue of the '' Liverpool Mercury'' gave a recipe for "Doncaster butterscotch" as "one pound of butter, one pound of sugar and a quarter of a pound of treacle, boiled together" ( each of butter and sugar and treacle). By 1851, Doncaster butterscotch was sold commercially by rival confectioners S. Parkinson & Sons (the original Parkinson recipe is still made today. Doncaster Butterscotch.com.), Henry Hall, and Booth's via agents elsewhere in Yorkshire.''Sheffield & Rotherham Independent''. 20 December 1851.''Sheffield & Rotherham Independent''. 27 December 1851.''Bradford Observer''. 21, 1856 Parkinson's started to use and advertise the Doncaster Church as their trademark.Observer (New Zealand), Volume IX, Issue 570, 30 November 1889, Page 3
It was advertised as "Royal Doncaster Butterscotch", or "The Queen's Sweetmeat", and said to be "the best emollient for the chest in the winter season".''Leeds Mercury''. 29 January 1853. Parkinson's Butterscotch was by appointment to the royal household and was presented to the Princess Elizabeth, then the Duchess of Edinburgh, in 1948 and to

Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

in 2007. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the British sweet became popular in the U.S.

Packaging and products

Butterscotch is often used as a flavour for items such as

dessert sauce A dessert sauce is a sauce used for desserts. It is drizzled or poured atop various desserts, and is also used for plate decoration. Dessert sauce adds flavor, moisture, texture and color to desserts, may be cooked or uncooked, and is sometimes ...

, pudding, and

biscuits A biscuit is a Flour, flour-based baked food item. Biscuits are typically hard, flat, and Unleavened bread, unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing (food), icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also ...

(

cookies A cookie is a sweet biscuit with high sugar and fat content. Cookie dough is softer than that used for other types of biscuit, and they are cooked longer at lower temperatures. The dough typically contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of ...

). To that end, it can be bought in "butterscotch chips" made with hydrogenated (solid) fats to be similar for baking use to chocolate chips. Also, individually wrapped, translucent yellow hard candies (butterscotch disks) are made with an artificial butterscotch flavour. In addition, butterscotch-flavoured

liqueur A liqueur ( , ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of Liquor, spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-age ...

is in production.

Sauce

Butterscotch sauce is made of brown sugar cooked to mixed with butter and cream.Wayne Gisslen, ''Professional Baking'', , p. 227.

References

{{portal bar, Food British confectionery Foods featuring butter Yorkshire cuisine Toppings Candy

Etymology

History

Packaging and products

Sauce

See also

References