Scotch woodcock is a British savoury dish consisting of creamy, lightly-scrambled

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

served on toast that has been spread with

anchovy paste Anchovy paste is a fish paste food product prepared using anchovies as food, anchovies as a primary ingredient. It is used as a condiment and as an ingredient in various dishes, such as Scotch woodcock, and is a mass production, mass-produced pro ...

Gentleman's Relish Gentleman's Relish, also known as Patum Peperium (meaning "pepper paste" in Latin), is a British commercial brand of anchovy paste created in 1828 by John Osborn. It is a savoury paste with a salty and slightly fishy taste, and contains salted an ...

, and sometimes topped with chopped herbs and

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

. Scotch woodcock was served in the refreshment rooms of the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

as late as 1949. It was also served historically at the colleges of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and it continues to be served at the

Oxford and Cambridge Club The Oxford and Cambridge Club is a traditional London Gentlemen's club, club. Membership is largely restricted to those who are members of the universities of University of Oxford, Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, including men an ...

as an alternative to sweet desserts or cheeseboard. It was a well-known dish in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, and is mentioned in '' Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management''. The name is modelled on Welsh rabbit. Similar to Welsh rabbit which contains no

rabbit meat Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form ...

, the dish has no

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

, a type of bird, in its ingredients at all.

References

British cuisine British fish dishes Egg dishes Fish dishes Anchovy dishes {{food-stub