Tonight Scots across the world traditionally celebrate Burns Night with haggis n’ neeps and a wee dram of whisky. I am not of Scottish heritage as far as I know, but I did live in Edinburgh for two years and I enjoy the occasional glass of single malt whisky. Talisker is one of my favourites, with deep peaty flavours. The title image is of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh – and no, I was not drunk when I took the photo!
Haggis? Eaten it and got the t-shirt. Well, in the photo, that is actually a tea-towel I’m wearing. There is a saying that when you first come across haggis you are not sure if you have to kick it or eat it. After you have eaten it, you wish you had kicked it! That was absolutely true for me. We went to a hotel in Edinburgh for a taste of traditional Scotland not long after we moved there. You know the score – pipers and drums, the haggis and neeps, a fair amount of whisky. Well, the next day my tummy was trying hard to get back to England. I will spare you the details. I was working in a hospital just outside the city and had to travel by bus. For obvious reasons, I had to break my journey. I felt dreadful and in the end I had to leave work early. I can assure you it was the haggis and not the alcohol. The good news is that I persevered and actually got to like haggis. Not parsnips though, never my thing. The photo shows me at home after having addressed the haggis in the traditional way and deftly cut it open with a paring knife I had craftily tucked into my sock.
Anyway, I thought I would write a post today that pays homage to the great Rabbie Burns and is in itself more digestible than more recent posts. With Burns Night as my starting point, I want to explore the theme of alcohol and food. Drinking and eating have always gone together, of course, and have been important parts of cultures across the ages and the world. We probably owe it to Rome in the first century A.D. for introducing compulsory toasting before each meal to drink the health of Augustus Caesar.
The choice of drink to accompany a meal is obviously a very important consideration. So many words have been written about how to pair wines with specific dishes, and I am sure that for gastronomes that is vitally important. I am a bit of a cultural ragamuffin in this regard (and probably in other regards too), more of a gastrognome. I appreciate I could gain from learning more about this, but…
As well as accompanying food, some alcohol finds its way into the food, and not just when you accidentally spill your drink. I suppose the classic dish in this regard is coq-au-vin, a traditional French dish of village folk which has been elevated to haute cuisine. A chicken stew with aspirations.
Now, that was a neat little shift from Scottish to French culture, but it is all planned. The link is of course the Auld Alliance between the two countries dating back to the 13th century. While this was originally a military and political arrangement – with England as the common enemy – it drew strength from the Scots’ love of French wines. For years, they got to choose the best wines of Bordeaux and had them unloaded at the port of Leith, much to the chagrin (a word of French origin) of the English!
Sticking with the Scottish theme, I must give a mention to the lovely dessert cranachan – cream, toasted oats, honey, raspberries and of course a healthy dose of whisky. Another dessert I like is syllabub – cream and white wine, maybe with some lemon zest. And cakes, don’t forget cakes. Let’s cross the Irish sea for this one. How about a lovely Guinness cake? Dark and rich. And who could have Christmas pudding that’s not been doused with brandy and set alight? Chef Del’s tip – gently heat the brandy in a saucepan first, then pour over the pudding and set it alight, being careful of low hanging Christmas decorations and other fire hazards. And don’t forget the brandy butter.
Well, I feel quite hungry and thirsty after this bit of culinary exploration. A week to go and I can enjoy a carefully selected wine from our extensive cellar ( = pantry with a couple of bottles of wine on the shelf, one of which is a plastic bottle, and an unopened boxed wine on the floor). A final word, as we discover the boiling point of alcohol below in the quiz answers, a lot of alcohol remains in the food after cooking. You need to be cooking a dish for more than 3 hours for all of the alcohol to burn off.
Keep safe and well until tomorrow’s post.
Alcohol Trivia Quiz
Yesterday’s answers:
1. F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. Absinthe
3. 78.37 degrees Celsius
Today’s questions:
1. Who said “Of all the vices, drinking is the most incompatible with greatness”? [The clue is in the post]
2. What is “Buckie”?
3. With what country do you associate Grappa?
Understand Yourself Better 