Scotland brings edible archives to life

A collection of Scottish recipes stretching hundreds of years will be brought to life again by the Scottish Council on Archives in a new electronic cookbook entitled Edible Archive.

A Taste of History

As part of this year’s Archive Awareness Campaign theme, ‘Culture and Diversity: What’s Your Story’, a selection of Scottish recipes from over 300 years ago were revived this month for Scotland’s first “edible archive” event, a gastronomic feast at Edinburgh’s Captain Taylor’s Coffee House.

The edible archive event recreated dishes including Eve’s rice pudding circa 1808, orange marmalade by the Countess of Sutherland from 1683, ‘Granny Goodwin’s’ gingerbread from 1889 and an Invalid Fruit Tart, a dish served in hospitals for ‘invalids’ during the 1950s. Other cuisines included bizarre delicacies such as the Scottish Council on Archives’s interpretation of Locust bread and traditional foods including Orkney Pancakes, first created in the 1700s. The recipes demonstrate how Scottish cooking has evolved over the centuries.

Ben Bennett, Scottish Council on Archives commented:

“The Edible Archive has unearthed a delicious treasure trove of Scottish foods past and present that tell us about who we are, where we’ve been and how we’ve lived. It’s been a treat to see everyone exchanging their favourite recipes in a celebration of our weird and wonderful food history.

‘Modern’ edible archives

Following the “edible archive” event, the Scottish Council on Archives is now collating the recipes submitted for the event in the electronic cookbook. The book due to be published in 2012 will feature over 100 foods including ancestral recipes such as Potato Kugel, a traditional Russian Jewish dish, similar to Swiss potato Rosti; the Royal Bank of Scotland’s 1960s strawberry cheesecake; the Royal College of Nursing’s 1950s muffin recipe entitled “For Husbands Only”, which was circulated among young married nurses, as well as Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop MSP recipe for cauliflower cheese. They represent the diversity of archival collections across Scotland’s communities and regions.

Angela Owusu, Archive Awareness Campaign said:

“Connecting people to their past through food is a fantastic reminder of how archives bring communities together so they can celebrate their identity and better understand the society they live in today.”

Call to action as the hunt continues for private family recipes

There is still time to enter recipes for the cookbook as the Scottish Council on Archives is inviting the public to send in unique, traditional, interesting recipes related to Scotland or food-related stories to add to the online cookbook. Go to www.SCOARCH.org.uk/projects/ediblearchive  for more details.

In the mean time, download a selection of the Edible Archives Recipe Cards and have a go at recreating some of the delicious recipes yourself.