SCOTLAND – One of my most curious first impressions of Scotland was the so-called “Full Scottish Breakfast.”
The ‘full Scottish’ includes such typical morning fare as smoked bacon (mostly meat, unlike American bacon where it’s mostly fat), a savory link sausage, a fried egg (just one) and toast (white or brown).
Uniquely Scottish additions to the menu include a wedge of potato scone (more like a potato pancake than the scone I’m familiar with in the States), a slice of black pudding (another type of sausage – very salty – made from pork fat or beef suet, pork blood and oatmeal or barley), sautéed mushrooms, a couple of grilled tomato halves, and finally…
Wait for it…
A dollop of baked beans.
Yes, those baked beans, the kind you eat along with your picnic hot dog at the summer cook-out. Right there with your breakfast. First thing in the morning.
And it’s all washed down with juice (orange, grapefruit, apple or something red), and your choice of coffee or tea, with milk if desired, and sweetened with a lump of sugar in white or brown.
“When I say a ‘lump’ of sugar, I’m not talking about a cube”
Now when I say a “lump” of sugar, I’m not talking about a sugar cube. A lump is roughly the size of a standard sugar cube, but it’s not a cube; it’s an actual lump (no right angles). But that’s a story for another time.
Here are some other differences in Scottish edibles versus their American counterparts:
Chips versus crisps: We all know about fish and chips. The chips are what we Americans call French fries. But in Scotland, those fries are always called “chips,” whether they come with a helping of fish or with a burger. If you go to the store looking for potato chips (you know, the crunchy salty ones that come in a bag), you have to ask for “crisps.”
Speaking of fish and chips, you can find a “chip shop” or “chippy” in almost every neighborhood. I must say we have had the best fish and chips we’ve ever eaten anywhere while we’ve been in Scotland. Delicious, flaky fresh-caught Haddock battered and fried in a light, crunchy batter. It always comes with more fries (Oops! I mean chips) than we can possibly eat. And so far, every order has also included a helping of peas – yes, the little round green vegetable. You’ll usually get “mushy peas” (just like it sounds – mushy pureed peas) unless you ask for whole garden peas!
Biscuits vs. crackers and cookies: If you’re shopping for crackers to enjoy with a bit of cheese, you’ll have to go to the “biscuit” aisle. Same thing for cookies. They’re all called “biscuits” – savory biscuits for the crackers, and sweet biscuits for cookies. Go figure.
As for cheese, you’ll find “mature” cheese rather than “aged.”
And if you’re looking for soda pop, such as Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks, be sure to seek out the “fizzy drinks” section of the store.
Don’t look for eggs in the dairy cooler
Eggs: One of our grocery shopping adventures involved a quest for eggs. We had scoured every cooler in the store, dairy and otherwise, looking for familiar cartons of eggs. When we finally gave up and asked a clerk, he led us to a large display of un-refrigerated egg cartons (only in the U.S. do we insist on refrigerating our eggs from the farm to the consumer).
Most of the eggs were packaged in half-dozen cartons, and we had a choice of free-range, organic, mixed sizes, brown or white, even eggs with double-yolks!
Food ordered to go is called “takeaway.” Takeaway shops are everywhere – offering East Indian, Chinese and more. One Mexican food takeaway shop in Aberdeen advertised “burritos as big as your head.”
I just hope they were made with refried – rather than baked – beans.
Different cultures are so interesting and with so many surprises. Don’t you think so too?
Us English love baked beans on toast in the morning! Or of course with a Full English/Scottish/Irish 😋 (the Full English variant being the best of course!)
A full cooked breakfast without baked beans is just dry and unappetising to me! It is a rare treat though (for most at least) as we’d all be the size of houses if we ate that everyday!
I have to say, I much prefer American style bacon (we call it “streaky bacon”) to the English style (usually back bacon, from a different part of the pig). You can’t beat that crispy, fatty deliciousness!
Mmmm! Bacon!
Beans are also sometimes included in a full Canadian breakfast. The Irish and English also have a thing for beans first thing in the morning. Give me French toast or pancakes. I will save the beans for lunch or dinner.
I’m with you, Joe. I can’t really get used to beans as a breakfast food.