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Scotland (Counties as in 1851-1901) => Scotland => Topic started by: g forgeron on Sunday 15 November 15 17:52 GMT (UK)
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Does, or did,such a thing ever exist. The story goes that a drawer in the kitchen was scrubbed out and on a Monday it was filled with porridge. Each day a portion woluld be cut out and that was the lunch for that day for the man of the house.
Has anyone ever experienced this FIRST HAND ? I know there are lots of tales, "My Mum/ Aunty/ Granny/ etc etc remembers it" But I suspect it is just an urban myth, did/does it happen ?
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Aberdeen Journal, 25 Nov 1941
PORRIDGE AND MILK
The report in the paper covered a number of aspects re. milk/porridge including -
"An Aberdeen citizen, benighted in a remote part of the Highlands tells how he was sent to lodge for the night with a shepherd. The man lived alone and when breakfast time came in the morning, he pulled out a drawer for the porridge. He was accustomed to make a week's supply at a time, and simply cut off the portion for the day".
So - not from the horse's mouth and can you trust what you read in the local rag??
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If you 'google' this you'll get loads of hits :)
For instance http://www.scotlandmag.com/magazine/issue40/12008794.html
http://5dalmore.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/ever-seen-porridge-in-drawer.html
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It may be that some folk did this, but I have never come across any authentic evidence of it being widespread. My family has consumed vast quantities of porridge over the years without recourse to a porridge drawer. For one thing, it would have to be a pretty big drawer. For another, making fresh porridge is perfectly easy. As farm servants, my grandfathers were paid partly in oatmeal. The family porridge was made every morning and often in the evening too. My grandfathers themselves, however, never had porridge in the morning. For them it was brose, which is even quicker to make. I still have the wooden brose bowl made for my great grandfather. He died in 1912, but the bowl has never been out of use.
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The tale I heard was of a poor student , who tried this due to lack of money.
He became the first person in Aberdeen diagnosed with scurvy in more than 50 years.
ev
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https://scottishfactorrubbish.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/scottish-student-contracted-scurvy-from-porridge-fact-or-rubbish/
http://www.snopes.com/college/horrors/scurvy.asp
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Fascinated, GR2, to read of the 'brose'; 'brwes' or 'brywes' is an historical Welsh dish of oatmeal steeped in broth, water or milk. I was once offered it for breakfast by a friend as oatmeal with Marmite and hot water. It was delicious.
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I've heard myth this for yonks, neither do we live on fried Mars Bars.
Skoosh.
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There is a brilliant sketch in one of the Broons annuals, when they're at the but 'n' ben. The twins are eating cereal, and are looking for the toy car which should have come in the box. Paw tells them they should be eating porridge instead, so makes some and then pours it into the kitchen drawer. The next day, he cuts a slice and bites into it, breaking his falsers on the missing toy car which had been in the drawer when he poured the porridge in. I used to love that story!
I have no idea if the porridge drawer was really a thing though, as that Broons story is my only experience of it.
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http://www.scotlandmag.com/magazine/issue40/12008794.html
http://www.northsouthfood.com/fried-porridge/
http://www.scotsman.com/news/a-slice-of-porridge-has-always-been-top-drawer-1-1408827
http://www.scotsman.com/news/porridge-a-stirring-story-1-1407155
Regards
Malky. I must try fried porridge.
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Please please, no more stories - funny as they are - does anyone have an authentic first hand experience of a porridge drawer ?
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I don't have any authentic proof either. However, my common sense tells me that in years long past porridge would certainly have been made, and most probably kept from one meal to another in order to save fuel. In that case, at that time, it would have been kept in wooden receptacles of one kind or another, whether bowls, or drawer shaped - possibly in the drawer to keep it away from rodents.
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I seem to remember my Mum talking about her father using a porridge drawer. I will need to ask her and confirm if I have remembered correctly.
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I use my "porridge drawer" as a sex aid.
It's where I get my oats ::) ::) ::)
Regards
Malky
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;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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"Fur coat & nae drawers" mebbes!
Skoosh.
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"Fur coat & nae drawers" mebbes! That's what we call people who live in Morningside (posh part of Edinburgh) Skoosh.
Seriously , my childhood friend (we are still best pals 50 odd years on) her dad came from Caithness and was born in 1900 and I remember him telling us about the "porridge Drawer" - we were totally disgusted :) :)
Also, he mentioned "cruddie" which I think was a form of thick sour milk probably a forerunner of yoghart ;D ;D
Dorrie
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Dorrie,
That would be "Crowdie" a cheese very similar to what is named today as "Cottage" cheese.
My grannie used to make it along with butter which was patted into balls with little wooden vessels like small bats with small ridges.
Annie
ADDED.....Both were made with sour milk
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Used to get crowdie as a wean, hopefully not strained in an auld perra "drawers!"
Skoosh.
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Double strained through the gusset perhaps ??? ??? ???
Regards
Malky
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"Fur coat & nae drawers" mebbes!
Skoosh.
Great to see these expressions are nationwide! Heard it only yesterday.
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I am frequently in the Highlands of Scotland visiting family. I was told of the porridge drawer. It appears that it was standard practice to steep then cook the porridge [making it a nice firm mix] and then pour it into a drawer to be carried out to the fields to be served in slices to the farm workers. I have only heard of this in Ross-shire and in connection with the farm workers. It is something that people remember their grandparents doing. Best respects.
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I'd be very surprised if there's anybody now living who has ever had a slice of porage out of a drawer. This tale relates to the big farms of NE Scotland where the single men lived in a bothy & pooled what resources they had. The would get milk, potatoes & oatmeal supplied depending on the farmer & culinary skills were notoriously rough & ready but time for some common sense, what size of a pot would be needed to fill a drawer & why not leave the porage in the pot? did these guys lack sufficient pots & pans, basins & bowls, cans or even chanties in which to store the said porage? why did they not just fill their bunnets with porage then they could snack as they ploughed? dearieme! it takes about ten minutes to make a pot of porage, about two minutes to make brose, the staple diet, why on earth would any sapient being go through this palaver & what woman would pour porage into a drawer, she'd be the talk of the place.
This is more standard mythology than standard practice. When I was a wean a hawker used to appear at the door selling candy apples, I never got hold of one of these as my Maw said he made them in a chanty! (chamber pot). Porage drawers are of a similar genre (been waiting years to use that word!) ;D
Skoosh.
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The fact that they called it a drawer does not mean it was essentially a 'drawer' but I believe you are correct that some better receptacle may have been available except that when you slice porridge and eat it in the hand then you have no washing up (other than licking your fingers). ;)
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Dorrie,
That would be "Crowdie" a cheese very similar to what is named today as "Cottage" cheese.
My grannie used to make it along with butter which was patted into balls with little wooden vessels like small bats with small ridges.
Annie
ADDED.....Both were made with sour milk
I like crowdie.
Back to the original question, I have heard the story many times but I don't have any direct experience of a porridge drawer. Although as someone up thread suggested it does make sense to make porridge weekly to save fuel.
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Well thank you everyone. I have really enjoyed this posting and I have happy memories of the Broons. If they did it, it can't be bad. I just love these old stories that have become part of our folk-lore. My father who is from Yorkshire/Welsh roots has an old superstition. He would knock out the bole of an egg-shell and tell me that it was 'so that the bad fairies could not use them for boats'. He comes from an old fishing family on the Yorkshire side. When I started studying folk-lore more as I got older I found that there was an old folk superstition that witches could sail out to ships in the bole of an egg and sink them. Of course I don't believe the superstition but it's a great story and represents a true anxiety - ship-faring was a dangerous employ. Great to have spoken to you all.
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Pharma, in the north of Scotland peat was the general fuel, a peat fire was never out, & was smoored (banked up) at night to keep it in, along with an iron kettle full of hot water alongside, this even at the height of summer. The notion of lighting a fire once a week is ludicrous.
Skoosh.
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Im in my 50' now. Born Glasgow and lived a while in East Kilbride. My grandmother lived near us and I often passed her house on the way to school. She would cut a slice of porridge out of the drawer in the living-room sideboard, wrap it in a torn off piece of newspaper, hand it to me and I ate it on the way to school. She had a huge pot she used to cook virtually everything she made. Im fairly sure she just gave the drawer a cursory wipe out when the last piece of porridge was taken, before filling it up again.
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At least her drawers got a cursory wipe noo & again! ;D
Skoosh.
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Im in my 50' now. Born Glasgow and lived a while in East Kilbride. My grandmother lived near us and I often passed her house on the way to school. She would cut a slice of porridge out of the drawer in the living-room sideboard, wrap it in a torn off piece of newspaper, hand it to me and I ate it on the way to school. She had a huge pot she used to cook virtually everything she made. Im fairly sure she just gave the drawer a cursory wipe out when the last piece of porridge was taken, before filling it up again.
Chortling away at the username!
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Neither the Loch Ness Monster nor the porridge drawer appear in the Scottish National Dictionary or the vast online DSL.
We all know that one of them is a myth.
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My dad told me that his dad was a ploughman and would go to work with a slice of porridge cut from a drawer full of porridge. If they had any, he would also take some jam to accompany the porridge.
Often heard my dads sisters mention the drawer with porridge in it.
Troo