Porridge Drawer

[Flattybasher9]

Double strained through the gusset perhaps 

Regards

Malky

[hanes teulu]

"Fur coat & nae drawers" mebbes!

Skoosh.

Great to see these expressions are nationwide! Heard it only yesterday.

[Misha77]

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.

[Skoosh]

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!) 

Skoosh.

[Misha77]

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). 

[pharmaT]

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.

[Misha77]

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.

[Skoosh]

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.

[Mabozza Richie]

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.