Tuesday Twister is tomorrow!
Every Monday, I pull out a meaningful quote from one of the great books or articles I’m reading and share it with you. I invite you to look for inspirational words in what you read and share them each week in the comments.
Like last week, this week’s quote comes from a Wise Traditions article, though this one from Spring 2009. Wise Traditions is the quarterly publication of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
The article is “The Good Diet of the Scots” and what I want to share with you is a little anecdotal bit about the common preparation of oat porridge in a Scottish kitchen. I’ve been mulling it around in my mind, wondering if I’m brave enough to try it! (Or if my family will eat it.)
Another common preparation of oat porridge in the Scottish kitchen included the farm wife cooking a large pot of porridge early in the week that would be poured into the drawer of the kitchen cupboard and left to cool and congeal. All week, family members would cut a slice to take with them to the fields and eat cold under its new name, calders. Certainly the calders soured pleasantly as the days went by. Slices were also fried in butter to accompany fish or eggs.
If I do this, I don’t think I’ll be pouring the oats into a drawer, but maybe into a casserole dish. 
Has you or anyone you know eaten calders? Were the oats whole or cracked or rolled? Do you like it? Did your family like it? Was it sweet or savory? Please share in the comments – and if you’re quick on the draw, I’d love for you to share a snippet of something you read this week that inspired (even angered!) you this week. Be sure to state the title and author, and/or give a link if appropriate.
Being Scot/Irish myself, I can tell you that calders (or caulders) isn’t as bad as you think. Its a lot like what some call “Mush”. Only, mush is made with cornmeal.
Caulder doesn’t always sour. The only sour caulder I ever had was in the summer. And then, its not so pleasant, at least not to me.
Cauld is the Scottish word for “cold”. So Caulders, really just means ‘cold stuff’ or ‘its cold’.
)
Sylvia´s last blog post… Menu Plan Day
I’d keep it in the fridge. With my luck, by the second day it would be growing mould.
Marg´s last blog post… Winter preparations
I read about this before and thought it interesting. I’m always looking for quick breakfast ideas but somehow I don’t think this would fill the bill at my house. Especially not if I whipped open the drawer in the morning and sliced off their breakfast.
Millie´s last blog post… Antelope Stew
I don’t know why but this totally cracked me up! I am laughing right now. I would LOVE to see the look on my family if I opened a drawer, cut off a piece of congealed mush and served it to them. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha:)
[...] week, we talked about calders, and I was not surprised in the least that Sylvia knew all about it. She’s a fortunate woman [...]