S3 E7 Black Bun

Currant-loaf is now popular eating in all households. For weeks before the great morning, confectioners display stacks of Scotch bun — a dense, black substance, inimical to life – Robert Louis Stevenson, Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes, 1878

In Episode 7 I chat with Peter Gilchrist and Dr Lindsay Middleton about a Scottish cake traditionally served at Hogmanay and the role this plays in preserving Scotland’s food heritage.

Useful Links

The Tenement Kitchen where you can also download a copy of the Scottish Food Heritage Report. You can find Peter on Instagram and X.

You can read more about Dr Lindsay Middleton’s thesis here. You can find Lindsay on Instagram and X.

If you want to see how black bun’s were originally made check out this post by my fellow A is for Apple Podcast host Dr Neil Buttery.

Yu-lade is available from some branches of Co-op in Scotland.

Suggested Reading

You read more about the origins of Simnel cake in my book Fool’s Gold: A History of British Saffron

Glasgow Cookery Book

The cook and housewife's manual : a practical system of modern domestic cookery and family management (1828) by Christian Isobel Johnstone (aka Meg Dods)

The Scots Kitchen: Its Lore and Recipes (1929) by F Marion McNeill

A Scottish Feast: An Anthology of Food and Eating by Hamish Whyte and Catherine Brown

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram or X @mrssbilton or find out more about my work on sambilton.com.

A huge thank you to Thomas Ntinas of The Delicious Legacy for doing the sound mixing on this season of the podcast.

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