Scottish Wartime Family Recipes traditional Scottish cooking

Scottish Wartime Family Recipes

Video: “Scottish Wartime Family Recipes — traditional Scottish cooking” Presenter/source: presenter on the real Order channel (video). Recipes taken from Cooking in Wartime by Elizabeth Craig (first edition).

The video demonstrates three wartime recipes: Salmon Fish Cakes, Golden Steamed (Golden) Pudding, and Marmalade Cake. Below are the ingredients, equipment, step-by-step methods, and tips summarized for each dish.

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Salmon Fish Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 can of salmon (tinned wild salmon used in the video). Fresh salmon may be used instead.
• Boiled potatoes (“tatties”) — enough to make mashed potato.
• Salt and pepper, to taste.
• 1 egg (recipe calls for an egg; dried egg may be used for wartime authenticity).
• Oatmeal for coating.
• Fat for frying: butter (traditional) or substitutions — margarine (wartime), coconut oil (used in the video), lard, bacon dripping.
• Optional: fresh or dried herbs.
• Serving suggestion: hot mustard.

Equipment & preparation

• Saucepan to boil potatoes.
• Bowls for mixing.
• Fork or potato masher.
• Shallow bowls/plates for whisked egg and oatmeal.
• Frying pan and spatula.
• Plate for finished fish cakes; freezer storage if making batches.

Method

1. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender; drain and mash until smooth.
2. Drain the tin of salmon, pick out any major bones, then flake and lightly mash the salmon in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and optional herbs.
3. Mix the mashed potato into the salmon until evenly combined.
4. Add one egg and combine.
5. Shape the mixture into patties about “a bit larger than a golf ball,” then flatten slightly. Handle lightly to avoid squashing.
6. Whisk an egg in a shallow bowl. Dip each patty into the beaten egg, then roll in oatmeal to coat.
7. Heat a generous amount of frying fat in a pan. Fry patties a few minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked through. (“A few minutes until golden on one side, then flip and cook a further few minutes.”)
8. Break one open to check that it’s cooked through.
9. Serve hot with mustard. Fish cakes freeze well.

Tips / Common mistakes

• Don’t over-handle the patties when coating—hold lightly to avoid squashing.
• Use a traditional fat for best flavor; margarine, butter, lard or dripping are recommended.
• If using tinned salmon, remove any major bones.
• Make a large batch and freeze for convenience.

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Golden Steamed Pudding (Golden Pudding)

Ingredients

• Ground rice (ground rice flour preferred). Presenter recommends buying ground rice for a smoother texture; home-ground rice can be bitty.
• Suet.
• Golden syrup (some added into the batter; optionally spoon 1–2 tbsp into the bottom of the greased pudding basin for a syrupy top — this is an extra, not in the original recipe).
• 1 egg (or dried egg powder for wartime authenticity).
• Baking powder.
• Milk (to bring batter to cake-batter consistency).
• Pinch of salt.
• Optional for serving: extra golden syrup, custard, or whipped cream.

Equipment & preparation

• Mixing bowl.
• Greased pudding basin (steaming basin).
• Greaseproof paper and optionally tin foil to cover; make a pleat/allow expansion if using foil.
• Large pan for a water bath; place a plate in the bottom so the basin does not touch the pan base.
• Steaming setup capable of simmering water for ~2½ hours.

Method

1. If using whole rice, grind it finer if possible — commercial ground rice gives a smoother result.
2. In a bowl combine ground rice, suet, baking powder, a pinch of salt, golden syrup, egg (or dried egg) and enough milk to make a cake-batter consistency.
3. Grease the pudding basin. (Optional: spoon a little golden syrup into the bottom for a caramel/syrupy top.)
4. Cover the basin tightly with greaseproof paper and foil (use a pleated cover to allow expansion). The presenter used just greaseproof paper when foil ran out; it still cooked fine.
5. Place the basin in a pan with simmering water; put a plate under the basin so it does not touch the base. Simmer/steam for approximately 2½ hours.
6. Check doneness, remove the cover and invert or slice. Note that home-ground rice yields a slightly chunkier texture. The pudding is not overly sweet.

Tips / Common mistakes

• Prefer commercial ground rice for a smoother texture.
• Use foil plus greaseproof paper with a pleat to allow expansion and keep steam in, if available.
• Put a plate under the basin inside the simmering pan to prevent the basin from touching and burning.
• Adding golden syrup to the base is optional; it creates a syrup-topped sponge not in the original wartime recipe.
• Serve with golden syrup, custard, or whipped cream — wartime availability may have limited options.

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Marmalade Cake (wartime version)

Ingredients

• Flour (sifted).
• Margarine (wartime authentic) or butter (modern substitute). Rub fat into the flour.
• Dried fruit: currants and raisins in the original; a mixed dried fruit was used in the video as a substitute. Use similarly sized dried fruit.
• Sugar (brown sugar referenced — break up lumps).
• Marmalade (presenter used about 4 tablespoons).
• Milk to bring to cake-batter consistency.
• Spices (optional — presenter added spices but did not specify).
• No eggs in this cake.

Equipment & preparation

• Mixing bowls, sieve for flour.
• Cake tin (greased and/or lined with greaseproof paper).
• Oven preheated to 160°C (presenter’s baking temperature).
• Skewer or cake tester.

Method

1. Sift flour into a mixing bowl.
2. Rub butter or margarine into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Stir in dried fruit and sugar, breaking up any brown sugar lumps.
4. Stir in marmalade (about 4 tbsp).
5. Add milk to achieve a cake-batter consistency; add spices if using.
6. Pour into a greased and/or lined cake tin.
7. Bake at 160°C for about 1–1½ hours (presenter said ~1–1.5 hours). Test with a skewer — it should come out clean.
8. Cool in the tin a little, then remove and cool fully.
9. When cool, spread marmalade on top (cool cake prevents marmalade from running down the sides). The presenter left chunky marmalade pieces on top for texture.

Tips / Common mistakes

• Use margarine for wartime authenticity; butter is an acceptable modern substitute.
• Substitute similar-sized dried fruit if you don’t have currants or raisins.
• Make sure the cake is cool before glazing with marmalade.
• Grease and line the pan for easy removal.
• Serve with custard or cream if desired.

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Variations / Wartime Notes

• Eggs: recipes include eggs, but dried egg powder is a wartime-authentic substitute if eggs are scarce.
• Frying fat for fish cakes: margarine, butter, lard, bacon dripping, or coconut oil (used in the video) are all acceptable.
• Salmon: tinned salmon was used in the original/video; fresh salmon can be substituted.
• Dried fruit: currants/raisins recommended; other similar-sized dried fruit mixes are fine.

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Final notes from the video

• The presenter emphasized sticking close to the original recipes in Cooking in Wartime by Elizabeth Craig (first edition). Some wartime recipes explicitly used margarine and sometimes dried egg.
• Batch-cooking is encouraged (fish cakes freeze well). Serving suggestions: mustard with fish cakes; golden syrup/custard/cream with the pudding; custard/cream with marmalade cake.
• Presenter/channel: the real Order channel (per subtitles); source cookbook: Cooking in Wartime by Elizabeth Craig (first edition).