[ CROWDIE – Made with low fat milk
Traditional crowdie was a cottage cheese and originated as a staple food for the crofter. It was hand-skimmed on the croft when a little of the cream was left, making it, in modern jargon, a ‘low fat’ rather than a ‘skimmed milk’ cheese.
‘The unusual thing about Crowdie is that it is semi-cooked. The fresh milk is soured naturally beside the stove and then “scrambled” over the heat and hung up to drip in a muslin cloth. This ancient cheese is unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and as far as we know was made nowhere in Europe … it has special qualities. Firstly, because of the natural curding (12 hours) if has a lovely citric flavour. Rennet (forbidden by both Vegetarians and Orthodox Jew) was not traditionally used to speed the souring. We use no rennet on our large scale, lactic cultures, and stick rigidly to the old recipe and method. Secondly this semi-cooked cheese (believed to go back to Viking and possibly Pictish times) is very slow in certain elements that are bad for kidney patients. Among them potassium and sodium.’ Lactic or acid curd crowdie has a more refreshing sharper flavour than rennet-started crowdie.
Origin of the name
When the Scots mixed meal and water together in the 18th century they called this ‘crowdie’ and, because it was such a staple item of diet, the name for the dish became transferred to the meal itself. People talked about Crowdie-time as the time to eat and because it took on this much broader meaning, it seems that all kinds of dishes had the word Crowdie added to them.
Crowdie-Moudie was a kind of steamed porridge made with milk; Cream-Crowdie or Cranachan was a special dish of harvest plenty when cream and oatmeal were mixed with fruits; Ale Crowdie was a mixture of ale oatmeal, treacle and whisky, also a harvest dish, while Crowdie Butter was curds with butter mixed through. Today the name is applied to the drained curd.
CROWDIE can be used in all recipes which use low or semi-fat soft cheeses (i.e. Quark, Philadelphia etc.): it is usually cheaper.
Basic crowdies
HIGHLAND CROWDIE (Highland Fine, Tain) A low-fat traditional crowdie with a moist texture and refreshing flavour. It is rennet free. (5.5 oz tubs/6 lb tubs)
CLAYMORE CROWDIE (North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board Creamery, Kirkwall, Orkney) Low-fat, traditional crowdie made with unpasteurised milk. (5 oz cartons) Also sold in tubs mixed with other ingredients.
Crowdie variations
CROWDIE AND CREAM (Highland Fine, Tain) Two-thirds crowdie to one-third double cream. (5.5 oz tubs/ 6 lb tub)
GRU DHU (Highland Fine, Tain) A crowdie and cream cheese mixture rolled in crushed peppercorns, giving it a unique flavour. (5 oz tubs/2 lb ball)
HRAMSA (Highland Fine, Tain) Crowdie mixed with chopped wild garlic lighter in flavour than continental garlic. ‘Hramsa’ is the Gaelic for wild garlic – the ‘all healing herb’.
HOWGATE CROWDIE AND CREAM (5 oz tubs)
PEAT SMOKED SOFT CHEESE (Howgate Cheeses, Penicuik) A soft cheese, the curds are ladled into open ended moulds sitting on straw mats, giving characteristic marks, and turned once, gently smoked over peat. A fine delicate flavour. (5 oz packs)
GOAT CHEESE – Soft farmhouse goats’ milk cheese is being made in small quantities mostly for local sale only. Worth keeping an eye open for in specialist cheese shops who track down supplies or may be able to give you further information. ]
Traditional crowdie was a cottage cheese and originated as a staple food for the crofter. It was hand-skimmed on the croft when a little of the cream was left, making it, in modern jargon, a ‘low fat’ rather than a ‘skimmed milk’ cheese.
‘The unusual thing about Crowdie is that it is semi-cooked. The fresh milk is soured naturally beside the stove and then “scrambled” over the heat and hung up to drip in a muslin cloth. This ancient cheese is unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and as far as we know was made nowhere in Europe … it has special qualities. Firstly, because of the natural curding (12 hours) if has a lovely citric flavour. Rennet (forbidden by both Vegetarians and Orthodox Jew) was not traditionally used to speed the souring. We use no rennet on our large scale, lactic cultures, and stick rigidly to the old recipe and method. Secondly this semi-cooked cheese (believed to go back to Viking and possibly Pictish times) is very slow in certain elements that are bad for kidney patients. Among them potassium and sodium.’ Lactic or acid curd crowdie has a more refreshing sharper flavour than rennet-started crowdie.
Origin of the name
When the Scots mixed meal and water together in the 18th century they called this ‘crowdie’ and, because it was such a staple item of diet, the name for the dish became transferred to the meal itself. People talked about Crowdie-time as the time to eat and because it took on this much broader meaning, it seems that all kinds of dishes had the word Crowdie added to them.
Crowdie-Moudie was a kind of steamed porridge made with milk; Cream-Crowdie or Cranachan was a special dish of harvest plenty when cream and oatmeal were mixed with fruits; Ale Crowdie was a mixture of ale oatmeal, treacle and whisky, also a harvest dish, while Crowdie Butter was curds with butter mixed through. Today the name is applied to the drained curd.
CROWDIE can be used in all recipes which use low or semi-fat soft cheeses (i.e. Quark, Philadelphia etc.): it is usually cheaper.
Basic crowdies
HIGHLAND CROWDIE (Highland Fine, Tain) A low-fat traditional crowdie with a moist texture and refreshing flavour. It is rennet free. (5.5 oz tubs/6 lb tubs)
CLAYMORE CROWDIE (North of Scotland Milk Marketing Board Creamery, Kirkwall, Orkney) Low-fat, traditional crowdie made with unpasteurised milk. (5 oz cartons) Also sold in tubs mixed with other ingredients.
Crowdie variations
CROWDIE AND CREAM (Highland Fine, Tain) Two-thirds crowdie to one-third double cream. (5.5 oz tubs/ 6 lb tub)
GRU DHU (Highland Fine, Tain) A crowdie and cream cheese mixture rolled in crushed peppercorns, giving it a unique flavour. (5 oz tubs/2 lb ball)
HRAMSA (Highland Fine, Tain) Crowdie mixed with chopped wild garlic lighter in flavour than continental garlic. ‘Hramsa’ is the Gaelic for wild garlic – the ‘all healing herb’.
HOWGATE CROWDIE AND CREAM (5 oz tubs)
PEAT SMOKED SOFT CHEESE (Howgate Cheeses, Penicuik) A soft cheese, the curds are ladled into open ended moulds sitting on straw mats, giving characteristic marks, and turned once, gently smoked over peat. A fine delicate flavour. (5 oz packs)
GOAT CHEESE – Soft farmhouse goats’ milk cheese is being made in small quantities mostly for local sale only. Worth keeping an eye open for in specialist cheese shops who track down supplies or may be able to give you further information. ]
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