Scotch Egg

If you assumed a Scotch Egg heralded from Scotland, it would be understandable, however, it would also be entirely wrong.

The claim for the invention of Scotch Eggs lies at the other end of the British Isles in London’s Fortnum and Mason store and dates back to 1738.

And even if the Scots do try to claim it, the origins probably lie even further afield than the iconic Piccadilly store – in India.

Mughlai koftas

The dish that probably inspired the scotch egg recipe

Probably inspired by Mughlai koftas, the earliest known printed recipe is from 1809 and they have gone on to be a staple of summer salads, buffets and picnics (if somebody could develop a wasp repelling scotch egg, that really would be a breakthrough!) and motorway service stations for the snacking driver.

Essentially a scotch egg is an egg, surrounded by sausage meat, finished with breadcrumbs and is about the size of a cricket ball / tennis ball / baseball.

So what about the whole ‘Scotch’ bit?

This has nothing to do with Scotland whatsoever, but is based on the word ‘scotched’ which loosely means to do something to something. So if you want an egg that’s had something done to it with sausage meat and breadcrumbs (and who doesn’t?), then it’s a Scotch Egg you need!