Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1472 Orkney and Shetland were “pawned” to Scotland because Norway, which controlled the islands at the time, was late in paying the dowry of Margaret of Denmark on her betrothal to James III of Scotland. Norway never paid the dowry, so the islands passed permanently to Scotland.

Interestingly, Denmark still has a (dubious) claim to Orkney and Shetland given that the islands were pawned and not given or sold to Scotland.  This claim resurfaced when Scotland was voting recently whether to separate from the United Kingdom, and islanders floated the idea that, should separation occur, they might apply to become part of Denmark.

Shetland cooking is rich in seafood, of course, and the local breed of sheep is well known for its special flavor. Local sheep could find some grazing in rocky areas, but were also dependent on seaweed, hence the unique flavor. For simplicity I’ll give a recipe for Shetland bannocks which locals hanker after when they are away from home. There’s nothing special to cooking them; it’s locally sourced ingredients (especially buttermilk) that make the difference. Shetlanders traditionally drank buttermilk or blaand (fermented whey) with dinner. In Cookery for Northern Wives (1925), the classic work on traditional Shetland cooking, Margaret Stout describes making blaand: “This is a refreshing drink made by pouring enough hot water onto buttermilk to make it separate; the curd is drained, pressed and served as Kirnmilk. The whey is allowed to stand until it reaches the fermenting, sparkling stage.”

Shetland Bannocks

Ingredients

1 lb plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1½ cups (approx.) buttermilk

Stout’s instructions:

Mix the dry ingredients together, make into a soft dough with the buttermilk, just as soft as can be easily handled. Turn on to a floured board.

Roll them like scones and cut or shape into rounds. They can be cooked on a traditional griddle or baked in the oven, known respectively as “top” and “bottom” bannocks. A heavy cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat works fine.