The United Kingdom is known for its diversity of food and has over the centuries adopted many recipes that have subsequently lost their origins and are now thought of as being quintessentially English.
Many of these dishes are then sold around the world as being traditional English Fare. One such dish is Scotch Eggs
A traditional Scotch Egg is a hardboiled chickens egg that has been wrapped in sausage meat which has been dipped in breadcrumbs and then deep fried.
The Scotch Egg is claimed to have been invented by the London food store Fortnum and Masons back in 1738. The store was founded in 1707 as a grocery store and soon gained a reputation for supplying quality foods and was renowned for supplying luxury foods and meats to members of the British Aristocracy and serving officers in the British Army all around the Empire.
It is as a result of supplying such goods that the idea of a Scotch egg is thought to have come about.
During the 18th century the British Empire had spread into India and discovered an entirely new style of cooking and food preparation. In one of the conquered areas around Delhi the Mughali style of cooking was to be found and one of the common dishes was to use lamb or beef mixed with spices and then formed in to balls before cooking. One of the local variants was to place an egg in the meat and then served and known locally as Nargisi Kofta
It is most probable that someone wrote back to Fortnum and Mason asking that they prepare such a dish for their return to the UK or when they were posted to another part of the Empire and were not able to obtain it.
The first recorded recipe of a Scotch Egg is in Mrs Rundell’s “ A New System of Domestic Cookery” which was published in 1809 and quickly became a firm favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. The recipe showed how to prepare the Scotch Eggs and then recommended they be served in a gravy or sauce further giving credence to their origins in India.
Today Scotch eggs are invariably eaten cold and a popular favorite at picnics for their ease of eating and combination of flavors. They can be made quite easily but there are so many places selling them over the counter or prepackaged that few people bother to make them and as a result some of the regional variations are now seldom found.
Bite sized, chopped eggs. Quails eggs, pickled eggs and Worcester sauce are all varieties that can still be found and in today’s fast food world the Scotch Egg is likely to have a long and prosperous future
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