are often bracketed together as two distinctively different parts of Scotland, lying to the north of the mainland; Orkney very close to it but Shetland closer to Bergen in Norway than to Aberdeen in Scotland. They do have some important features in common, notably the fact that they were both colonized by Scandinavians from the 9th to the 15th centuries (hence many culinary terms of Norse origin) and their strongly insular characteristics, but there are equally important differences between them, as the following comments by Catherine Brown (1981) show:
The gentle, undulating, green and fertile land of the Orkneys has more in common with the North-East Lowlands of Morayshire, Easter Ross and Caithness than with Shetland. This is fine farming country for rearing cattle, sheep and pigs as well as growing oats, barley and turnips. In Shetland, acid soils, a cool summer and frequent salt-laden gales restrict farming so that the people have turned much more towards the sea for a living than in Orkney. In this respect they belong more with the Hebrides and the West Coast. They were originally described as fishermen who had a croft, compared with the Orcadians who were farmers who kept a fishing boat. There are nearly four times as many fishermen in Shetland as there are in Orkney, but on the other hand Orkney farms are four times the size of those in Shetland.
So far as staples are concerned, it is noteworthy that a particular variety of barley, from which bere meal is produced (to make bannocks, porridge, etc.), retains a prominent place, as do oats. Likewise, kale (the member of the cabbage family which has thrived in these northern parts for many centuries) continues to be important; it has traditionally been preserved in barrels with fat and oatmeal. Kale is often teamed with pork, another Orkney staple. Other popular vegetables are turnip/swede, potato, leek.
Fish which has been preserved in one or another of numerous ways, many of them shared with the Nordic countries, is certainly a staple, but, in the past at least, prime fresh fish has been gutted and dispatched to the mainland for sale there, leaving Orcadians and Shetlanders to make their range of distinctive dishes based on the heads, livers, and other innards which had been removed. Davidson (1988b) provides a survey of such dishes (e.g. muggies, krappin, stap) based on practical research in the kitchens of Lerwick (capital of Shetland).
Annette Hope (1987) gives an impressive description of the hardships endured by Shetlanders when engaged in the ‘haaf’ (deep sea) fishery in the summer; and Shetland publications give vivid details of this and other traditional practices.
Meat may be beef, mutton, or pork. Wind-dried meat is known as vivda. A special kind of preserved beef mince, spiced and salted, is known as sassermaet and is the basis for making the patties which are called brïnies. However, the champion meat for Shetlanders comes from the Shetland sheep, which, as Catherine Brown (1981) explains,
are different from other breeds in Britain and have more in common with Norwegian, Swedish and Russian breeds which resemble the wild sheep of Siberia. It is a small, hardy, self-reliant sheep which lives mostly on exposed hills, feeding on coarse hill grass and heather but in severe times it also feeds on seaweed from the shore. All this combines to produce a mutton with a unique flavour which is stronger and faintly gamey compared with lowland mutton.
This mutton on Shetland is often cured: named reestit mutton after the rafter (reestit) from which it is hung to dry over the peat fire after brining.
Returning to Orkney, one finds a fine range of griddle-baked goods, for example the Orkney pancakes made with oatmeal and buttermilk, and the distinctive ‘sour skons’, flavoured with caraway seeds. ‘Fatty cutties’ are another griddle-baked speciality which resemble the Northumbrian ‘singin' hinnies’ (see scone) which ‘sing’ on the griddle because of their high fat content. Orkney is also famed for its sour milk products and cheeses.
A sweet note at the end of this short survey is provided by whipkull, the ancient Shetland drink of egg yolks, sugar, and rum with which Yule (rather than Christmas) has traditionally been celebrated. This is one of many items which arrived from Norway, and bears an interesting resemblance to the Italian zabaglione (which is made with marsala rather than rum).
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Brown, Catherine (1981), Scottish Regional Recipes, Glasgow: Molendinar Press.
Brown, Catherine (1990), Broths to Bannocks, London: John Murray.
Hope, Annette (1987), A Caledonian Feast, Edinburgh: Mainstream.
Stout, Margaret B. (1968), The Shetland Cookery Book, Lerwick: T. & J. Manson.
