Scottish Seafood

51fopceodjl-_sx384_bo1204203200_

Scottish Seafood: its history and cooking published by Birlinn, 2011

From shellfish-eating on a beach some nine thousand years ago to catching burn trout in the twentieth century, Catherine Brown puts the spotlight on generations of Scots who have fished, foraged, cured, cooked and eaten Scottish seafood. They made the country’s reputation as a seafood-eating nation, creating a larder of distinctive dishes from the rich natural resources around Scotland’s long coastline.

 

 scottishseafood450

Taking a fresh approach to cooking and eating seafood, Catherine suggests that mastering basic cooking methods is the place to begin. She includes recipes to suit all levels of cooking skills – from a quick and easy treat of grilled smokie, with bread and butter and a pot of tea, to a Partan Bree requiring longer preparation.

With a directory of seafood suppliers and a catalogue of seafood species, there is all you need to know about buying wisely to save future stocks and prevent damage to the health of the oceans.

This book with archive photographs and drawings by Joanne Glover, is for all who want to know more about Scottish seafood and its origins. It is also for everyone who loves cooking and sharing seafood with family and friends.

‘Her quiet prose laps gently like water on a tidal shore. Yet, true to form, Catherine Brown’s investigation into the Scottish seafood industry – which also laments its ancient past – is as powerful as any television campaign such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recent Big Fish Fight caused by the EU quota system. Brown, the Scottish food historian and erstwhile Herald columnist, prefers to take an equable approach. “Everyone else was doing
the strong stuff on television, but that’s not my style,” she says. “I wanted to find the stories behind the headlines. Celebrities pick on the
most sensational bits, but sometimes there’s a local story that tells you what’s really going on.”’ Cate Devine, The Herald