Clootie
A clootie (also cloutie;[1] from the Scots word cloot or clout: "a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag") is a strip or piece of cloth, a rag or item of clothing; it can also refer to fabric used in the patching of clothes or the making of clootie mats (a.k.a. proddy rugs).[2]
Clootie dumpling | |
Type | Pudding |
---|---|
Place of origin | Scotland |
Main ingredients | Flour, bread crumbs, dried fruit (currants, raisins, sultanas), suet, sugar, spices, milk |
Sayings
The saying "Ne'er cast a cloot til mey's oot" conveys a warning not to shed any clothes before summer has arrived and the may trees and hedges (hawthorn) are in full bloom.[3][4][5] The saying also appears in English as "Ne'er cast a clout till May be out".[6]
Food
A traditional pudding called clootie dumpling is made with flour, breadcrumbs, dried fruit (currants, raisins, sultanas), suet, sugar and spices with some milk to bind it, and sometimes golden syrup. Ingredients are mixed well into a dough, then wrapped up in a floured cloth, placed in a large pan of boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours before being lifted out and dried near the fire or in an oven.[7] Recipes vary from region to region.
"Clootie dumpling" has also been used as a nickname for the logo of the Scottish National Party.[8]
Place marker
Clootie wells are wells or springs in Celtic areas where pilgrims leave strips of cloth or rags, usually as part of a healing ritual.
Anatomy
A cluit (Anglicised cloot) less commonly refers to the cloven hoof of cattle, sheep or pigs, and from this the term Cluitie is used as a euphemism for the Devil.[9]
See also
- Poutchine au sac, Métis bag pudding from Western Canada
- Figgy duff (pudding), a bag pudding from Newfoundland
References
- "Traditional Scottish Recipes - Cloutie Dumpling". www.rampantscotland.com.
- Scuil Wab: Wird O The Month - Mey Archived 2008-06-04 at the Wayback Machine (Scots language)
- "talefromtwocities". talefromtwocities.blogspot.com.
- Kist example (Scots language poem)
- Glesca Patter Archived 2007-03-10 at the Wayback Machine,
- "Ne'er cast a clout till May be out". The Phrase Finder. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- Cropley, May. "Clootie Dumpling Recipe". Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
- Chalabi, Mona (30 March 2015). "A Glossary Of U.K. Politics, From Ashcroft To Whips". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- "CLOOT". www.dsl.ac.uk. Dictionary of the Scots Language. Retrieved 13 December 2020.