The economy of an Orkney croft: livestock, selling butter an...

Original Track ID

SA1969.51

Original Tape ID

SA1969.051

Summary

The economy of an Orkney croft: livestock, selling butter and eggs for groceries, diet, making sowans.

Ethel Findlater's folk kept two cows and sold the calves. Lambs were also sold at the end of the year to pay debts and taxes. They kept hens and sold the eggs to buy groceries. The hens were fed on oats and meal from the girnel [i.e. meal chest] and on grap [coarsely-ground corn]. They also got mill dust called harp's stour [sieve's dust] mixed with boiled potatoes and turnips.

Ethel describes how butter was kirned [churned] by hand: the milk was left to form lowts [clots] in an earthenware lowty jar, then added to the churn with boiling water. It took half an hour of churning to produce butter, which was gathered and lifted into a basin with a butter spell [spatula], then washed and salted. It was sold by the pound to the grocer's van in exchange for goods like syrup, tea and sugar. Ethel did not have much time for freits [superstitions]. She describes how cows go dry naturally when pregnant. The children had to kirn for however long it took, as the family needed the butter and kirn milk [buttermilk].

Kirn milk and lowts were eaten with oatmeal. Ethel's granny preferred to buy rather than make bursteen [beremeal dried over the fire] as it was easily burned. Ethel describes how sowans [steeped and fermented oat husks] were made and eaten, and how they were used in baking scones. There were piles of scones on every farm table. [Gap in recording.] Sowans could also be boiled, but needed continual stirring.

Item Location

Language

English, Scots

Genre

Information

Collection

SoSS

Source Type

Reel to reel

Audio Quality

Good