scotch egg

{{Infobox food

| name = Scotch egg

| image = File:One scotch egg (No jar of Marmite).jpg

| caption = Scotch egg, halved

| alternate_name =

| country = England

| creator =

| course =

| type = Picnic food

| served =

| main_ingredient = Boiled egg, sausage, bread crumbs

| variations =

| calories =

| other =

}}

A Scotch egg is a boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and baked or deep-fried.

Origin

Various origin stories exist. The Oxford Companion to Food gives the first instance of the name as of 1809, in an edition of Maria Rundell's A New System of Domestic Cookery. They did not, at that time, have a breadcrumb layer, although by 1861 Isabella Beeton suggested this as an option. According to the Oxford Companion to Food, food historian Annette Hope speculated in 1987 that the inspiration may have been Indian koftas{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RL6LAwAAQBAJ&q=scotch+egg|title=The Oxford Companion to Food|last=Davidson|first=Alan|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-967733-7|pages=724|language=en}} such as the Mughlai dish called nargisi kofta ("Narcissus meatballs"), in which a boiled egg is encased in a seasoned ground-meat mixture and then fried.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2015/jul/28/scotch-eggs-world-british-india-belgium-brazil-poland-gastropub|title=Scotch eggs around the world – it has never been just a British thing|last=Balston|first=Catherine|date=2015-07-28|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-07-15|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}

Other claims include the item having been invented at Fortnum & Mason at Piccadilly in 1738.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/nov/05/foodanddrink.shopping |work=The Guardian | title=A facial at Fortnums? Never! |first=Jonathan |last=Glancey |date=5 November 2007}} According to Culinary Delights of Yorkshire, they originated in Whitby, Yorkshire, England, in the 19th century, and were originally covered in fish paste rather than sausage meat. They were supposedly named after William J. Scott & Sons, a well-known eatery which sold them.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,,-1188,00.html|title=Are Scotch eggs really Scottish? {{!}} Notes and Queries {{!}} guardian.co.uk|website=The Guardian|access-date=15 July 2019}}

It has also been suggested that they were originally called "scorch" eggs, as they were cooked over an open flame, though according to surviving recipes they were deep-fried in lard. 'Scotching' as a culinary process is also sometimes cited as the origin, though what "scotching" was is open to interpretation, from the inclusion of anchovies to simply mincing meat.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/10328855/Potted-histories-Scotch-eggs.html|title=Potted histories: Scotch eggs|last=Hyslop|first=Leah|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=25 September 2013|access-date=15 July 2019|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}} Further confusion is added by the large trade in eggs from Scotland in the 19th century, which sometimes involved dipping eggs in a lime powder to preserve them, a process possibly also known as "scotching".{{Cite web|url=https://www.foodsofengland.info/scotcheggs.html|title=Foods of England – Scotch Eggs|website=foodsofengland.info|access-date=20 April 2025}}

Preparation and serving

File:Scotch eggs.jpg

Scotch eggs are prepared by hard- or soft-boiling an egg, wrapping it in sausage meat, and deep-frying it. It is often eaten in pubs or as a cold snack at picnics.File:Draft House, Tower Bridge, London (8050539139).jpg

In the Netherlands and Belgium, Scotch eggs may also be called vogelnestje ("little bird's nest"), because they contain an egg. One 1880s Scottish recipe also calls them birds' nests.

Regional variation

The Manchester egg consists of a pickled egg wrapped in a mixture of pork meat and Lancashire black pudding.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/apr/29/manchester-egg |title=A plan is hatched: the Manchester egg |work=The Guardian |date=29 April 2010 |access-date=1 July 2010 |first=Tony |last=Naylor}}

Vegetarian versions have also been made. In 2022, Guinness World Records certified a {{Convert|8.341|kg|lboz|frac=32|adj=on}} vegetarian Scotch egg as the world's largest.{{Cite web |last=Addow |first=Amina |date=20 May 2022 |title=World's largest vegetarian scotch egg weighs a cracking 8.3 kg |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/corporate/2022/5/worlds-largest-vegetarian-scotch-weighs-a-cracking-8-3kg |website=Guinness World Records}}{{Cite web |title=British chef cooks up world's largest vegetarian Scotch egg |url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2022/05/18/Guinness-World-Records-largest-vegetarian-scotch-egg/9191652906925/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |work=United Press International |language=en}} It used an ostrich egg in the center, with a coating made of peas and cheddar cheese.{{Cite web |last=Cullinane |first=Ed |date=2022-05-18 |title=Chef creates scotch egg that weighs as much as a small toddler |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/scotch-eggs-record-size-ostrich-b2081863.html |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=The Independent |language=en}} The Harwood Arms, a Michelin-starred restaurant in London, started selling a vegetarian Scotch egg that uses a plant-based meat alternative in 2020,{{Cite web |date=2020-10-02 |title=The UK Sees its First Michelin Star Restaurant Serving Plant-Based Meat as Market Continues to Change Post-COVID |url=https://vegconomist.com/gastronomy-food-service/the-uk-sees-its-first-michelin-star-restaurant-serving-plant-based-meat-as-market-continues-to-change-post-covid/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=vegconomist |language=en-GB}} and the next year, the supermarket chain Tesco started selling a vegan version.{{Cite web |last=Barrie |first=Josh |date=2021-06-07 |title=Tesco launches vegan Scotch egg containing more than 70 ingredients |url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/food-and-drink/tesco-launches-vegan-scotch-egg-containing-more-than-70-ingredients-1039389 |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=i |language=en}}

Nutrition

A fatty food,{{Cite book |last1=Cross |first1=Maria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGEyqFWsSzsC&pg=PA126 |title=Nutrition in Institutions |last2=MacDonald |first2=Barbara |date=2009-01-26 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-0167-0 |pages=126 |language=en}} a typical sausage-coated Scotch egg has about 200 mg dietary cholesterol per 100 grams.{{Cite book |last=Floch |first=Martin H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnDSBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA442 |title=Nutrition and Diet Therapy in Gastrointestinal Disease |date=2013-11-21 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4684-3791-1 |pages=442 |language=en}}