sowans

{{Short description|Scottish dish}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox food

| name = Sowans

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| country = Scotland

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| type = Porridge

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| main_ingredient = Oat-husk starch, water

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Sowans or sowens ({{IPAc-en|'|s|u|i|n|z}}|; {{IPAc-en|'|s|ʌ|u|ɪ|n|z|}}; {{IPAc-en|s|ɔɪ|n|z|}}; {{IPAc-en|s|w|i|n|z}};{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/sowans|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: sowans}} {{langx|gd|sùghan}}), also called virpa in Shetland,{{Cite web|url=https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/virpa|title=Dictionaries of the Scots Language:: SND :: virpa}}{{cite book |author=D A Bender |title=Benders' Dictionary of Nutrition and Food Technology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubxQAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA439 |date=9 June 2006 |publisher=Elsevier Science |isbn=978-1-84569-165-3 |page=439}} is a Scottish dish made using the starch remaining on the inner husks of oats after milling. The husks are allowed to soak in water and ferment for a few days. The liquor is strained off and allowed to stand for a day to allow the starchy matter therein to settle. The liquid part, or swats, is poured off and can be drunk. The remaining sowans are boiled with water and salt until thickened, then served with butter or dipped into milk. The flavour is distinctly sour.McNeill, F. Marian (1929). The Scots Kitchen. Paperback: 259 pages, Edinburgh: Mercat Press; New Edition (25 Oct 2004) {{ISBN|1-84183-070-4}}, p202{{cite book |editor= Mairi Robinson |title= The Concise Scots Dictionary |publisher= Aberdeen University Press |year= 1987

|isbn= 0-08-028492-2 |page= 648}}