Scotland (Edinburgh to Inverness to the Flow Country to Skye) Recommendations Requested

[small_h]

A little wrap up. We ended our trip where we began, in Edinburgh. The meal of note was at The Spence, where we were the guests of one of H’s colleagues. The food was very good, but what really stood out was the crazy amount of after dinner drinks we had. Tawny port, ice wine, whiskey, something poured out of a jeroboam, all accompanied by a rapid-fire educational talk by the sommelier. I wish I remembered more about what he said, but it’s quite understandable that I do not.

So far, I’ve written mostly about my martini misadventures, without noting the many fine gins and whiskys I encountered. Here’s a quick rundown of my favorites:

Caorunn So smooth it barely registers as gin. I was fascinated by it more than I actually liked it, because there wasn’t much there there. Seven Crofts A LOT going on here. Kind of weird, actually, but in a good way. Edinburgh Seaside A very fetching salinity. The Storr Also quite busy, not quite as much fun as Seven Crofts.

Ardbeg My favorite, hands down. Tasted like a campfire. Talisker Storm was my second favorite, also quite smoky. Clyneilish and Highland Park were very nice. Knockando was light and a little too candy-like for me. Raasay Core Smooth and warm. The only ones I actively disliked were Jura and Torabhaig. The latter was too harsh, and of the former, all I jotted down was “no,” so I guess I just hated everything about it.

And I feel like I should prove we did some stuff that didn’t involve eating and drinking, so here’s a few of my favorite sights. Scroll quickly past if you’re only here for the food!

The Scott Monument. Scott gets a lot of play in Edinburgh.

Dolly the Sheep. First among clones.

The laundry on the Royal Yacht Britannia. For some reason, it takes about eight hours to do a wash in Scotland. It’s nuts.

A hairy coo resting near Loch Ness. We didn’t see many of these, although the gift shops were absolutely packed with them.

Forsinard Flows. Bogs! Beautiful bogs.

Near the Fairy Pools. Or maybe the Fairy Pools themselves, nothing was really a “pool,” per se.

Road warriors.

Talisker Bay Beach. I say it was too long a walk to get there, H says it was worth it, the honeymoon was over right about then.

Dunvegan Castle. Better than Edinburgh Castle, there, I said it.

Seals exhausted by just being seals.

A big cliff (sorry, forgot exactly where this was - the northeast part of Skye, definitely).

The Old Man of Storr, or the one thing it is necessary to photograph to prove you’ve been to Scotland, so please pull over and park anywhere, no one needs the road but you.

And that’s it! Many, many, many thanks to everyone who helped us plan.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

@small_h

For some reason, it takes about eight hours to do a wash in Scotland. It’s nuts.

Bc the machines run more ecologically and waste less energy & water that way. It’s also “only” about 2.5, but sure seems long when one is accustomed to 'murrcan.

Funny about the scotch tasting. Ardbeg used to be my groove in my “the peatier the better” days of yore. Now I rarely ever feel like a mouthful of campfire, and Jura is my house scotch.

PS: Where’s the old man?

[small_h]

@linguafood

It’s also “only” about 2.5, but sure seems long

Especially when checkout time is drawing nigh! I will say the wash/dry in the same drum is brilliant, and I wish we had that here (maybe we do and I’ve just never seen it).

@linguafood

Where’s the old man?

From some angles, that pointy thing on the left looks sort of like an old man. Not as much as the Old Man of the Mountain in NH, though.

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Oh. My mistake. I was looking at the cliff picture

I’m not crazy about the washer/dryer combo. It doesn’t seem to dry as well. Of course, most Yurpeans hang up their laundy as if it’s 1808 still

[foreverbeard]

Favorite place in Edinburgh by far: Noto.
Their crab was so good it almost made me cry. We tried to order it again, instead of dessert, but the kitchen had closed and we couldn’t. “You can always come back!” said the server… but it was our last night in Scotland.

If you have the chance to go to Killiecrankie the restaurant with rooms there is exceedingly special but it is a tasting menu format.

[small_h]

Thanks! We are back, though. But there may be a next time.

[BeefeaterRocksSister]

@small_h

Caorunn So smooth it barely registers as gin

Years ago there was a big advertising campaign for this gin. Being susceptible, I bought some. Mainly because I liked the bottle. I can’t remember if I liked it and have forgotten how to pronounce it.
Loved your trip report and pictures. I hope to go back some day so for now living vicariously.

[small_h]

Thanks! I pronounced it like “Karen” and people seemed to understand me (possibly because I was also pointing to it on the menu).

[GretchenS]

Such a fabulous extended trip report, covering what looks and sounds like a wonderful trip! Thanks for taking us along in such an entertaining fashion!

[small_h]

Thanks! I hope this helps future travelers.

[Jackalope (Jack Chavez)]

@small_h

It was here I learned that “scampi” in Scotland does not mean sauteed with lemon, wine and garlic. It means fried. Here is my monkfish scampi.

Scampi (Nephrops norvegicus) also known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, or Langoustine, is a slim, coral-colored lobster — neither shrimp nor prawn. In the U.S. scampi is a misnomer used to describe a cooking style which came about because Italian immigrants could not get their hands on scampi in the new country. “Shrimp Scampi” basically means “shrimp cooked in the style of scampi if we could still find some.” IMO a better name would have been “gamberi alla scampi” but it probably would not have sold as well to non-Italian speakers.

In the U.K. “scampi” used alone refers to this animal which is often served deep fried or sometimes pan fried. In this case, “monkfish scampi” essentially means “monkfish cooked to simulate fried scampi” — mock scampi if you will.

[small_h]

Interesting! But how did the prep known as scampi in the U.S. (sauteed with wine and garlic) come about, if scampi (the crreature) was traditionally deep-fried?

[Jackalope (Jack Chavez)]

I’m not sure, but I don’t expect that deep-fried was necessarily traditional for Italian immigrants to the U.S. Working purely from memory, the mass migration of Italians (millions) to the U.S. started in the late 1800’s and they brought their cooking traditions with them and then adapted them. It seems fair to assume that the British developed their own cooking styles with the same ingredients. If you look at the differences between how cooking rice and pasta in the U.K. vs the U.S. became normalized, it’s possible for very different cooking styles to take hold for the exact same ingredient.

Rice: U.S. absorption method | U.K. “pasta method”
Pasta: U.S. boil until al dente | U.K. boil between 45 min (Eliza Acton) to 1 hour 45 min (Mrs. Beeton)

[linguafood (Natascha)]

@Jackalope

U.K. boil between 45 min (Eliza Acton) to 1 hour 45 min (Mrs. Beeton)

Now hold on… these folks were boiling pasta for almost 2 hours? I can’t even imagine what any pasta would look like after that treatment

[Jackalope (Jack Chavez)]

Yup! Those are the most 2 influential British cookbooks of their time (and arguably of all time.)
You can find copies of both cookbooks online.

[small_h]

@Jackalope

It seems fair to assume that the British developed their own cooking styles with the same ingredients.

They do like deep-frying, that’s for sure.

[medgirl]

I have been told that the Scottish penchant for deep frying comes from the large numbers of Italians who migrated there in the past. Apparently the ‘fritti’ elements of Italian cooking became entrenched. Maybe the generally cold and grey weather lends itself to popularity of fried food rather than summery white wine and lemon saute styles? But then, it’s never too cold for ice cream in Scotland!

It is Never Too Cold for Ice Cream: Italian Food in Scotland

[linguafood (Natascha)]

Make that… deep-fried ice cream!

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@linguafood

Of course, most Yurpeans hang up their laundy as if it’s 1808 still

Yep. The washing line gets strung across the garden in spring and we shouldnt need to bring it in until the end of September. Then stuff gets hung on the maiden inside. Washing time is two to three hours depending on the cycle.

[Harters (John Hartley - a culinary patriot, cooking and eating in northwest England)]

@linguafood

I can’t even imagine what any pasta would look like after that treatment

When I was growing up, my mother would boil anything for ages. Not that we ever had anything as fancy as pasta.