A buttery, also known as a rowie or Aberdeen roll or just Roll, is a savoury

bread roll Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made food ...

originating from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Origin

Legend has it that the buttery was made for the fishermen sailing from

harbour. The theory is that they needed a bread that would not become stale during the two weeks or more that they were at sea. The high fat content meant the bread also provided an immediate energy source. Butteries are typically made from flour, butter, lard, salt, sugar and yeast. However, concerns have been raised about major commercial producers swapping the traditional butter and lard mixture for palm oil.

Serving

World Buttery Championship 2018 Winner - Mark Barnett

Butteries are noted for their flaky texture and buttery taste, similar to that of a

croissant A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...

, and slight saltiness. They are often toasted and served with jam or butter, or plain with tea, although the high fat content makes them extremely hot when toasted. As the alternative name of ''Aberdeen roll'' suggests, butteries are a speciality of

but they are common throughout the Northeast of Scotland and are available worldwide. Articles in the Aberdeen Journal from early in the 19th century bemoan the increased use of lard in place of butter in traditional "butter rolls". In 1917 when restrictions were placed on the sale of bread owing to

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, butteries were exempt, enabling Aberdeen bakers to continue to produce rowies. The exemption was rescinded a few months later but appeals were made on the grounds that butteries were an intrinsic "part of the food of the working classes in industrial centres." Aberdeen City Food Control Committee continued to challenge the validity of the restriction two years later in February 1919. In 2006 a buttery was offered for sale on

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...

during a fund raising for the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital; the successful bidder, Enterprise Engineering, paid £620 for it. Radio and TV presenter Sir Terry Wogan once memorably described eating a buttery as like having a "mouth full of seaweed".

World Buttery Championship

The first ever World Buttery Championships took place on Saturday, 16 June 2018 at the Aberdeen campus of North East of Scotland College. The competition was organised by Martin Gillespie on behalf of

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...

Aberdeen City and Shire to celebrate the Traditional Buttery being 'boarded' on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. 10 finalists took part in a live bake-off and the results were judged in a blind taste test with Mark Barnett, of Gold'N'Crispy,

New Pitsligo New Pitsligo ( sco, Pitsligae), also known as Cavoch (locally ''Cyaak''),

List of bread rolls A bread roll is a small, often round loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment (eaten plain or with butter). A roll can be served and eaten whole or cut transversely and dressed with filling between the two halves. Rolls are also commonly used ...

* List of British breads

References

External Links

Aberdeen Buttery Recipe
{{Foods featuring butter Scottish breads Yeast breads British breads Foods featuring butter Aberdeen