Fallaid, in

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 ...

, was the dusting of

meal A meal is an eating occasion that takes place at a certain time and includes consumption of food. The names used for specific meals in English vary, depending on the speaker's culture, the time of day, or the size of the meal. Although they c ...

left on the baking board, after a batch of bread has been baked. This dry meal was put on cakes when fired. An interesting

custom Custom, customary, or consuetudinary may refer to: Traditions, laws, and religion * Convention (norm), a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted rules, norms, standards or criteria, often taking the form of a custom * Norm (social), a r ...

used to prevail in the Outer Hebrides, where any meal remaining on the board would be made into a cake in the palm of the hand, and set to

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...

among the other and larger cakes. The custom has its origin in a superstition, that doing so keeps the store of meal from wasting. It also stems from the days when food was far less plentiful in

and nothing could be wasted, except by the

rich Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling **Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

and extravagant.

See also