The spurtle (or "spurtel", "spurtil", "spirtle", or "") is a wooden Scottish kitchen tool, dating from the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...

, that is used to stir

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables and ...

s, and

broth Broth, also known as bouillon (), is a savory liquid made of water in which meat, fish or vegetables have been simmered for a short period of time. It can be eaten alone, but it is most commonly used to prepare other dishes, such as soups, ...

s. The rod-like shape means that porridge can be stirred without congealing and forming lumps, unlike a spoon, which would have a dragging effect during stirring. The low surface area reduces the chances of porridge sticking to the instrument. Spurtles are made from wood, typically

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

cherry wood A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet ''Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The nam ...

, or

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

. They come in a range of sizes. Traditional spurtles have stylized

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves. ...

s at the top, while modern ones often have a smooth taper. The custom is that a spurtle should be used to stir in a

clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...

direction with the right hand.

Etymology

Old Scots ''spurtell'' is recorded from 1528. The Northern English dialect had a word ' that meant "stirrer". The modern

West Germanic The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into t ...

and

North Germanic The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages—a sub-family of the Indo-European languages—along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages. The language group is also r ...

languages, as well as

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

, also have ''spurtle''

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

s that refer to a flat-bladed tool or utensil – so more akin to the ''couthie spurtle'' (see below) in shape. Latin ''spatula'', as used in medicine and pharmacy, is their shared ancestor. ''Spatula'' is a diminutive of Latin ''spatha'', a broad, flat tool or weapon, which in turn is from Ancient Greek ''σπαθη'' ("spathe"), the broad, flat tool used in weaving, or a paddle. The ultimate source of ''σπαθη'' is hypothesized to come from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

(PIE) language ''*spe-dh-'' for spade and its root ''*spe-'' for a long, flat piece of wood. According to this theory, ''spade'' and ''spoon'' are also suggested as having derived from the same hypothetical PIE ''*spe-'', potentially making those words distant cousins of ''spurtle''.''Spade'' on Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved on 2020-05-05 from https://www.etymonline.com/word/spade.

Couthie spurtle

Early spurtles were flat, wooden or metal instruments, with long handles and flat blades. The spatula-like utensils, known as 'Couthie Spurtles,' can be used for flipping

oatcake An oatcake is a type of flatbread similar to a cracker or biscuit, or in some versions takes the form of a pancake. They are prepared with oatmeal as the primary ingredient, and sometimes include plain or wholemeal flour as well. Oatcakes a ...

s or making

pancake A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a Starch, starch-based batter (cooking), batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or fryi ...

s - but not for making porridge.

Modern culture

The

World Porridge Making Championship The World Porridge Making Championship has been running since 1994, giving a main prize of the "Golden Spurtle" trophy and the title "World Porridge Making Champion" for the best traditional porridge made with oatmeal, water and salt. A prize is ...

awards a "Golden Spurtle" as its main prize.

References

External links

Food preparation utensils Scots language Scottish cuisine Porridges {{cooking-tool-stub