Food Traditions Are the Vital Ties That Hold Us Together

Passover. Christmas. Ramadan. Lunar New Year. Ramanavami. Passata day. Sunday lunch. No matter what your cultural background, the traditions of food are central in connecting family, friends and community.

We can all be taken on a nostalgic journey by the symbolism of certain foods, whether the context is cultural heritage or geographic location. Today’s #BigSoupShare is a Scotch Broth recipe adapted from the traditional Scottish Sheep’s Head Soup. A Castle Bromwich resident told us:

When my Scottish grandmother died in 1956 my grandfather decided to cook for himself, trying to replicate recipes which his wife had previously cooked for him. One of his ventures into home cooking was Sheep’s Head Broth, the recipe presumably handed down from grannie’s ancestors. I’m not certain which other ingredients were added to the head but definitely pearl barley, onions and root vegetables grown in the garden. I cannot remember eating it or its tantalising aroma but one thing does stay with me, afterwards grandad would spread out all the bones from the sheep’s skull in front of me and promptly give me a lesson in anatomy.

Cooking a sheep’s head may not have stood the test of time, but we’ve adapted the recipe to provide a tasty Scotch Broth.