A light supper, of course. I am exceedingly fond of Welsh rabbit. More than a pound at once, however, may not at all times be advisable. Still, there can be no material objection to two. And really between two and three, there is merely a single unit of difference.
Edgar allan poe
Origins
The dish Welsh rarebit, also known as Welsh rabbit, is one that originated in the United Kingdom around the early 18th century. This savory dish consisting of melted cheese and warm toast was commonly served in pubs due to its affordability and simple recipe. When the first iterations of the Welsh rarebit recipe were introduced to the world, the original name of the dish was commonly known as Welsh rabbit. There are many theories as to why the term “rabbit” was included in the name of a dish that had no trace of rabbit morsel whatsoever, but none of these theories have been confirmed officially. The most likely theory, however, is that the English population used the name as an insult against the Welsh community. The name that the English assigned to the food was their way of implying that members of the Welsh community were incapable of catching or affording their own rabbit meat to enjoy for a meal, so the Welsh decided to substitute the meat for the combination of toast and cheese. Another theory on the Welsh rabbit (rarebit) name that follows the demeaning and offensive implications that were stated in the previous theory is built on the stereotype that Welsh people were extremely fond of cheeses. When speaking about the stereotype associated with the people of Wales, writer Caroline Fenn states, “…they adored cheese—so much so that, given the choice between the sustenance of rabbit and the delicious umami bite of cheese, they’d choose the latter…” Over the centuries, the name Welsh rabbit eventually became “rarebit” and the reason for that remains a mystery within itself. Although the whereabouts of its name were derived from negative tropes and associations, Welsh rarebit was and still is a dish that is enjoyed by all (especially those in the U.K.).
Finding the Perfect Recipe
In this post, I decided to do a breakdown of a recipe for the popular Welsh cuisine that is known as Welsh rarebit. Even though Welsh rarebit seems like a very basic dish that combines melted cheese and a piece of buttered toast, there is much more to the dish than most people may think. Every recipe that I took the time to analyze had the same basic components, but they all had some sort of twist that the others did not have. This was extremely surprising to me because I went into my research thinking, “How varying can this glorified cheesy bread be?” Well, let me tell you all right now that “glorified cheesy bread” recipes can vary quite a lot actually. I decided on a recipe that came out of a community cookbook that was published in 1922 by the Committee of Ladies from the Library Association in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The book is a compilation of many of the favorite recipes of the aforementioned women that make up the Committee of Ladies. There was more than one Welsh rarebit recipe in this cookbook, but only one truly stuck out more than the others. So without further ado, here is the Welsh rarebit recipe that I chose to dissect in this blog posting.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup cream
- 1/2 teaspoonful salt
- 1/4 teaspoonful mustard
- 1/2 teaspoonful pepper
- 1 lb. rich cream cheese
Directions
Melt butter in pan without browning, stir in flour until smooth and frothy, add liquid slowly at first, stirring until smooth after each addition. (Caution — Stir the sauce thoroughly; a beginner will fail at this point.) Season. Add the cheese finely cut or ground. Stir continually now until the mixture becomes smooth. Serve on toast or crackers.
Ingredient Breakdown
Flour
Flour is an important ingredient that is found in a large percentage of cooking and baking recipes. It is a fine powder that is usually derived from wheat, but it can also be ground down from corn as well. The earliest evidence of flour dates back all the way to the Stone Age era. After many centuries passed, the ancient Greek civilization began using methods of semi-autonomy to increase the efficiency of grinding down raw ingredients into flour. Even with new innovations contributing to the speed of flour cultivation, the process was still intense and laborious. As a result, flour was much more expensive than it currently is today. Additives began to be added to flour around the 1930s which helped with the longevity of products that contained flour.
Butter
Butter is another ingredient that dates back to the times of ancient civilizations even being mentioned in the Bible at some point. It is speculated that one of the earliest batches of butter was created by accident when a container containing milk was shaken and jostled around frequently throughout the day which lead to the dairy being churned. A few civilizations that were known to indulge in the spread were the ancient Romans, Arabians, and Greeks. By the time the medieval era rolls around, the popularity of butter had grown significantly. It was enjoyed by peasants due to its affordability and it was enjoyed by the upper class as well. Butter quickly became a high-demand item across Europe due to how popular and crucial it was in the kitchen to the point where it became a staple in the culture. Trading systems that focused on butter, price inflation, and even artistic depictions were just a few of the things that were being seen in Europe around the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, butter still plays a crucial role in the lives of people around the globe.
Cream
Similar to butter, cream is an ingredient that is hard to date back to a specific time period. This is mainly due to how ancient its main ingredient, milk, is. The earliest records of cream being used, however, can be traced back to the era that the Celts were present (roughly 600 B.C. to 45 A.D.). Another time period where cream could be found was that of the Middle Ages when it would be used heavily for baking recipes as the taste for pastries began to gain popularity. Cream is still used today but there are many substitutes and alternatives that don’t require the ingredient as heavily as once used in the past.
Salt & Pepper
Salt, the mineral that is used in almost every food dish imaginable, first made its debut in China around the 5th century. It was highly sought after due to the different ways it could be utilized. Not only did it take away from the blandness of unseasoned food by adding a distinct new hint of bitterness and tang, but it was also capable of stripping foods of their moisture. The absence of moisture in food was significant because it helped to reduce the growth of harmful bacteria in certain ingredients. With the food being salted and the number of bacteria present getting cut down greatly, food was able to last for a much longer time. The usefulness of salt made it one of the most popular food ingredients as it began to spread across Europe and eventually around the world through various methods of trading. Pepper on the other hand is a slightly different story. Originating in India, black pepper was also popular because of the contribution it made to a dish’s overall taste. Pepper was an expensive seasoning that was thought to have medicinal effects as well outside of just being a flavor enhancement. Pepper eventually made its way around the globe as well, but it was not nearly as popular as its salty counterpart.
Mustard
Thought to originate from ancient Egypt, mustard is another spice that has been used for centuries on centuries. It was used by the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations for both medicinal and flavor-enhancing purposes. The spice was spread throughout Europe along with the method of how to produce it by the Romans. The condiment mustard as most people know it was not really seen until the 1200s. Originating from Dijon, France, condiment mustard was typically enjoyed by French nobles due to it being a luxury ingredient that required intense labor to create. The condiment did not truly gain popularity and widespread availability until the early 1900s when it was offered with the hotdog from New York hotdog vendors.
Cream Cheese
The last ingredient of this recipe, cream cheese, was the main reason that this recipe for Welsh rarebit stood out to me more than the others. A version of “cream cheese” was technically introduced back in France during the 11th century, but it varied significantly from the traditional cream cheese that we are used to. The modern version of cream cheese, the one being referenced in the recipe, is a relatively recent invention only created less than two centuries ago. The cheese is known for its easy spreadability, rich flavor, and creamy consistency. For it to be considered official cream cheese, the milk used to create it must be from a cow, but it can be created using milk from other animals. This ingredient stood out to me among the others due to how only around 40 years had passed between when modern cream cheese was introduced and the use of it in this specific Welsh rarebit dish. This shows how quickly ingredients can be experimented with and implemented in new ways that were never thought of or possible previously.
Conclusion
Welsh rarebit is a signature dish that is renowned in the United Kingdom as well as in other regions around the world. The dish does not take much time to put together nor does it require an extensive list of high-quality ingredients. Despite all of this, Welsh rarebit is an edible lesson that contains a mouthful of historical context. There’s a story behind every aspect of the dish from the name down to the ingredients. These stories helped me to appreciate the meal I am presented with no matter how minor it may seem because I know that it took a lot for it to arrive at my dinner table.
Sources:
Byer, Beverley. “History of Cream Cheese and the Philadelphia Cream Cheese Story.” Delishably, Delishably, 27 Nov. 2013, https://delishably.com/dairy/History-of-Cream-Cheese-and-the-Philadelphia-Cream-Cheese-Story.
“Cream Through Time.” Cream of France, 5 Jan. 2021, https://dairy-products-from-france.com/cream/history/#:~:text=It%20is%20believed%20that%20cream,to%20vegetables%20and%20fresh%20cheeses.
Dorrit, Little. “William Randolph Hearst’s Welsh Rarebit.” History in the Making, 26 Aug. 2020, https://history-in-the-making.com/2020/07/12/william-randolph-hearsts-welsh-rarebit/.
Fenn, Caroline. “Get Cultured: Welsh Rarebit – Culture: The Word on Cheese.” Culture, 11 Aug. 2016, https://culturecheesemag.com/blog/get-cultured-welsh-rarebit/.
Hanover Cook Book. Committee of Ladies, 1922.
“The History of Butter.” Butter Journal, http://www.butterjournal.com/butter-history.
“History of Mustard.” G.S. Dunn, https://www.gsdunn.com/english/?page_id=2943.
Philpott, Sarah. “Salt & Pepper.” The History Vault, 12 Oct. 2018, https://thehistoryvault.co.uk/salt-pepper/.
Tan, Cheryl Lu-Lien. “For the Love of Welsh Rarebit.” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 24 July 2017, https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/07/24/for-the-love-of-welsh-rarebit-singapore-britain-food/.
Tréguer, Pascal, and Stuart Says: “The Cultural Background to ‘Welsh Rabbit’.” Word Histories, 20 June 2022, https://wordhistories.net/2017/12/19/welsh-rabbit-origin/.
“Who Invented Flour?” Daisy Flour, 14 Apr. 2022, https://daisyflour.com/who-invented-flour/#:~:text=The%20first%20evidence%20of%20flour,grinding%20seeds%20on%20cone%20mills.
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