Wednesday 5 August 2015

The classic witty description of the perfect continental breakfast in the caption above would apply very well to breakfast in Aberdeen.

Setting aside what’s known as the full Scottish breakfast (which oddly enough seems to be to all intents and purposes the same as the full English version) mornings in Aberdeen are the better for a totally unique dining experience.

An Aberdeen morning roll

Known locally as rowies or butteries, the morning roll is totally exclusive to Aberdeen – other parts of Scotland have no knowledge of their existence.

Generally eaten warm, they are reminiscent of a croissant but somewhat firmer.  They are, as the name ‘buttery’ implies, very buttery tasting but also quite salty.  They have a flat side and a ‘lumpy’ side which comes of the dough just being dumped on a baking sheet without being in any way shaped, as a croissant is, but that gives them a charm of their own.

They are sold in bakeries, supermarkets, corner shops, petrol stations, etc. but oddly not the local M&S for some reason.

They may be eaten on their own or ideally spread thickly with butter and/or your preserve of choice – the heart attack will take a rain-check!

If you’re in the area, definitely have them for breakfast and even if you’re not, you can order them from Aitken’s Bakery in Aberdeen who will happily post to anywhere in the UK, and if you call them, you’ll see what I mean!

Actually, ordering them mail-order is a real walk down memory lane and a far cry from the credit card/Paypal encrusted on-line shopping experience – they send the rolls with an invoice and you pay after you receive them.  It’s worth ordering just for that experience alone!  Thank you, Aitken’s.

Roll on, the next trip to Aberdeen!