The humble Scottish morning roll could be heading for bigger recognition, with a campaign seeking UNESCO cultural heritage status for one of Scotland’s best-loved bakery staples.
The campaign has attracted political attention, with MSPs backing efforts to recognise and protect the traditional Scottish morning roll and the skills involved in making it.
For generations, the morning roll has been a fixture of Scottish bakeries, cafés and breakfast tables. Crisp or well-fired on the outside, but light and chewy within, it is quite different from the softer bread rolls commonly found elsewhere in Britain.
Its great strength, of course, is what can be put inside it.
Bacon is an obvious candidate, as are fried egg, black pudding and links, but perhaps the most Scottish combination is a morning roll filled with a slice of Lorne sausage, preferably accompanied by brown sauce (other sauces available).
The campaign is about more than nostalgia. Traditional baking techniques and regional food customs can easily disappear as small bakeries close and mass-produced alternatives take their place. Recognition would help draw attention to the morning roll as part of Scotland’s everyday food culture and to the bakers who continue to make it.
UNESCO’s better-known Scottish connections include internationally recognised places such as Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns and St Kilda. Cultural traditions, however, can also be recognised through UNESCO’s system for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage: the skills, customs, and knowledge passed down through generations.
Whether the Scottish morning roll ultimately joins that distinguished company remains to be seen.
A Personal Encounter with the Scottish Morning Roll
Intangible cultural heritage becomes a tangible projectile.
I have my own rather unusual reason for remembering the Scottish morning roll.
A few years ago, while filming the annual Edinburgh Taxis Charity Day parade along Princes Street, I was struck squarely on the head by a flying Scottish morning roll.
It came complete with Lorne sausage and brown sauce and had been thrown by a passing ned in a hoodie.
Fortunately, neither cameraman nor camera suffered lasting damage.
Should the Scottish morning roll eventually achieve UNESCO recognition, however, it will add a certain cultural significance to one of my favourite dinner-party stories.
Search