Scottish tablet

by **greengene13** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 1:37 am

I was reading the recipes for cocktails in issue #48 and wondered what a Scottish tablet would be and do they travel to the USA?

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 2:50 am

The following is copied from the website Undiscovered Scotland, which is a very useful guide for anyone contemplating a visit. Hopefully they will consider my unreserved plug for their site as a mitigating factor when they are deciding whether to prosecute me for duplicating copyrighted material. They also have recipes for cranachan, oatcakes, porridge, shortbread, and rumbledethumps. You're on your own for haggis.

[Edit: Cranachan is an interesting-looking chilled dessert item that calls, in US's recipe, for a slug of single malt. The picture on the site shows a bottle of Longmorn 15.]

Tablet is an original Scottish confectionery. There are a number of variations on the recipe and the method. Some miss out stage 6 below, giving the tablet a smooth finish instead of the rough (and more authentic) texture and appearance shown here.

Ingredients:
(Serves two)

» 500g/18oz/2 cups granulated sugar.
» 60g/2oz/one quarter cup butter.
» 3½ tablespoons condensed milk.
» 170ml/6 floz/three quarters cup water.

Method:
1. Grease a tin.

2. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and heat until the butter has melted and sugar has dissolved.

3. Bring the mixture to the boil. It is important to stir continuously at this point so the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

4. Bring the mixture down to simmer for approximately 10 minutes. The mixture should be thick and the colour should have turned from white to caramel.

5. Take the pan from the hob and place it on a heat resistant surface for about 5 minutes.

6. After the 5 minutes beat the mixture really hard. At this point it will start to set.

7. Before the mixture sets, use a wooden spoon to transfer it into the prepared tin. You will find it sets almost straight away.

8. Before it has completely set, cut the tablet into bitesize pieces and leave it to cool and set hard for 5 minutes.

9. Take the pieces from the tin and store them in an airtight container.

by **greengene13** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:24 am

Well, I guess I don't have to go looking in odd stores to find the tablets. Simple recipe to make and nothing is better than something from scratch.
You may want to visit eBay and see the huge inventory of Scottish tablets available for sale.
Thanks for the info.

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:13 am

That's pretty funny! No cranachan or rumbledethumps, though.

by **Admiral** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 2:34 pm

Scottish Tablet is one of my real weaknesses. Once I open a packet, I can never just break off a small piece and let the rest sit. I invariably find myself polishing off the whole thing, feeling very happy and contented for the next 15 minutes, and then feeling somewhat guilty and gluttonous afterwards.

Try Scottish Tablet with an old sherried malt one day - maybe Macallan 25yo, or Glenfarclas 30yo. The two go together very well indeed!

Cheers,
Admiral

by **Deactivated Member** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 5:00 pm

I was at a team meeting at work today and a colleague brought in a bag of very nice tablet. Very nice indeed.

by **JimHall** » Mon Jun 27, 2005 9:35 pm

You would be just as well eating a bag of sugar!!!!

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:47 am

Sure. And you might just as well have a Purple Jesus to wash it down.

by **Lawrence** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 3:56 am

Sure. And you might just as well have a Purple Jesus to wash it down.

Now you're scaring me.....

by **Admiral** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 4:06 am

You would be just as well eating a bag of sugar!!!!

You say that as though it were a bad thing?

by **Lord_Pfaffin** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 6:59 am

Sugar is resposible for more deaths than some chronic diseases.
Sugar is sweat but sex won't rot your teeth.
Much better off with the Purple Jesus, as the alcohol came directly from the LCBO. The pure grain alcohol is shipped to the hospitals, the odd 4l jug went missing when convenient.

by **JimHall** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:35 pm

Admiral wrote:
You would be just as well eating a bag of sugar!!!!

You say that as though it were a bad thing?

I can think of far better things to have with Whisky...try oat cakes or a Soda Scone these are quality products from Scotland. Tablet is far too sweet for 90% of people and not too good for you (unless you happen to be hypoglycemic).

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Jun 28, 2005 7:54 pm

All things in moderation, JH...although you can take that moderation stuff too far.

by **Admiral** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:28 am

I once tried practising moderation in moderation. Didn't work.

by **Deactivated Member** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 5:07 am

A little excess never hurt anybody!

by **JimHall** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 1:22 pm

I once went to an incident at work where a bloke fell into a vat of creosote. I can assure you our theory is wrong !!!
That was one serious nosing. (sorry that was way off the question but just came to mind when I spud's reply)

by **MGillespie** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:53 pm

I guess he was "treated" well after that...so to speak... :lol:

by **MGillespie** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 2:55 pm

Jim, was it pure vatted creosote, single malt creosote, or blended creosote (and what would the Scotch Creosote Association have done to blur the differences between the three)?

I'll stop now...

Mark

by **Deactivated Member** » Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:08 pm

Did you get his tasting note on the creosote?

(Not to make light of what must have been a terrible incident...hope the fellow was okay.)

by **Virginia Gentleman** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 11:23 pm

You can buy it from The Scottish Grocer online. They have Drumgray, Glengoyne, Tobermory, Glenfarclas and Edradour but they call it fudge.

http://www.thescottishgrocer.com/Scottishcandies.html

by **Deactivated Member** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 11:35 pm

I think if they call it fudge, then it's fudge. Tablet is similar, but distinct--much harder (but crumbly, not brittle). Also, it doesn't come in the standard fudge flavors like chocolate (that I know of), but is mostly just sugar/caramel.

by **Virginia Gentleman** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 12:28 am

My mistake. Someone said on another thread that tablet was just another word for fudge and that confused me. I understand the difference now.

by **Deactivated Member** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:06 am

When I left a job in London to move to Scotland, I brough along some shortbread, fudge and tablet to my leaving tea party. Of these, the tablet stole the show with everyone agreeing it was the finest butter-based confectionary they had ever tasted.

by **Muskrat Portage** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:18 am

Mr. Tattieheid wrote:7. Before the mixture sets, use a wooden spoon to transfer it into the prepared tin. You will find it sets almost straight away.

A word of caution, don't beat it a moment too long in step 6, otherwise the Fudge will set up immediately and break the stirring spoon before you can follow step 7. :oops:

Muskrat Pete

by **Wendy** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:38 am

Muskie: step number 6 can actually be skipped.

It will change the Tablet texture a litte, but you won't injure yourself in the process.

Cheers,
Wendy

by **Muskrat Portage** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:43 am

Wendy:
Yeah, I know that now, regretfuly I shattered the handle of the wooden spoon before I realised it - I was making fudge for Christmas. I do the baking for Christmas. Anyone want my recipe for homemade Butter tarts? (You could probably lace them with Laggy instead of vanilla.) MP

Scottish tablet

Scottish tablet

Making Fudge aka Tablet

Oh!