Treacle, Thunder and Lightning

 

Treacle:

        A term which in Britain may be correctly applied to variousSUGAR syrups including GOLDEN SYRUP obtained during the process of sugar-refining,ranging in colour from just about black to pale golden, is in practice usedmainly of the darker syrups, brown or black, which are called molasseselsewhere.

        TREACLE TARTis a favourite dessert in England.  Treacle, of the dark sort, also appears inTHUNDER AND LIGHTNING.

From:  Alan Davidson, The Oxford Companion To Food.  Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1999.

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Thunderand Lightning -- 

Clotted Cream with Black Treacle

(from The Old Foodie -- a fabulous blog)

        As a little variation from the topicof old food-words, today I want to briefly revisit an English dialect phrasewhich I have touched on previously, in one of my posts on ‘The Naming of Dishes.’‘Thunder and Lightning’, as far as I understood it, refers to clotted cream andtreacle, or bread or scones served with the same, in a regional variation ofthe standard English afternoon ‘cream tea’ concept. 

        I came across another reference toThunder and Lightning the other day, as indicating a beverage, so I went inbrief pursuit of the phrase. It apparently also sometimes refers to gin &bitters (an Irish usage), or (less commonly), shrub & whiskey(Anglo-Indian.)  Finally, it may mean‘brandy sauce ignited’ - so think on that next time you inflame your Christmaspudding.

        ‘Shrub’ deserves its own posttomorrow, so the recipe for the day, inspired by today’s topic, is for Treaclescones. These are a wonderful northern English and Scottish variation on theinexhaustible topic of scones (note link) ingeneral, and are particularly associated with Halloween. The recipes are takenfrom Daily Cookery from Breakfast toSupper, by Eleanor Sproat, 1923

OvenTreacle Scones

1 lb. flour, 1 teacupful of milk, 1tablespoonful of treacle, 3 ozs. lard or margarine, ½ teaspoonful of bakingsoda, ½ teaspoonful of sugar, a pinch of salt.

Rub lard into flour and sugar, thenadd baking soda and salt. Have the egg [not listed in the ingredients] wellbeaten with a teacupful of milk into which the treacle has been mixed. Stir allinto the flour and mix altogether with a knife into a fairly stiff dough. Rollout into the thickness of an inch, cut into four and put into a floured bakingtin and bake in a quick oven from ten to fifteen minutes. A teaspoonful ofcinnamon or ginger may be added, according to taste.

TreacleScones

¼ lb flour, ½ tablespoonful sugar, ¼teaspoonful ground ginger, ½ tablespoonful melted treacle, ¼ oz. butter, ¼teaspoonful baking soda, a good pinch of salt, a little buttermilk.

Method: Mix [dry] ingredients. Rubin butter. Milk to make a softish dough. Finish like ordinary scones. Bake onhot girdle or oven.

Golden treacle

Lyle's Black Treacle

Treacle Tarts

Nigel Slater's Treacle Sponge

The caption read:  "A gratuitous shot of Clotted Cream.  One glance is worth one million calories."

NOTE FOR FURTHER RESEARCH:  COULD ENGLISH COOKERY WRITER ELEANOR SPROAT BE A RELATIVE?  MY WIFE IS A SPROAT ON HER MOTHER'S SIDE.