Welsh rabbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Welsh rabbit – or rarebit – is a traditional British snack dish, also known as toasted cheese. "Cheese on toast" is a simpler variant of this dish. <ref name="cheeseday">"Griller Thriller on National Cheese on Toast Day", British Cheese Board, 2006-03-16.</ref>
Traditional rarebit is made by grating cheese and blending it with beer or a little milk and butter, adding seasoning (particularly mustard), and spreading the mixture onto hot toast; the whole is then heated briskly from above (a procedure known as grilling in British English, broiling in North America). Classically the cheese used in Welsh rarebit is Lancashire, Cheddar or Double Gloucester, although Red Leicester is a popular substitute.
The Oxford English Dictionary states that it can also be "simply, slices of toasted cheese laid on toast", though this is more commonly known as cheese on toast.
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[edit] Name
The OED establishes that the original name of the food was "Welsh rabbit", and mentions "Welsh rarebit" only as an "etymologizing alteration of [the preceding]. There is no evidence of the independent use of rarebit". The source is not exactly known, but most likely was originally a slur. In the 17th and 18th centuries it was common to use the adjective "Welsh" to mean inferior quality, even implying counterfeiting. In a society where most people could snare a rabbit for the cooking pot, a Welshman was considered by some people so hopelessly feckless that cheese melted with beer would have to substitute. The first record of the word was in 1725. The alternative form "rarebit" only occurs from 1785. In the Victorian era and later, however, recipe books began to refer to this dish as "Welsh rarebit". This was a euphemism based on folk etymology (that is, this was a new word made up by people who didn't understand why the dish was called "rabbit"). Perhaps because the disparaging origin is recognised, the form "rarebit" is strongly advocated by some in Britain, although the original form remains common.
In parts of the United Kingdom today, there is a tendency for the traditional name to be replaced by the more prosaic "cheese on toast" (more typically applied to a slice of cheese, placed on toast, then grilled) or "toasted cheese".
The Welsh name for Welsh rarebit is caws-wedi-pobi, or the northern caws ar dôst.
[edit] Derivatives
Sometimes a slice of tomato is placed atop the cheese mixture before grilling. There are also a number of named derivatives. Perhaps because these are of recent origin, the spelling "rarebit" is commoner for them. The buck rarebit is a Welsh rarebit with a poached egg on top, the Irish rarebit is topped with onions, vinegar, herbs, and gherkins. There is the Yorkshire rarebit which is topped with both bacon and a poached egg. Other variations include the American rarebit which is a Welsh rarebit topped with whisked egg whites, and the English rarebit which uses red wine. A dish called Scotch rarebit exists, although this comes close to cheese (preferably Dunlop) on toast. The King Rarebit is a normal Welsh rarebit with a fried egg on top.
This dish in some form is also common in other European countries. It is known as "Ramequin" or "Käseschnitte", although the French often use the term "Le Welsh", interestingly sometimes associated with Irish cuisine.
[edit] Cheese on toast
Cheese on toast, as differentiated from the more complex Welsh rarebit, is a simple snack dish prepared by applying cheese, usually in slices or having been grated, on top of bread and then grilling. Some people like to add onion with the cheese, or extra flavouring like sauce over the top, such as Brown sauce or Worcester sauce. Some appreciate the tang of tomato ketchup. The bread is also usually buttered. It is distinguishable from Welsh rarebit by the fact cheese is the only primary ingredient other than toast. Most commonly, cheddar cheese is used, though similar cheese can be used instead, according to taste or whim.
Some people do not recognise the difference between the two methods though, and will refer to "Welsh rarebit" in reference to this method, or to "cheese on toast" in reference to Welsh rarebit. Less common variations include using spreadable cheese rather than grilling the cheese on the bread.
[edit] Nightmares
Vivid nightmares are famously attributed to overindulgence in Welsh rarebit. This is probably due to the gastrointestinal irritation many experience after consuming a large amount of dairy products. This phenomenon is immortalized in Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend, a series of comic strips written and drawn by Little Nemo creator Winsor McCay beginning in 1904. Each strip portrayed a nightmare experienced by a protagonist, a rarebit fiend who had made the poor choice of consuming too much rarebit before bedtime.
There is also a 1906 film based on McCay's comic strip named "Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend"[1] by Edwin S. Porter, a special effects-filled journey through rarebit-induced nightmares. This film went on to inspire a Welsh rarebit-fueled nightmare sequence in the 1919 film "When the Clouds Roll By"[2].
There was also an episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. in which the Welsh Rarebit that Gomer consumes causes him to sleepwalk and verbally attack Sergeant Carter.<ref>http://www.tv.com/gomer-pyle-u.s.m.c./gomer-the-welsh-rarebit-fiend/episode/41670/summary.html</ref>
[edit] References
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[edit] Further reading
- Andy Russell. "Cheese on toast for £345", The Sun.
- Gareth Morgan. "How cheese on toast could be losing families £70 a year", The Western Mail, 2004-05-26.
