Hatted Kit

The Highlands was traditionally cattle country and every croft, farm or shepherd on the hill would supplement the monotonous diet of oatmeal, mutton, nettles, neeps, and tatties with milk straight from the cow. So this dish, perhaps more than any other, takes us back to that time of milking the croft cow and planning ahead. Some of the milk would have been used fresh, some would be left to sit for while to sour for crowdie cheese or left long enough for the cream to separate from it. The cream was then churned to make butter and the liquid left behind, the buttermilk, was used to make Hatted Kit. The cow was milked again, straight onto the fresh buttermilk in the bowl or bucket, the ‘kit’, so that the milk, still warm from the udder, helped to form a ‘hat’ as the two mixed. When a firm ‘hat’ had gathered on the top, the whey was drained off using the spigot inserted in the ‘kit’. The ‘hat’ was then scooped up and mixed with sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon, sometimes wine, or spread on bread instead of butter.