This post was last updated on August 24th, 2024 at 04:44 pm
What is Welsh stuff? Welsh stuff includes just about all topics related to Wales. It especially refers to food, recipes, gifts, and traditional things from Cymru, like customs, holidays, dress, and symbolism.
Wales is a small country that packs an enormous amount of culture and history into a little over 8,000 square miles. Its history traces back to antiquity, even before the time of the ancient Celts—although these tribal people did have a great deal to do with shaping the modern Welsh into who they are today.
Many legends you’re probably already familiar with come from Wales’ past. The legend of Merlin is one of them. The famous wizard, known as “Myrddin Wyllt” in Welsh, was a great sorcerer and mentor to King Arthur. King Arthur, it turns out, may not have been a king but may, in fact, have been a real person and not a myth at all. It’s doubtful that Merlin existed in the same way he’s portrayed in literature. However, according to the author of The Quest for Merlin, his character might have been based on a real pagan prophet in the sixth century.
This post is all about Welsh stuff.
Welsh Stuff
Wales is also famous for its many castles—over 600! It has more per square mile than any other country in the world. Other popular attractions include its award-winning beaches, incredible scenery, world-renowned hospitality, and Snowdonia National Park. With so much going for it and a beautiful flag to boot, it’s no wonder that fans of this awe-inspiring country need Welsh stuff for their home (and fridge). Speaking of the fridge, did I mention that cawl (soup) tastes even better the day after you cook it?
Food and Recipes
Welsh food evolved the way it did in times when many people worked long hours out in the fields or down in the mines. That’s why so many Welsh dishes are hearty and filling. Some, like Welsh oggies (meat pie), are also portable. Welsh rarebit is a popular dish enjoyed worldwide. At the same time, other delicacies, like laverbread (patties made with seaweed), are challenging to find outside of Wales. The examples below are by no means a comprehensive list, but they are a great place to start. I’ll be adding to the list in the future.
Cawl Recipes
Cawl is the Welsh word for “broth” or “soup,” and it is also the national dish of Wales. This hearty dish is one of the recipes that many people are familiar with. It’s pronounced like the word “owl” with a hard “c” in front (as in “cat”). What we’d recognize as cawl today was invented in the 14th century. However, its history goes even further back than that.
The History of Cawl
The Beaker People of Neolithic Britain cooked the earliest cawl around 2500 BC. They made it with lamb, leeks, cabbages, and broth and cooked their soup by boiling it directly on fire-heated stones.
The cawl we know today generally contains the staples of lamb, onions, leeks, potatoes, carrots, broth, and seasoning. Potatoes are the newest addition from the 1800s, thanks to the American colonies. You can substitute beef or pork in your cawl if you don’t prefer lamb. This wholesome soup came about because hungry people needed to cook a pot of food with what they had on hand (or could find). Therefore, there’s technically no right or wrong way to make cawl. There is, of course, what is considered “traditional cawl.” The main thing to know is that cawl prepared with lamb and leeks and served with bread and cheese has a Welshness factor like Guinness Beef is an Irish dish.
Here, you’ll find a slow cooker cawl recipe. I’ve also included instructions for chicken, leek, and potato soup. The latter is a variation of cawl cennin, which traditionally only contains broth and vegetables. This soup is for those searching for a chicken cawl recipe.
Welsh Onion Recipes
While there is something called a “Welsh onion,” this slender green vegetable isn’t from Wales but from Asia. Here, when we speak of Welsh onion recipes, we mean dishes from Cymru that are prepared with white or yellow onions.
Welsh onion cake is an uncomplicated comfort food made by layering onions and sliced potatoes with butter in a dish and baking it. What’s so wonderful about this recipe is that it takes just a few ingredients besides your choice of seasonings. A pie pan of this will make about six servings.
Welsh corned beef rissoles are another dish that uses onions and potatoes. Like oggies, they’re portable and go great with chips (or “fries” on the other side of the pond). They are a bit more labor-intensive than Welsh onion cake but well worth the effort.
Welsh Leek Recipes
And now we come to the noble leek whose Welshness is undeniable. Though not native to Wales, it’s become a national emblem like the daffodil and an inextricable component of Welsh cuisine.
Like cawl, Welsh rarebit is another recipe many people outside of Cymru have heard of. While it hasn’t been around for quite as long, its invention in 1725 (the more or less agreed-upon date of its birth) has given it plenty of time to become a part of the culture and be enjoyed by thousands. Welsh rarebit is a dish of cheese like Caerphilly cheddar over bread baked to perfection.
Cawl also falls under Welsh leek recipes (you can’t make real cawl without leeks!), and I’ve included a traditional cawl recipe here. This one has you do it the old-fashioned way by making your own stock the day before.
Welsh pies are another meal that frequently incorporates leeks. Oggies are a traditional meat pie made with lamb, leeks, and potatoes wrapped in a pastry shell called a “coffin.” They’re super filling, easily portable, and can be eaten with the hands. Welsh chicken and leek pie is another such recipe. It includes several types of meat depending on your taste and also contains cheese and plenty of savory spices. It’s absolutely delicious!
Gifts That Speak of Wales
No matter how someone comes by their affinity and interest, anyone with a love of Cymru is bound to look for Welsh gifts at some point. The traditions and holidays of the Welsh people have lent themselves to rather unique and exciting ways of gift-giving. The pride in the land, Y Ddraig Goch (the red dragon on the flag, a symbol of Wales, and what the flag itself is called) is undeniable. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a gift that doesn’t embody this love of the land and symbols of Wales in some way.
Traditional Welsh Gifts
Traditional Welsh gifts include objects that have been customary to give on certain occasions throughout history. Gifts that embody the Welsh way of life also fall under this heading.
Woolen Gifts
Take, for example, the wool and textile industry. It was a vital part of the economy for a long time. Even today, there’s a demand for woolen products from Wales. Welsh wool blankets are a perfect example of a traditional Welsh gift.
Welsh Love Spoons
Love spoons are another traditional gift. The custom of giving a love spoon dates back to 1667. Around that time, a gentleman suitor would take a wooden spoon and carve various symbols and patterns onto it as a token of his affection for the lady he intended to court. The symbols themselves were, of course, representative. An angel signifies protection, and Celtic knotwork is proof of an everlasting bond. There is no beginning or end to the links; they are continuous. However, the technical skill and detail that went into carving the love spoon—a unique work—was also in itself a physical attestation of the man’s love for the woman. You can find a list of many of the meanings of the symbols here, in the section called Love Spoon Symbols and Their Meanings.
Over time, people began giving love spoons as gifts on other occasions. Today, anyone can give a Welsh love spoon to anyone they care about. There are many ways to personalize a love spoon and make it a special, once-in-a-lifetime gift. If you don’t live in Cymru, don’t worry. You can get a personalized love spoon from Amazon made in Wales, so it’s still the real thing.
Click here for more traditional Welsh gift ideas.
You can find all posts on the above topics and more on the Welsh Things page.
This post was all about Welsh stuff from Wales, the land of the daffodil and dragon.
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