Tablet ...

Friday, 19 June 2009
Jacqueline here on ‘Tablet’— One of the Seven Wonders of Scotland.
Michael and I first discovered tablet, Scotland’s age old national sweetie, at the village store in Ballygrant on the way to Port Askaig one day. Feeling travel-weary, cranky and in need of a snack to sweeten my mood, I couldn’t resist the scored squares of fawn-colored confection in wee cello bags near the check-out. Back in the car, it was pure heaven, buttery sugary grit melting on our tongues, delivering smiles and renewed energy. Once on our way, it wasn’t long before I began pilfering the bag to savor another tantalizing square. Travel is long exhausting work so one must do whatever is necessary to keep ones energy and spirits up. For me, Scotland’s tablet proved to be the solution. Once the squares were gone, they were easily replaced because we found tablet for sale in all the village stores! And judging from the labels I saved, we bought at least three packages of Islay’s An Gleann Butter Tablet. We indulged in a variety of their samples served at many of the events we attended, including single malt whisky flavored tablet (my preference being the pure plain butter tablet). An Gleann (the glen) is a cottage business located in Port Charlotte, Islay. Their tablet is exceptional; its attractive packaging captures the essence of Islay and their web site itself, http://www.angleann.co.uk/, is delicious—crisp, clean, and inviting. Nicely done An Gleann!
This week, after finding a recipe on line, I succeeded in making a lovely batch of tablet only to realize that it is auspiciously akin to the beloved confection my Canadian grandmother made throughout my childhood. I’d like to imagine that the original centuries-old tablet recipe came to Canada with our Scottish ancestors who emigrated there—feeding my sense of connection to alainn Alba (lovely Scotland), just as tablet satiates my inherent sweet-tooth.