Welsh Rabbit - the truth behind the name
As a child growing up in Cheshire our family often took holidays in the lovely sea-side resort of Abersoch, in Wales. While there my mother took delight in making the tea-time dish, “Welsh Rabbit” for me, my brother and sisters. Perplexed, we’d ask her why cheese on toast was named after a furry mammal from Wales. We never received a satisfactory reply. Even since then the conundrum has troubled me deeply. I have spent long hours studying the burning question: why is cheese on toast called “Welsh Rabbit”?Now we all have extra time on our hands I thought it only fair to share my research with the wider world. Perhaps others can also cast yet more light on this enduring mystery? Many people believe the name derives from the word, “rarebit”, meaning a toothsome morsel of food. But it seems this claim doesn’t stand up to scrutiny: the “rabbit” version of the recipe exists in printed records as early as 1725, but the nomenclature, “Welsh Rarebit” is first seen written down about sixty years after that. Perhaps “Rarebit” was invented as a name in order to be appropriate for the dish in question?Interestingly the French being noted gourmets have always prized Welsh Rabbit. One of the first recorded recipes was for “Lapin Gallois”: this dish was hugely popular in The Criterion restaurant in Paris at the end of the Victorian period. Diners there enthusiastically consumed the cheesy toast washed down with plenty of English Ale.In fact, old writings show there used to be recipes for other rabbit-cheese recipes: there was one for Scotch-Rabbit, one for English-Rabbit as well as the better known Welsh-Rabbit. The recipe for English-Rabbit involved the toast soaking up a glass of red wine before the cheese was applied.After experimenting with different combinations I find the perfect recipe is as follows: cut a slice of two-day-old French sourdough bread, lightly toast it under a hot grill then soak for five minutes in a shallow dish of the best Chianti you can find. Then apply liberal slices of the Welsh goat’s cheese “Pantysgawn” to the toast, place it again under the grill until the cheese bubbles – then enjoy!
Chris Shepherd ● 2405d9 Comments