It’s been a while since I did an article on food from the motherland, so here’s one on Welsh Rarebit.
The cuisine of the United Kingdom is yet to set the world alight. Yes we have the Great British Bakeoff, and I can even teach you how to eat Fish and Chips. Now whilst the cuisine of the UK as a whole is a bit lacking, one might say Wales is the black hole of the black hole. Now before anyone chimes in with racism claims, I am part Welsh.
Welsh rabbit, or as it is more commonly known is a dish whereby cheese combined with other ingredients are melted onto bread. Some have compared it to a fondue, but it is not fondue, these crazy bastards only went and invented the damned Cheese Toastie, kinda…
The dish first appeared in written language in 1725 as Welsh Rabbit. There have been numerous regional variations, and it was apparently a big staple in the Welsh Valleys, where it perhaps got its name. Despite the name it has never actually included any rabbit meat.
Why Welsh Rabbit?
Let’s break up the name and get all fancy here.
Welsh – Welsh obviously means from Wales, but in old English it was synonymous with the word foreign. The Welsh after all did and still do speak their own funny little language.
Rarebit/Rabbit – Apparently this just meant that the dish was posh, and there were variations of English Rabbit, and Scottish Rabbit. They were posh because they used good bread and Cheese!
Is Welsh Rarebit the same as a Cheese toastie?
No I was merely being silly before! In fact it is like a reverse toastie with the finely melted cheese melted over, rather than in the bread. In this sense Welsh Rarebit does have more in common with Swiss fondue than a toastie.
Are there any cool variations of the Welsh Rarebit?
Yes, served with an egg on top, it makes a buck rarebit or a golden buck.
Welsh rarebit blended with tomatoes makes a blushing bunny.
You’re welcome! Welsh cuisine 101