RECIPE
Sowans
ELEANOR BARNETT extols the virtues of a traditional Scottish ferment that can be used to make a porridge, a pudding and a probiotic drink
Fermented food is a fast-growing industry in the UK. Ever since the pandemic’s risen sourdough loaves, many of us have rediscovered the powers of microbes to preserve food, to add new, exciting flavours to it, and to boost our overall gut health.
You will doubtless have heard of Korean kimchi, German sauerkraut and Chinese kombucha, but while undertaking research for my new book, Leftovers: A History of Food Waste and Preservation, I came across a less familiar – yet native – ferment called sowans, a traditional Scottish food created by fermenting oats.
A way of extracting the most value from every available food source, sowans was made from the oat hulls (or husks) left over from milling full oat groats to make
