Gàidhlig / English
Càbhruich

Càbhruich

Posted by Abi on 27th November 2014

The days are growing colder now and Christmas is on its way. With the weather so cold, many people have the cold. Càbhruich (cabhruich, càmhraich, camhraich) ‘sowans, flummery’ is our word of the week. The form càmhraich came from South Uist and was collected in Glasgow.

‘Càmhraich - oatmeal and gruel steeped in water to be used to alleviate colds. To be found in ‘port a beul’ Ann a Bodaich na ho.’

(If you know this song, we would be interested in hearing from you through Facebook or Twitter!)

Camhraich was collected two other times in South Uist with the following explanations;

‘a drink made from barley. Nutritious.’

and

‘a dish made from oats. Boiled with water and eaten for breakfast, very much like porridge or brose.’

In Hougharry, North Uist, the word was collected with the explanation:

‘after winnowing some of the grain was kept to be soaked in water for about two or three days. Thereafter it was sifted and boiled and left to form a jelly like substance. Eaten as a jelly, slightly bitter in taste.’

Dwelly has càbhruich / càth-bhruith / càth-bhruich in his dictionary and Father Allan MacDonald has cabhruich (‘sowans’) in his Gaelic Words and Expressions from South Uist and Eriskay, p. 54.

The Irish have cábhruith / cáfraith (‘sowans, flummery (made with husks)’. The word comes from càth (‘husks’) and bruith / bruich (‘boil’).

Delicious! If you are suffering with the cold at this time of year, maybe you should try some càmhraich / camhraich!

Have you ever tried càmhraich / camhraich or do you know of another way of making it? If so, why not let us know via

@DASG_Glaschu or facebook.com/DasgGlaschu.

Your comment has been submitted for moderation
There are no comments for this post