Spurtle
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Down here spurtles are flat bladed things for turning oatcakes and similar on bakestones/girdles
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128685&
A while back I finally picked up something I could convert into a metal bladed one, just need time to grind it to the shape I want and turn a handle for it. The donar implement is like a giant palette knife, which would do the job perfectly well but I rather fancy making a copy of a 19th century Yorkshire ( I think they call it a spirtle, the other side of the Penines ) job I saw in a museum catalogue.
ATB
Tom
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128685&
A while back I finally picked up something I could convert into a metal bladed one, just need time to grind it to the shape I want and turn a handle for it. The donar implement is like a giant palette knife, which would do the job perfectly well but I rather fancy making a copy of a 19th century Yorkshire ( I think they call it a spirtle, the other side of the Penines ) job I saw in a museum catalogue.
ATB
Tom
I knocked this up on the lathe this morning.
A fusion between the turned "brush handles" and the scraping blade. Not a straight copy of yours, Toddy, but inspired by it. I have gone for a little more round handle on mine. This started out by turning what looked like an elongated chess piece, which I then chopped down with an axe, and finished with a spokeshave, to thin down the blade end.
A fusion between the turned "brush handles" and the scraping blade. Not a straight copy of yours, Toddy, but inspired by it. I have gone for a little more round handle on mine. This started out by turning what looked like an elongated chess piece, which I then chopped down with an axe, and finished with a spokeshave, to thin down the blade end.
That's rather smart 
Looks very practical too
I think the trick to a good spurtle is that it stirs, and disturbs the bloops, doesn't let them splatter, but doesn't slop the stuff over the pot edge even when you're going quickly.
M
Looks very practical too
I think the trick to a good spurtle is that it stirs, and disturbs the bloops, doesn't let them splatter, but doesn't slop the stuff over the pot edge even when you're going quickly.
M
"The Spurtle, a Porridge legend with lots of myths surrounding it. Just what is a Spurtle and how do you use it? In this post I set out on a voyage to answer the myriad of questions that I receive about the Spurtle and most importantly, once and for all, answer the burning question which end do you use!
So what is a Spurtle? Well my loose definition would be "a wooden stirring stick used for making Porridge."
Dating back to the 15th century the Spurtle started out life as a spatula-like utensil, used for flipping oatcakes on a griddle. This kind of Spurtle is called a Couthie Spurtle and I use mine for loosening oatcakes from baking trays and for making pancakes but never for Porridge making.
I was once told by a Scottish woman that the Couthie developed from its flat shape into a stick shape as it became used for stirring stews and broths. The Spurtle changed further into the rod shape we know today as it started to be used for making Porridge.
The key reason for using a Spurtle is to prevent lumps forming during the process of cooking Porridge. Due to its cylindrical shape, the Spurtle allows the oats to be stirred without the dragging effect of the head of a wooden spoon. Not only does this prevent lumps, the Spurtles smaller surface area also prevents the Porridge from sticking to it.
Porridge spurtles are made or turned from a variety of woods. In the UK beech is favoured whilst in the U.S. cherry wood is used. The Canadian wood turner Derek Andrews makes his Spurtles from Maple as they are free of the large open pores you get in oak or ash, which Derek feels is important for food hygiene.
So what is a Spurtle? Well my loose definition would be "a wooden stirring stick used for making Porridge."
Dating back to the 15th century the Spurtle started out life as a spatula-like utensil, used for flipping oatcakes on a griddle. This kind of Spurtle is called a Couthie Spurtle and I use mine for loosening oatcakes from baking trays and for making pancakes but never for Porridge making.
I was once told by a Scottish woman that the Couthie developed from its flat shape into a stick shape as it became used for stirring stews and broths. The Spurtle changed further into the rod shape we know today as it started to be used for making Porridge.
The key reason for using a Spurtle is to prevent lumps forming during the process of cooking Porridge. Due to its cylindrical shape, the Spurtle allows the oats to be stirred without the dragging effect of the head of a wooden spoon. Not only does this prevent lumps, the Spurtles smaller surface area also prevents the Porridge from sticking to it.
Porridge spurtles are made or turned from a variety of woods. In the UK beech is favoured whilst in the U.S. cherry wood is used. The Canadian wood turner Derek Andrews makes his Spurtles from Maple as they are free of the large open pores you get in oak or ash, which Derek feels is important for food hygiene.
Scottish style oatcakes don't stick to the girdle anyway, you can turn them over by hand….same with scones and bannocks, but not with pancakes.
Most wooden spoons are rounded and the porridge sticks in the bowl. The tip only scrapes one wee line across the bottom of a pot too, so it's not ideal for the job. A spatula's inclined to slop the stuff and it doesn't move quickly enough through the mix to stop the bloops.
M
Most wooden spoons are rounded and the porridge sticks in the bowl. The tip only scrapes one wee line across the bottom of a pot too, so it's not ideal for the job. A spatula's inclined to slop the stuff and it doesn't move quickly enough through the mix to stop the bloops.
M
Although I don't profess to be an expert I think a lot of nonsense is talked about spurtles, probably to justify the existence of the round ones (which are easy to make, indeed my first spurtles were of that type, because I based them on a Google image search)
For the tourists a pretty turned thistle topped spurtle is imbued with considerable mystique about ancient ways of making porridge, in order to get them to part with their cold hard cash.
Recently I saw a beech spurtle (by T&G Woodware - made in Europe (not necessarily Scotland)) for sale in a hardware shop in Dingwall for about three quid, and later I saw the same model of spurtle in one of the touristy tartan and shortbread shops in Inverness for double the price!
For the tourists a pretty turned thistle topped spurtle is imbued with considerable mystique about ancient ways of making porridge, in order to get them to part with their cold hard cash.
Recently I saw a beech spurtle (by T&G Woodware - made in Europe (not necessarily Scotland)) for sale in a hardware shop in Dingwall for about three quid, and later I saw the same model of spurtle in one of the touristy tartan and shortbread shops in Inverness for double the price!
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"I think a lot of nonsense is talked about spurtles" - as with most traditional items, fancy goods & tourist shops describe & sell items as suits THEM.
"Scottish origins
The spurtle, or porridge stick, was used before the advent of rolled oats. The oatmeal had to soften and become edible, so it had to be cooked for a long time. The spurtle was used to stir it frequently to prevent the formation of large lumps.
In Shetland, porridge is called milgruel, and is sometimes made with bere-meal which is a kind of barley. The Gaelic name is brochan.
I have always assumed that spurtles were probably first made by taking a thin branch of a tree and whittling the bark off, but in Buchan Words and Ways, Alexander Fenton tells us that a spurtle could be made from a worn sweeping brush handle.
Spurtle or Spatula?
In his book 'Treen and other Wooden Bygones', Edward Pinto tells us that "both spatulas and spurtles have their origins in Scotland. There is some confusion in terminology, but generally the drum-stick-like porridge stirrer is called a spurtle and a flat sided stirrer is a spatula. Both types of implement have a long history."
"Scottish origins
The spurtle, or porridge stick, was used before the advent of rolled oats. The oatmeal had to soften and become edible, so it had to be cooked for a long time. The spurtle was used to stir it frequently to prevent the formation of large lumps.
In Shetland, porridge is called milgruel, and is sometimes made with bere-meal which is a kind of barley. The Gaelic name is brochan.
I have always assumed that spurtles were probably first made by taking a thin branch of a tree and whittling the bark off, but in Buchan Words and Ways, Alexander Fenton tells us that a spurtle could be made from a worn sweeping brush handle.
Spurtle or Spatula?
In his book 'Treen and other Wooden Bygones', Edward Pinto tells us that "both spatulas and spurtles have their origins in Scotland. There is some confusion in terminology, but generally the drum-stick-like porridge stirrer is called a spurtle and a flat sided stirrer is a spatula. Both types of implement have a long history."
My family makes those (We are the owners of Polder's Old World Market). Thanks for noticing them ;-) It took me a while to find out why we were getting hits on our shop from this site but now I know why 
Actually, if you look into it, they still hold porridge making contests in Scotland (with spurtles being used to make the porridge), and the winner gets a golden spurtle. Whether or not you really need spurtle to make good porridge is debatable, but it is no secret that Scotts think you do need one, and the history of the spurtle isn't just made up nonsense to get people to buy them
I just stick the traditional style oats and some milk in the microwave for 2 mins once out and cooled for a bit stir and eat, no pot to clean taste's good to me.
After whipping out a blank on the band saw from some sycamore I got last winter and split into rough blanks to season I carved the basic shape with a mora , surformed it and sanded it to shape to my taste/perposes. I left in some tool marks as otherwise it would be too like the ones I could have got for fifty pee from the cheapy shop in town. Took about a hour in all watching NCIS New Orleans. It needs a few more coats of walnut oil. It's 3 inch wide at the working end, tapering down to two inch with a one inch by 3/4 wide handle.
i'll make one of the Toddy style Spurtles tomorrow when I can use the lathe without disturbing any one.
ATB
Tom
i'll make one of the Toddy style Spurtles tomorrow when I can use the lathe without disturbing any one.
ATB
Tom
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That's more like a couthie spurtle I like that Tom
Nic a char, can you really see folks using a mucky old brush shaft for a spurtle ? Maybe on a ferme toun feeding forty to sixty folks they'd use something like, but not a lot of use in a house with a small pot.
If the oatmeal, and it is oatmeal in Scotland, or bere meal, is soaked overnight, and it commonly was, and is, then it only takes at most ten minutes cooking the next morning. Just bring it slowly up to the boil and keep it just on the 'gloopy' stage until it all goes thick. It's cooked
I still make mine like that. The original post was my oatmeal going in to soak overnight for my breakfast. (and funnily enough my lunch 'cos I was too busy to cook the day after)
I think there's an awful lot of mince talked as folks make things look 'rustic' and try to sell stuff to the tourists.
Spurtles, spirtles and the like are not just Scottish though; they're well known in the North of England too. They're used anywhere that folks commonly ate oats and barley. English oatcakes need something like the one Tom's made to turn their raised dough ones. I've cooked on a girdle (bakestone) since I was a child, there's a knack to turning things on it by hand, but sometimes you do need a spatula type tool. Tom's looks ideal for most of those
Can't resist this. It was one of the rhymes I taught my children. Just because the words were brilliant Don't think the man liked his porridge much though 
Sink Song
Scouring out the porridge pot
Round and round and round!
Out with all the scraith and scoopery,
Life the eely ooly droopery,
Chase the glubbery slubbery gloopery
Round and round and round!
Out with all the doleful dithery,
Ladle out the slimy slithery,
Hunt and catch the hithery thithery,
Round and round and round!
Out with all the obbly gubbly,
On the stove it burns so bubbly,
Use the spoon and use it doubly,
Round and round and round.
J.A. Lindon
M
I like that Tom Nic a char, can you really see folks using a mucky old brush shaft for a spurtle ? Maybe on a ferme toun feeding forty to sixty folks they'd use something like, but not a lot of use in a house with a small pot.
If the oatmeal, and it is oatmeal in Scotland, or bere meal, is soaked overnight, and it commonly was, and is, then it only takes at most ten minutes cooking the next morning. Just bring it slowly up to the boil and keep it just on the 'gloopy' stage until it all goes thick. It's cooked
I still make mine like that. The original post was my oatmeal going in to soak overnight for my breakfast. (and funnily enough my lunch 'cos I was too busy to cook the day after)
I think there's an awful lot of mince talked as folks make things look 'rustic' and try to sell stuff to the tourists.
Spurtles, spirtles and the like are not just Scottish though; they're well known in the North of England too. They're used anywhere that folks commonly ate oats and barley. English oatcakes need something like the one Tom's made to turn their raised dough ones. I've cooked on a girdle (bakestone) since I was a child, there's a knack to turning things on it by hand, but sometimes you do need a spatula type tool. Tom's looks ideal for most of those
Can't resist this. It was one of the rhymes I taught my children. Just because the words were brilliant
Don't think the man liked his porridge much though Sink Song
Scouring out the porridge pot
Round and round and round!
Out with all the scraith and scoopery,
Life the eely ooly droopery,
Chase the glubbery slubbery gloopery
Round and round and round!
Out with all the doleful dithery,
Ladle out the slimy slithery,
Hunt and catch the hithery thithery,
Round and round and round!
Out with all the obbly gubbly,
On the stove it burns so bubbly,
Use the spoon and use it doubly,
Round and round and round.
J.A. Lindon
M
"can you really see folks using a mucky old brush shaft for a spurtle?" Och aye! Though, no-one said it had to be mucky
Evening before prep is the biz:
slowly pour boiling water into a pyrex bowl & over the oatmeal stirring well with a mucky old broomhandle/round spurtle/handy stick
clingwrap the bowl & leave overnight.
In in the morning, pierce clingwrap, 3 mins microwave = job done! also leaves a clean pyrex bowl.
Haven't found a way to leave a clean pan when using a fire or stove, other than with a heather scourer afterwards, but a good soak certainly helps.
Evening before prep is the biz:
slowly pour boiling water into a pyrex bowl & over the oatmeal stirring well with a mucky old broomhandle/round spurtle/handy stick
clingwrap the bowl & leave overnight.
In in the morning, pierce clingwrap, 3 mins microwave = job done! also leaves a clean pyrex bowl.
Haven't found a way to leave a clean pan when using a fire or stove, other than with a heather scourer afterwards, but a good soak certainly helps.
Brushes handles are well used, and usually outdoors, and if in a farmyard, I can't see any housewife happy to have it near her food making.
I just let the pot soak too, and then the remains just slip off. I don't think I've ever burnt porridge onto a pot though….funnily enough, at the crannog centre….the excavation so far had found only one pot, and it was broken. It was shattered, and the reasoning was they think that someone had burnt the porridge (there's still evidence of it stuck to the pot shards ) and it had been thrown over the side while still hot, hit the water and the thermal shock of the 4degC on the hot pot shattered it…..and over two thousand years later the pieces were recorded in situ, and still with the burnt porridge on them
They didn't find the spurtle though
M
I just let the pot soak too, and then the remains just slip off. I don't think I've ever burnt porridge onto a pot though….funnily enough, at the crannog centre….the excavation so far had found only one pot, and it was broken. It was shattered, and the reasoning was they think that someone had burnt the porridge (there's still evidence of it stuck to the pot shards
) and it had been thrown over the side while still hot, hit the water and the thermal shock of the 4degC on the hot pot shattered it…..and over two thousand years later the pieces were recorded in situ, and still with the burnt porridge on them They didn't find the spurtle though
M
Jings crivens and help ma Boab! a genuine spurtle for the traditional Scottish breakfast of fried peppers! And at a price that all us true mean Scots would be happy to part with.Sorry
I nearly made sweary words though .Look what they're charging for these shoe horn like thing they're calling spurtles !
http://www.poldersoldworldmarket.com/products/original-spurtle-set#
:yikes:
Lads, there's a business in this
M
Braw things spurtles, useful for all sorts of dishes and the one in our family has been used on many generations of bairns fingers if elbows touched the tablecloth or any other misdeed for that matter, Scottish mothers weapon of choice.
Well, I had a choice, get on with the much needed decorating or fart about finally making the oatcake spurtle with a steel blade.
I should have done a before pic, it started off as a cheap , large, old school, palette knife, full tang handle with badly fitting rosewood scales pinned on. I took two inches off the handle and cooling a lot ground the full tang down to a spike, put a taper into the blade, rounded off the end and basically made it resemble the one in "Traditional food East and west of the Pennines" Ed C.A. Wilson, allowing for my own preferences with regards to size ( I have big, fat paws). It's far from perfect and I will polish it more when the handles been turned and fitted. Since it's going to be a user I'm not going to go mad on the finish, the donor blade was made pretty roughly, perfectly serviceable mind, and then got battered in use. I guess I paid 50p or a quid for it.
More when I've turned the beech handle .
atb
Tom
I should have done a before pic, it started off as a cheap , large, old school, palette knife, full tang handle with badly fitting rosewood scales pinned on. I took two inches off the handle and cooling a lot ground the full tang down to a spike, put a taper into the blade, rounded off the end and basically made it resemble the one in "Traditional food East and west of the Pennines" Ed C.A. Wilson, allowing for my own preferences with regards to size ( I have big, fat paws). It's far from perfect and I will polish it more when the handles been turned and fitted. Since it's going to be a user I'm not going to go mad on the finish, the donor blade was made pretty roughly, perfectly serviceable mind, and then got battered in use. I guess I paid 50p or a quid for it.
More when I've turned the beech handle .
atb
Tom
Just put the first coat of food grade linseed oil on the beech handle ( second attempt, a messed up the first hammering it off after a test fit of the tang in the hole ) I turned for it. Ok not a direct copy of the original but my hands a lot bigger than the average stunted 18th century cottager! The handles scaled up and I used the pilot hole , split, carve out the holes for the tang, glue back together method that someone suggested.
Normally I soak the handle for 24 hrs in boiled linseed oil but with with this being for food use and me being cautious about the glue, ( glues really as I used the water proof alp' resin stuff to put the handle back together and the pine tar and charcoal stuff BR gave me to seal the slot and glue the blade in ) I'll apply several light coats instead.
I'm pretty happy with it.
ATB
Tom
Oh Grud! I've just realised how phalic the handle looks! D'oh!
Normally I soak the handle for 24 hrs in boiled linseed oil but with with this being for food use and me being cautious about the glue, ( glues really as I used the water proof alp' resin stuff to put the handle back together and the pine tar and charcoal stuff BR gave me to seal the slot and glue the blade in ) I'll apply several light coats instead.
I'm pretty happy with it.
ATB
Tom
Oh Grud! I've just realised how phalic the handle looks! D'oh!
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