Also known as Welsh Rabbit.
Today is National Welsh Rarebit day, so...why not.
Disclaimer: No Rabbits were harmed in the making of this post, or the dish.
Welsh Rarebit is toast with fondue-cheese on it. Unlike what you're probably thinking, this is shredded Chedder cheese that gets added to heated beer/ale, with the possible additions of mustard or Worcestershire sauce, and sometimes spices, which gets poured over the cheese when it's ready.
This can be considered one of the Welsh National dishes, but it isn't actually Welsh, according to some beliefs. Either way, they've taken it and run, so it's theirs now.
The first time anyone knows about Welsh Rabbit being a thing, is from the 1700's, when it showed up in a few cookbooks.
There are a few theories about why Welsh, and why Rabbit, but most of them are unkind, so please note that I like Welsh people and I can't hold anything against them for as long as the town of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch stands.
At the time that the recipe started popping up, it could have been labelled as Welsh (or sometimes Scotch) because of the cheese, which was a lot more common in Wales than London, leading to those cultures being known for their cheesiness. It could also have been called Welsh because it's a cheap substitute for the real Rabbit.
It was labelled as Rabbit first, then Rarebit, because it was eaten as a replacement to rabbit in their meals. Some theories have it starting early in actual Wales as a poor-man's replacement for actual rabbit, or as an insult because people couldn't afford rabbit, or even an option that they were insulting the Welsh for being too stupid to eat Rabbit instead.
This dish has had a lot of interest over the years because it doesn't have Rabbit and that's weird. It's certainly not the weirdest food, but it's one that has several times been called surprisingly tasty, and unusual. It feels like a step to the left from a grilled cheese to me, but that's not a bad thing.
Either way, I hope you found this interesting, and I hope that you've just tied your tongue up a few times trying to pronounce that town name. I'll see you again soon with something new.
Sources:
Borough Market-- Edible History-- Welsh Food
History In the Making--Welsh Rarebit
Real Girl's Wobble-- A Brief History of Welsh Rarebit
BBC-- Did Welsh Rarebit start as an English Joke?
Cheese Professor-- Everything you need to know about Welsh Rarebit
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