Hi Maisie I used to use rice flour when I tried to make shortbread. This would have been between 1957, when I married, and late 1961 when I emigrated to Australia from Glasgow. The recipe books I had then were very plain. Cannot swear they were Scottish but certainly nothing French. Don't think there was a shortbread recipe in my favourite recipe book for baking . A fantastic wee book from Be-Ro flour. Sadly it fell apart over the years. During a visit in 1983 I learnt to make lovely shortbread from an old lady in the Highlands. No rice flour. Nowadays I buy Walkers shortbread "Made in Scotland". Maybe I'll dig out Granny McIntyre's recipe and have a go. Just the thing for a humid day in Sydney. Like you I'm not rapt in my name. Ella is a shortened version of my full name Isabella, but this is also a family tradition. I come from a very long line of Isabellas on my father's side. Thanks for bringing back some recipes. Ella Ross ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maisie Egger" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011 7:13 AM Subject: [WIG LIST] Understanding Scottish Graveyards, etc. > The Scottish Heritage Society of Iowa's website includes something for > everybody, such as an interesting fillip on "Understanding Scottish > Graveyards". My own forebears' headstones were plain Jane and no > nonsense, with no particular symbols inscribed. > > Another inclusion in the website is the order of patronymic names. > British heritage surnames began in the 13th/14th centuries initially by > the aristocracy and then by everyone else. > To quote from the website: > > People of all countries tend to use forenames which run in the family. In > Scotland families not only use such names but they tend to follow naming > patterns - the most common of which is: > > - 1st son - named after his paternal grandfather > - 2nd son - named after his maternal grandfather > - 3rd son - named after his father > - 1st daughter - named after her maternal grandmother > - 2nd daughter - named after her paternal grandmother > - 3rd daughter - named after her mother > > Although this naming pattern was not always used, it can be a useful > indication to genealogists. Unfortunately, this pattern is not used to the > same extent today. Most of us can attest to this as the wee weans/bairns > nowadays are given "coined" names, taken off the wall, with no historical > significance or even sense as names go. Much as my diminutive name Maisie > and more formally Mary would not have been my choice, both are still > family names that give me some connection to my past. > > > > Included in this website is a recipe for shortbread. Well, no one of my > acquaintance ever used rice flour, but ordinary flour, and so one wonders > if this was a French introduction for the more affluent's use. I'd be > curious to know from anyone on the list if he/she ever used rice flour to > make traditional shortbread. Incidentally, "everyone" raves about my > shortbread and my "public" cries out for it every Christmas! > > > > Go to this website for more interesting information: > > http://www.iowascots.org/weeglimpses.htmsite > > > Maisie > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message