An A to Z of the Doric

An A to Z of the Doric: an occasional series. P and T revisited

Doric, the dialect spoken in the North-East of Scotland is rich in words and phrases associated with the land and the sea. In this series I try to illustrate some of them in an A-Z.

PITATTIE diminutive TATTIE: A Potato.

Potatoes are the starchy tubers of the perennial nightshade Solanum tuberosum. Native to South America, potatoes were first domesticated more than 400 years ago in Southern Peru. Since then, hundreds of varieties have been bred. This one, a real beauty known as Blue Belle, was originally produced in Brittany by crossing two other varieties, Cara and Sylvia.

Tattie appears in many compound words in the Scots language, indicating its importance as a food crop:

hairy tatties: A dish composed of mashed potatoes and flaked dried salt fish.
tattie-bittle: A potato masher.
tattie bree: Potato soup.
tattie champer: A potato masher.
tattie chapper: A potato masher.
tattie creel: A potato basket.
tattie-doolie: A scarecrow.
tattie-boodie: A scarecrow.
tattie howker: A potato digger.
tattie howkin: The potato harvest.
tattie liftin: The potato harvest.
tattie pairk: A potato field.
tattie-parer: A potato peeler.
tattie peelin: Potato skin.
tattie-ploum: The fruit on a potato plant.
tattie poke: A potato bag.
tattie-walin: The sorting of potatoes.