Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Bridie

Scottish meat pasty

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

A bridie or Forfar bridie is a Scottish meat pasty, a type of turnover that originates from Forfar, Scotland.

01History and preparation

Bridies are said "to have been 'invented' by a Forfar baker in the 1850s". The name may refer to the pie's frequent presence on wedding menus, or to Margaret Bridie of Glamis, "who sold them at the Buttermarket in Forfar". Bakers in Forfar traditionally use shortcrust pastry for their bridies, but in other parts of Scotland, flaky pastry is sometimes substituted. The filling of a bridie consists of minced steak, butter, and beef suet seasoned with salt and pepper. It is sometimes made with minced onions. Before baking, the bridie's filling is placed on pastry dough, which is then folded into a semi-circular shape; finally, the edges are crimped. If the baker pokes one hole in the top of a bridie, this indicates that it is plain, or without onions; two holes mean that it does contain onions, a convention which is also applied to a Scotch pie.

02Cultural references

The bridie is the subject of the Dundee Scots shibboleth Twa bridies, a plen ane an an ingin ane an a (Two bridies, a plain one and an onion one as well).

Forfar Athletic Football Club, who play in the Scottish Professional Football League, have a bridie as their mascot.

Watch videos about BridieExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Bridie, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.