Why is it called Welsh Rarebit (Rabbit)?
Comments (40)
We called it “Welsh Rabbit” (which was made with cheese and tomato soup) when I was growing up, and my father renamed it “Blushing Bunny.” 🤭 Dad jokes are the best! My dad passed when I was 23, and I know know now, you never stop missing your parents…
😋
Sorry being Welsh you should look to the country of origin. Not print rubbish as this is. It is not just cheese on toast but milk with flour made into a paste the grates cheese if this was for children an egg could be added then milk is added also must be smooth add a little mustard powder and you have a great breakfast or supper n
In our house, we've made a game of tier-listing Max's sponsor segues. Just thought we should let you know that Concorde's throw to Bombas got an "S" rank. (edit: oops! put this comment on the wrong video!)
Hey I've been having ye olde standard not-so-great times in my life lately, but I've been watching your videos a ton and they make me happy. So thank you for doing what you do! <3
Thank you for this. I hope the great time return soon and until then, glad I can provide some distraction.
If you're looking for a book restorer, check out https://www.youtube.com/@FourKeysBookArts
I had never seen it with the cheese melted separately from the bread. (I grew up with cheese on toast being made with slabs of cheese with mustard on bread melted and toasted under the grill.) But this version, poured on the bread reminds me of fondu. Might it be worth investigating the history of fondu to see if melted cheese poured on bread and melted cheese with bread dipped in it have parallel histories?
Rarebit hole? Really?? Sigh...
I love Welsh Rarebit, you used to be able to get it in the freezer section at the grocery store. But they no longer make it.
This is a good one!
I learned to make this 60+ years ago, the only difference being whole grain mustard. Definitely cayenne, occasionally Worcestershire. Delicious.
I cannot wait to try this recipe! It’s wonderful how some of the most simple recipes or combinations are often the most delicious.
Rabbit originally referred only to baby rabbits. Snack sized?
i bet librarians would have suggestions. There's also no gentleman in a Croque Monsieur. 😉
“Gifted” as a verb irks
Why is that? It's been used for 400 years, so I'm guessing it's not going anywhere. Strunk & White didn't like it, so my mother who was and English teacher, agrees with you. But I'm a fan of the old ways.
I wonder if the Rabbit comes from the Latin word for toast (like to toast before drinking) 'praebibo'/'praebibote'?
Book restoration.... My historian husband has used this company: https://www.thebookdr.com/
Caws [pronounced roughly as K-ow-ss] is modern Welsh and Welsh Rarebit is Caws Pobi [P-o-bee], translated as Everyone's Cheese. The Rarebit/Rabbit has often been explained to me as a mocking - we get a lot of that 🤦♀️, having an ancient "unpronouncable" language - mispronunciation of Pobi. Pobi into Bobby, into Bobbit, into bobtail, into rabbit. Hey ho. 🙂
Lol I could feel the universal eye-roll at 00.39 when Max says "fell down the rarebit hole on this one." Way to dad joke it up!
I remember having Welsh Rarebit for the first time at a Colonial Williamsburg. It had worster-chester-chister-shire sauce and cornstarch in it.
Also, best birthday present to me! Perfect timing! Thank you!
https://www.gibbsbookbinding.com/ I was going to suggest the San Francisco Center for the Book - they're the ones who trained me - but this is much closer to you. :)
Contact a museum or library with a rare books section. They can probably refer you to an expert bookbinder.
When I was very young, (late ‘40s) Mama called it “Welsh Rabbit”, but by the mid-‘50s, I learned that it was also called “Welsh Rarebit”, and, since there was no actual rabbit in it, I assumed that was the correct name, and later figured that the “rare” bit of that name meant that it was uncommonly good, as in, “O rare Ben Jonson”. The word “rare” was used in that sense in Ben Jonson’s time, and is the inscription on his grave stone. And yes, I did go exploring down a “rarebit” hole … thanks, Max. That made me giggle. P.S. Try it with a pinch of mace instead of the cayenne.
When I was growing up, my favorite Sunday night meal was Blushing Bunny: A can of Campbell's Condensed Tomato soup, a can of Campbell's Condensed Cheddar Cheese soup, heated together in a saucepan and served over toast. We didn't have it often (perhaps if there was a coupon for the Cheddar soup). I was trying to find an online copy of the recipe, that I think originally was on the soup label. The closest I came to it was one that also added a little Worcestershire sauce and mustard. Mom may have added one or both, I don't remember.
Since it was condensed soup, it wasn't too runny to be served over toast without turning the toast into mush, even when heated?
I paused the video at the description of Wagner's first libretto as a welsh rarebit nightmare. I don't what's funnier - Wagner's actual plot, or the description of it.
You might also call a local maker space or craft guild. Many of those have book binders teaching. Also down the rarebit hole? Bad Max! Bad!
https://ohiobookstore.net/bindery.html One of my favorite bookstores in the country, and they're expert bookbinders. Would entail some shipping, of course, but I would trust them with anything. And if you're ever in Cincinnati, I highly recommend that you go just to look around! It's massive - an entire four-story building - and it's been in business since the 1940s so it's an absolute treasure trove if you're into old books. Also, major kudos for the Winsor McKay clips! McKay is absolutely the king of early animation in the US. Love both Gertie the Dinosaur and Dream of a Rarebit Fiend.
Don’t forget “welsh on a bet”
My late mother used to make it for us whenever she was too tired to prepare anything more elaborate, or when the monthly food budget needed to stretch. Delicious. It was one of the first dishes of convenience I knew I could throw together when I first became a vegetarian, 40 years ago.
My mom made this, too, though I think she used much wimpier bread. I really need to make it for myself.
https://www.gibbsbookbinding.com/repair
Townsends might know someone who can repair the book. Anyway, Alton Brown did Welsh Rarebit about 20 years ago, and his conclusion was also that it was the English mocking Welsh poverty and stupidity (for thinking cheese sauce is rabbit.
Google book restoration near me. We have a couple of places in the Denver area.
I won't lie, eating cheese before bedtime has been known to cause me some problems sleeping as well. Although for me it's less nightmares and more indigestion induced insomnia. Same with chocolate actually.
Yeah, my thought is that it's less the fault of the cheese and bread than it is eating ANYTHING at 2 AM just before going to bed. And after they've been drinking all night, of course.
Now that is ne I really want to know. My guess is that rarebit is welsh for melted cheese.