scotched collops

English

Alternative forms

Scotch collops
scotcht collops^[1] (obsolete)

Etymology

Reanalysis of earlier Scotch collops from Scotch (“of Scotland”) to scotched (“that has been cut”).^[2] The dish was labeled variously during the 18th and 19th centuries as Scotch collops, scorched collops, or scotched collops, among others.^[3] The latter form is first attested from the 18th century, with Scotch collops from the 17th.^[4]

Noun

scotched collops pl (plural only)

(now chiefly US) A dish made of pieces of beef or veal cut thin or minced, beaten flat, and stewed with onion and other condiments.
- 1708, William King, “The Art of Cookery”, in All Poetry‎^[1], retrieved 2-15-2023:
  What signifie Scotcht-Collops to a Feast?
  Or you can make whip'd Cream! Pray what Relief
  Will that be to a Saylor who wants Beef?
- [1829, Margaret Dods, The Cook and Housewife’s Manual, page 285:
  438. Scotch-Collops.^*―Cut small slices of equal thickness out of the fillet […] ^*This properly means scotched, or scored collops, though the word has come to be understood as above.]
- [1882, Eliezer Edwards, Words, facts, and phrases; a dictionary of curious, quaint, and out-of-the-way matters, page 501:
  Scotched Collops. In cookery books and on bills of fare we are constantly meeting with this term, spelt ‘Scots collops’ or ‘Scotch collops.’ The dish, however, has not a Scottish origin. The collops, or slices of flesh, before being cooked are ‘scotched,’ which means, according to Worcester, that they are ‘cut with shallow incisions, or in a slight manner.’]
- 1899, Herbert Maxwell, “Our obligations to wild animals”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume 166, page 232:
  cakes and ales those may still have who can command them, but down with the roast-beef of Old England! be scotched collops anathema maranatha, and Irish stew accounted an unclean thing!
- 1995, Damon Fowler, Classical Southern Cooking, page 183:
  Like scaloppine, scotched collops must not be overcooked or they will take on a texture not unlike dried buffalo.
- 2017, Graham Masterton, The Coven, page 157:
  You will also be served oysters and scotched collops and quails and chickens, as well as biscuits and tarts and various sweetmeats.

References

^ “Scotch”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
^ “scotched collops, n.” under “scotched, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.
^ Samuel Johnson (1800) A Dictionary of the English Language, page 4007: “Scotch Collops or Scotched Collops, skótchʹ kól-lúps. n. ſ. [from To scotch or cut.] Veal cut into small pieces.”
^ “Scotch collops, n.” under “Scotch, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.

[1] “Scotch”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

[2] “scotched collops, n.” under “scotched, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2022.

[3] Samuel Johnson (1800) A Dictionary of the English Language, page 4007: “Scotch Collops or Scotched Collops, skótchʹ kól-lúps. n. ſ. [from To scotch or cut.] Veal cut into small pieces.”

[4] “Scotch collops, n.” under “Scotch, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2022.

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