Welsh Foods

This dish was known as uwd or uwd sucan in south Cardiganshire and north Pembrokeshire, e.g.

Pren-gwyn, Cardiganshire.

Brynberian, Pembrokeshire.

Sucan was associated with the hay harvest in many areas.  Boiled in large quantities, it was carried out to the field in tin pans and served to the helpers at mid-day.

The local observations given in connection with testing the consistency of the sucan are noteworthy, e.g. rhaid iddo ffurfio rheffyn fel cwt cath (it must form a ribbon like a cat’s tail) (Croes-lan, Cardiganshire), or rhaid i’r sucan ddisgyn o’r pren fel cwt buwch (the sucan must drop from the stick like a cow’s tail) (Llandysul, Cardiganshire), or yr uwd yn berwi fel llygad eidion (the uwd boiling like a bullock’s eye) (Brynhoffnant, Cardiganshire).

Particular attention was paid to the surface of the sucan when set; a smooth surface without a single crack in it was a sure proof of the cook’s expertise at preparing the dish, but the unsuccessful cook had to face the mockery of the old belief that a cracked surface signified that she would marry a boy with an ugly face.

Blawd sucan – Sucan meal

The method of preparing this oatmeal by-product varied slightly in different areas.  The following process was described by one experienced miller.  After the oats been dried and hulled, the kernels were crushed finely.  This meal was then sifted to rid it of any husks or gross meal and the material that was left on the sieve (i.e. a mixture of gross meal and oat husks) was known as blawd (meal) or bwyd (food) sucan.

Crug-y-bar, Carmarthenshire.