What Adam Smith Ate: Cream Crowdie Dessert at The Oyster Club

In the mid-1700s, before the Internet or social media, men of letters like Adam Smith and his friends often gathered for dinners to exchange news and ideas. Frequently writing and receiving letters from London, Paris, and abroad, Adam Smith’s social circle was well connected. Additionally, they were all writers and presenters of papers and ideas, and an informal club was a good opportunity to discuss ideas and refine concepts. 

At that time, it was considered a great honor to be a member of a formal society like the Royal Society of London or Royal Society of Edinburgh. However, it was also common for scholars, politicians, historians and others to gather in social clubs centered around informal evenings of discussion. Smith had been a part of many of these clubs during his lifetime, but one of the most famous was The Oyster Club founded in 1784.

By then, Wealth of Nations had been published for nearly 10 years. David Hume was gone and Smith had been appointed commissioner of the Customs House in Edinburgh. Sir George Eliot, a friend to the Duke of Buccleuch and visitor to Edinburgh in 1782 called Smith “an honest fellow” which was, perhaps, a rarity in the position at the time. 

Biographer EG West describes Smith’s life in Edinburgh. “Every day he could be seen walking to the Customs House in a light-colored coat, probably linen knee breeches, white silk stockings, buckle shoes, and a flat broad brimmed beaver hat. He would often be walking erect with a bunch of flowers in his left hand, and his [bamboo] cane … on his right shoulder.”

Smith co-founded the 11-member Oyster Club with chemist Joseph Black and geologist James Hutton and meetings were open to “strangers who visited Edinburgh from any object connected with art or with science” says John Playfair, himself a member of the group. “The conversation was always free, often scientific, but never didactic or disputatious.” A visitor described it (as noted in West): “We have a club here which consists of nothing but philosophers … with a most enlightened, agreeable, and social company.”

Richard B. Sher in his book The Enlightenment and the Book: Scottish Authors and their Publishers in Eighteenth Century Britain, Ireland, and America notes that Oyster Club meetings were typically held in taverns, where much claret was consumed. “Drinking constituted a vital component of these convivial organizations, but food was also important.” He cites an anecdote where a local quipped “You may rather call them the Iterati (Eaterati)” as a group of literati strolled past at the dinner hour.

Because most tavern food was heavy with meat and sauce, desserts were typically light and not too sweet. Desserts featuring fruit and whipped cream were popular since they were easy to prepare and let diners finish their meal but still continue drinking. 

In the book The Course of History: Ten Meals that Changed the World, author Struan Stevenson shares the menu for Bonnie Prince Charlie’s final meal before the battle of Culloden in 1765.  When the Prince sat down with his generals for their last meal, it was Scottish through and through -- bannocks (bread rolls) and cheese and cream crowdie for dessert. Cream crowdie is a dish of whipped cream, sweetened oats and berries, not to be confused with trifle which includes custard and sometimes cake. It's a perfect light dessert to follow a heavy meal and exactly the sort of Scottish dish Smith might have served at a Sunday supper or enjoyed at an Oyster Club dinner just as the conversation was going well. 

Cream Crowdie  
Adapted from Courses: Ten Meals that Changed the Course of History 
Serves 4

·         1 cup uncooked old-fashioned rolled oats 

·         4 tbsp maple syrup

·         2 tbsp butter  

·         1 cup whipping cream

·         2 tbsp honey

·         3 tbsp Scotch whiskey (to taste)

·         8 oz fresh raspberries

1.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oats and maple syrup and stir until the oats are coated. Continue to cook until the oats are toasted an even golden brown. Set aside to cool.

2. In a large glass bowl, whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the honey and whiskey and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. 

3. In individual glass bowls, layer the cream, the oats, and fresh berries. 

(You can substitute 1 cup of crumbled pre-made granola for the oats, maple syrup and butter. Simply crush into small pieces.)

Read previous What Adam Smith Ate posts:

Even more (non-recipes):
Carl Oberg's The 18th Century and Social Networking | Adam Smith Works
Craig Smith's A Hotbed of Genius: An Introduction to the Scottish Enlightenment | Adam Smith Works
The Club: Johnson, Boswell, and the Friends Who Shaped an Age by Leo Damrosch
The Square and the Tower: Networks and Power, from the Freemasons to Facebook by Niall Ferguson