Scottish Blog

Caboc is a unique type of Scottish cheese.

Caboc is a soft, cow-milk cheese, most often it is found shaped in a log that has been rolled in toasted pinhead oats. The finished cheese is described as being pale primrose yellow in color. It texture is best described as being thicker and grainer than clotted-cream. Typically a sample of Caboc will range 67% to ^9% in its fat-value, placing it in a similar categories to Mascarpone. Because of its relative richness, Caboc was from its beginning considered to be a “rich” cheese, reserved for the wealthy. Traditionally a Caboc roll is three centimeters in diameter, seven in length and roughly one hundred grams in weight.

Caboc is the oldest cheese originating from Scotland, records of it can be dated back to the 15th century Highlands. It is said that the cheese was first created by Mariota de Ile, of the MacDonald Clan. At the age of twelve she fled Scotland for Ireland, as it seemed that the Campbell Clan was intending to kidnap her and force her into marriage. While in Ireland she learned of their cheese making method, upon her return she created her version of it. This came to be known as Caboc. Since that day, the recipe has been passed on between generations of the family, and only along the females.

There is also a legend surrounding the use of oats on the outside of Caboc. It is believed that a herder was carrying his cheese in a container where he stored oat cakes during the day. The leftover crumbs became attached to the cheese roll. From that day the popularity of this method grew until it became the standard way.