Word of the Day

: October 29, 2006

bonnyclabber

noun BAH-nee-klab-er

What It Means

: sour milk that has been thickened or curdled

bonnyclabber in Context

When Grandma was a little girl, one of her jobs was to feed the bonnyclabber to the chickens.

Did You Know?

In Irish Gaelic, "bainne clabair" means "thickened milk." In English, the equivalent word is "bonnyclabber." Whether or not this bonnyclabber is "the bravest, freshest drink you ever tasted" (as the English Earl of Strafford enthused in 1635) or "would make a hungry parson caper" (to quote English poet Thomas Ward in 1716), it has been a part of country folks' diets for many a year. Today, you might see "bonnyclabber" as a recommended substitute for buttermilk in a recipe for Irish soda bread (complete with directions for making your own bonnyclabber). The American version of bonnyclabber, brought to U.S. shores by Scots-Irish immigrants, often goes one step further in the thickening process, to produce something more akin to cottage cheese.