Island Life Magazine Ltd February / March 2016 | Page 99

FOOD

Sugar & spice
T

hey might have appeared on
supermarket shelves pretty
much as soon as the Christmas
decorations came down, but for many of
us, those glossy-topped hot cross buns
will always be best savoured exclusively
as a pre-Easter treat.
The delicious spicy, fruity bun topped
with its distinctive cross decoration was
traditionally eaten in the UK only on the
few days between Shrove Tuesday and
Good Friday, to mark the end of Lent,
the Christian Church’s 40-day period of
fasting.
As well as the symbolism of Christ’s
crucifixion being represented by the
cross on top of the bun, the spices that
produce its distinctive flavour (cinnamon,
nutmeg, allspice, and cloves) were also

symbolic in reminding Christians of the
spices that were used to anoint the body
of Jesus.
Traditionally, they would have been
eaten hot straight from the oven, or
deliciously toasted.
Whilst there’s some evidence of hot
cross buns being eaten as far back as
the reign of Elizabeth I, the first definite
record of them comes