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FOOD FOR THOUGHT

People are just realising they’ve been spelling Scottish breakfast favourite wrong for years – and they’re not happy

But the real reason was actually a clever ploy

WHEN it comes to Scottish breakfast classics, nothing is up there as much as porridge.

The morning meal staple has been getting people ready for their day for centuries.

Bowl of steel-cut oatmeal.
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Porridge has been a breakfast favourite for centuriesCredit: Getty
Oatmeal topped with strawberries, blueberries, and walnuts in a bowl.
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The Scots dish is consumed worldwideCredit: Getty

And the oat-based dish is said to have been invented thousands of years ago.

It has been around for so long you can imagine the surprise when people realised they were spelling one of the most popular porridge brands WRONG.

Scott's Porage Oats has been a common sight on breakfast tables since 1880.

The brand took on its current name over 120 years ago in 1914.

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But the eagle-eyed reader would have clocked how we spelled its name above.

No it's not a typo, but instead the correct spelling for the brand.

Scott's don't spell it porridge, but rather "porage".

And food fans were blown away by the realisation.

A post on the Facebook page Very British Problems revealed the scale of the amazement.

One person shared an image of the iconic packaging featuring the kilted Scotsman.

I tried to make a Christmas candle but it was a total fail and ended up looking like porridge

They said: I’ve been eating this for years and I’ve only just noticed it’s spelled “porage”.

And others quickly shared their amazement.

One person replied: ""Just had to get mine out of the cupboard to check."

Another wrote: "I've just checked my stash (3 boxes ATM) and yes!

Illustration of Scott's Porridge Oats packaging featuring a man in a kilt.
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The spelling of Scott's Porage Oats has people talkingCredit: Alamy
Scott's Porridge Oats box.
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People are just realising they are getting it wrongCredit: Handout

"Now I'm going to check Morrisons online search spelling (Dull I know)."

But one user went to extra lengths to make sure it was right, admitting: "You think that's bad. I read this while in Tesco and actually went to the cereal aisle to check."

A fourth person wrote: "What? I buy it all the time and never noticed."

And a fifth said:  "It's always been like that. Since 1914. And I've never noticed. Astonishing. And somehow deeply disturbing."

Some people offered up suggestions that it might be the Scottish spelling of the word.

But the real answer was actually a clever ploy by bosses at the firm.

They decided it would be a good move to change the spelling of their brand to stand out from the competition.

So they started spelling it as porage.

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It was a combination of porridge and potage - a French word for thick soup.

And 120 years later, the name has stuck, and Scott's is still one of the most successful brands.

A bowl of steaming porridge and a mug of tea on a table.
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Porridge has been around for centuriesCredit: Getty
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