Traditional Scots recipes handed down through generations will be compiled in a new book.

Scottish chef and food enthusiast Shirley Spear has appealed for families across the country to dig out their favourite recipes in a bid to save them from being lost forever.

The food lover teamed up with VisitScotland in Glasgow's Willow Tearooms today to launch the one-off book called You'll have had yer tea? - Treasured Tastes of Scotland.

Whether it's a plate of mince and tatties devoured after a game of hide and seek in a Glasgow tenement; or a comforting bowl of Scotch broth following a bracing walk along the Fife coast - the national tourism organisation wants to highlight the places and people behind the country's favourite family meals.

As a lasting legacy of the Year of Food and Drink 2015, a special number of the delicious memories will be compiled in the recipe book.

The book, due to be published later in year, will take readers on a culinary journey from the shores of Shetland all the way down to the rolling hills of the Scottish Borders.

Shirley, owner of The Three Chimneys in Skye, said: "We all have these food memories that instantly transport us back to a precious time in our lives.

"Treasured Tastes of Scotlans will provide a voice for these recipes and the stories behind them from all over the country so that people both now and in the future are inspired to visit Scotland and sample its amazing local produce.

"I'm very much looking forward to reading the entries and hope that as many people as possible will take part in this nationwide search."

Malcolm Roughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: "Everyone has a delicious unforgettable meal they remember and invariably it is as a result of the food, company and setting. My personal favourite is my mum's stovies, made with fresh lamb from Stirling market.

"I can still remember the smell of it bubbling away on the stove in our kitchen in Stenhousemuir. It instantly takes me back to Saturday dinner in the Winter after we'd spent the afternoon watching the football."

Recipes must be submitted along with a treasured story about the location or circumstances behind the meal. Entries can be sent either online on the dedicated webpage or by post.

Entries can be submitted until July 3, 2015.

For more information or to submit your Treasured Taste visit: www.visitscotland.org/Treasured-Taste.aspx