Haggis, Scotland's National Dish

The national dish of Scotland is Haggis. It is a wonderful, tasty dish which uses sheep’s offal(the bits nowadays often discarded; lungs, hearts, liver). The cooked minced offal is mixed with suet, oatmeal, seasoning and encased in the sheep’s stomach. Once stitched up, the stuffed stomach is boiled for up to three hours.

If the thought of cooking the animal parts is off-putting, there are commercial haggis available, the best known (including a vegetarian version) from Charles MacSween & Son in Edinburgh.

The Haggis was immortalized by the poet Robert Burns in his Address to the Haggis in the 18th century and celebrated in Scotland and throughout the world on Burns Night, January 25th, in memory of the Scottish poet. It is eaten with Tatties (mashed potatoes) and Neeps (turnip or swede) alongside other Scottish favorites Cock-a-Leekie (vegetable) Soup and Crannachan, a dessert made from raspberry, toasted oatmeal and cream.

And to drink…

Top of the list is Scotch whisky followed by acidic red wines and strong, dark beers.

Address to a Haggis, Robert Burns

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