Surprisingly varied traditional Scottish food and drink

 

Despite its reputation for requiring a certain dash of bravery from its consumers, Scottish food is surprisingly varied.

Yes, you will find the wonderfully controversial 'haggis' on every Scottish menu (and in most chip-shops for that matter) but when it comes to Scottish food, haggis is merely the tip of the iceberg.

Scottish chefs typically combine a variety of seafood and Scottish meat produce such as Aberdeen Angus beef with a number of delicious local vegetables. Fruit is often used to create sauces, purees and sorbets to compliment these largely meat-based meals. Scottish cheese, especially goat's cheese is also a regular feature on Scottish menus.

As a result, Scottish restaurants tend to serve up hearty fare complimented by unique and largely unexpected flavours. Not even the French could turn their noses up at that! If you browse through the menu of the Stac Polly restaurant in Edinburgh, you will be taken aback by the sheer range and diversity of traditional Scottish dishes on offer.

In my opinion, you have not had a truly Scottish experience if you haven't tried the local produce. We might not have 'fois gras' but we have many tasty and memorable 'culinary' delights that you will struggle to find elsewhere. Don't leave Edinburgh without trying them...!

The World Famous Haggis

After years of fooling the English into believing that the haggis was a four-legged creature residing in the haunted valleys of the Scottish Highlands, it was finally revealed that this 'creature' was simply a man-made dish.

Perhaps it was the claim that the haggis had two legs shorter than the others so as to walk in a straight line on the mountain-side that eventually gave the game away...

The reality of the situation is, for some, far more ghastly. The haggis is effectively a sheep's stomach filled with a sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, salt and stock. Cracking! Waste not....want not.

The stomach should simmer for around 3 hours before being sliced open (to the dulcet tones of Robert Burns' poem 'Address To A Haggis') allowing the contents to literally 'spew out'.

Still with me? Eat this surprisingly delicious stew-of-sorts with turnip and potatoes (neeps and tatties) so you can claim to have enjoyed the most traditional Scottish dish of them all.

It will rank alongside other wonderful life-changing moments like passing your driving test and your wedding day. Don't believe me......?

Black Pudding

After conquering the culinary beast that is the haggis, black pudding should be a walk in the proverbial park. Available in every chip shop in Scotland, the black pudding is a local favourite and particularly tasty when drowned in brown fruity sauce.

On entering the 'chippy' simply recite the line, "a black pudding supper please" (black pudding and chips) to warm the cockles of your heart.

What's in it you ask? Well there's no sheep's stomach, I'm afraid. In its place, however, you get pig's blood. Combine that with some fat and oatmeal and you have the humble black pudding.

Of course, Scotland is not the only country where the black pudding lives so it is not strictly Scottish food. However our version is very often covered in batter and deep fried to add a crispy shell. Until you drown it in brown sauce, that is.

So when you order your full Scottish breakfast at 9am on a Sunday morning and the waitress asks, 'mushrooms or black pudding?', you know what to do!