Edinburgh Expert Walking Tours
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Walking Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Tours
    • Fixed Route Walking Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
      • Close Encounters Self Guided Audio Trail
  • Meet Your Guide
  • Book a Tour Online
    • Gift Cards
    • Tour Pricing
    • FAQs
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive
  • Home
  • Private Edinburgh Walking Tours
    • Customised Edinburgh Tours
    • Fixed Route Walking Tours >
      • Royal Mile Tour
      • New Town Tour
      • Old and New Towns Tour
      • Beyond the World's End Tour
      • Close Encounters Self Guided Audio Trail
  • Meet Your Guide
  • Book a Tour Online
    • Gift Cards
    • Tour Pricing
    • FAQs
  • Blog
    • Blog Archive

EDINBURGH EXPERT WALKING TOURS - BLOG

A Scottish Trinity: Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

22/1/2018

 
PictureEdinburgh's Robert Burns Memorial
We're just a couple of days from one of Scotland's biggest annual cultural events -  Burns Night commemorates and celebrates the life and work of Robert Burns, Scotland's national bard, or poet.

​(In Scotland another word for poet is 'makar', and in 2004 the Scottish Parliament introduced the formal title of Scots Makar for a national poet. The current Scots Makar is Jackie Kay, but the two previous holders have been Liz Lochhead and Edwin Morgan.)

​Burns remains one of Scotland's great cultural figures, and on 25th January each year - Burns' date of birth - dinners are held to consume traditional dishes and recite Burns' poetry. The highlight of such occasions is the traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties - a veritable Scottish trinity of foodstuffs!

Picture
​Although these days visitors often seek a 'gourmet' version of haggis, the dish originated as a dish suited to the lifestyle and means of shepherds, combining cheaply available ingredients and a form which allowed it to be transported. The liver, heart and lungs of a sheep - known as the 'pluck' - are minced with suet, oats and spices, and stuffed into a casing to enclose it.

​Originally the casing would have been a sheep's stomach or similar, today they are generally stuffed into synthetic casings. The effect was to create a bulbous sausage, something which could be stuffed into the belongings of the shepherd as he trailed his charges across the exposed Highland landscapes, and which could then be taken out, boiled over a fire, and then sliced open to eat the spicy contents.

​Today, haggis is often served in different forms, deep fried in small balls as a bar snack, grilled as part of a cooked breakfast, stuffed into chicken to create Chicken Balmoral (after Queen Victoria's Highland estate), or even - purists should avert their gaze now - crumbled onto pizzas...!

​Burns himself wrote an 'Address to a Haggis', which is recited at Burns' suppers as the haggis is brought into the dining room - often accompanied by bagpipes! - in which he describes it as "Great chieftain o' the Puddin-race" - the king of pies and puddings!

​At such events the haggis is generally served with the other two staples of the dish, neeps and tatties. Neeps are mashed swede - a Swedish form of turnip, 'neeps' a shortening of 'turneeps' - which is much more golden and yellow than ordinary turnip. Boiled and mashed roughly with butter and salt, it's a rich and sweet vegetable dish. Tatties, then, are simply mashed potatoes - together the three elements don't offer a hugely varied palate of textures, but they do accompany each other well in terms of flavour!

​A sauce may be added - whisky or pepper sauce is a good match - but for most people a liberal knob of butter is enough, without detracting from the rich flavour of the haggis itself.

​In recent years the haggis has achieved a kind of mythical status, partly as a result of its scarcity in some  parts of the world - the use of sheep lung as an ingredient put it beyond the limits of American health regulations, making it illegal to import or produce commercially in the United States. 

Most surprisingly of all, considering the haggis is uniquely associated with Scottish culture today, some historians and food experts now believe the haggis to have been invented in England originally, before being 'exported' to Scotland!

​Whatever its origins, and however it's served, be sure to try to sample this iconic dish sometime during your visit to Scotland...

​Book a private tour and get my top tips on where to go to try haggis during your stay in Edinburgh!


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    Author

    Edinburgh Expert Walking Tours is run by Gareth, an adopted native of Edinburgh, with over 20 years experience of living and working in the city...


    Search the blog archive...

    Categories

    All
    Around Town
    A To Z Of Edinburgh
    City Of Literature
    Edinburgh History
    Edinburgh Local Heroes
    Edinburgh's Graveyards
    Expert Advice
    Local Flavour
    New Town
    Old Town
    Scottish History

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

Picture
Picture

EDINBURGH TOURS

Customised Edinburgh Tours
Royal Mile Walking Tour
​New Town Walking Tour
Old and New Towns Tour
​Beyond the World's End Tour
Self Guided Audio Trail

BOOK A TOUR ONLINE

Book an Edinburgh Tour
Gift Cards
Edinburgh Tour Pricing
​Terms and Conditions

Support & CONTACT

+44 (0) 131 235 2351
gareth@edinburghexpert.com
Meet Your Tour Guide

​FAQ
Picture
Featured on KAYAK Travel Guides
© COPYRIGHT GARETH DAVIES ​2014-21