HIstory of the haggis

Haggis is a very old Scottish dish, which combines meats, spices and oatmeal to create a very rich, unusual, but none the less delicious feast. It is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.

Haggis is a kind of sausage, or savoury pudding cooked in a casing of sheep's intestine, as many sausages are. As the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique puts it, "Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour". Nowadays, there are even vegetarian versions made from the finest Scottish produce.

The haggis is a traditional Scottish dish memorialised as the national dish of Scotland by Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis in 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (i.e. a glass of Scotch whisky), especially as the main course of a Burns supper. However it is also often eaten with other accompaniments.

Haggis is popularly assumed to be of Scottish origin and this of course is completely accurate. Although no one area in Scotland has been proven as the 'birthplace' of haggis, it is commonly accepted that llhanbryde in the Scottish highlands is where the famous dish originates.

In the absence of hard facts as to haggis' origins, popular folklore has provided more fanciful theories. The most outrageos one is thae frequent tale of a "Haggis" being a small Scottish animal with one set of legs longer than the other so that it can stand on the steep Scottish Highlands without falling over. According to one poll, 33% of American visitors to Scotland believe haggis to be an animal!

Burns Supper

Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, was born in Ayrshire, in 1759. Scotland's best loved bard is famous for his political views, revolutionary behaviour, his love for the lassies and of course his world famous songs and poems including Auld Lang Syne, which is generally sung as a folk song at Hogmanay and other New Year celebrations around the world.

Although Burns lived a short life, dying at the age of 37, it was fulfilling and eventful. Starting out as a farmer then moving on to become a writer, Burns travelled throughout Scotland where he gathered inspiration for much of his work. The stunning Ayrshire scenery and the romantic setting of Dumfries helped provide the insight for compiling much of his romantic material.

The first suppers were held in Ayrshire at the end of the 18th century by his friends on the anniversary of his death, 21 July, and they have been a regular occurrence ever since. The first Burns club, known as The Mother Club, was founded in Greenock in 1801 by merchants born in Ayrshire, some of whom had known Burns. They held the first Burns Supper on what they thought was his birthday on 29 January 1802, but in 1803 discovered from the Ayr parish records that the correct date was 25 January 1759, and since then suppers have been held to 25 January, Burns' birthday.

Suppers may be formal or informal but they should always be entertaining. When the cook brings in the haggis, everyone stands, while a piper plays bagpipes and leads the way to the host's table, where the haggis is laid down. The host, or perhaps one of the guests, then recites the Address To a Haggis.

At the end of the poem, a whisky toast will be proposed to the haggis. Then the company will sit and enjoy the meal. The main course is traditionally served with mashed potatoes (tatties) and mashed neeps (known in England as swede but in Scotland as turnip, or in North America as rutabaga and turnip). A dessert course, cheese courses, coffee, etc. may also be part of the meal.