Haggis

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This article is about the Scottish dish. For the card game, see Haggis (card game). For the tour
operator, see HAGGiS Adventures.
Haggis

Haggis displayed for sale
Type
Pudding
Place of origin
Unknown
Main ingredients
Sheep's heart, liver and lungs, and
stomach (or sausage casing); onion,
oatmeal, suet, spices
Cookbook:Haggis Haggis

Haggis on a platter at a Burns supper

A serving of haggis, neeps, and tatties
Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with
onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's
stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is
prepared in a sausage casing rather than an actual stomach.
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".
[1]

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish, considered the national dish of Scotland as a result of
Robert Burns' poem Address to a Haggis of 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and
tatties" (Scots for turnip and potato), boiled and mashed separately and a dram (a glass of Scotch
whisky), especially as the main course of a Burns supper.
Contents
[show]
History and etymology
Haggis is popularly assumed to be of Scottish origin, but there is a lack of historical evidence
that could conclusively attribute its origins to any one place. The first known written recipe for a
dish of the name (as 'hagese'), made with offal and herbs, is in the verse cookbook Liber Cure
Cocorum dating from around 1430 in Lancashire, North West England.
[2]

For hagese'.
e hert of schepe, e nere ou take,
o bowel noght ou shalle forsake,
On e turbilen made, and boyled wele,
Hacke alle togeder with gode persole,
The Scottish poem Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy, which is dated before 1520 (the generally
accepted date prior to the death of William Dunbar, one of the composers), refers to 'haggeis'.
[3]

Thy fowll front had, and he that Bartilmo flaid;
The gallowis gaipis eftir thy graceles gruntill, As thow wald for ane haggeis, hungry gled.
William Dunbar, Flyting of Dunbar and Kennedy
An early printed recipe for haggis appears in 1615 in The English Huswife by Gervase
Markham. It contains a section entitled Skill in Oate meale.
[4]

The use and vertues of these two severall kinds of Oate-meales in maintaining the Family, they
are so many (according to the many customes of many Nations) that it is almost impossible to
recken all; and then proceeds to give a description of oat-meale mixed with blood, and the
Liver of either Sheepe, Calfe or Swine, maketh that pudding which is called the Haggas or
Haggus, of whose goodnesse it is in vaine to boast, because there is hardly to be found a man
that doth not affect them
Gervase Markham, The English Huswife
Food writer Alan Davidson suggests that the Ancient Romans were the first known to have made
products of the haggis type.
[5]
Even earlier, a kind of primitive haggis is referred to in Homer's
Odyssey, in book 20, (towards the end of the eighth century BC) when Odysseus is compared to
"a man before a great blazing fire turning swiftly this way and that a stomach full of fat and
blood, very eager to have it roasted quickly." Haggis was "born of necessity, as a way to utilize
the least expensive cuts of meat and the innards as well."
[6]

Clarissa Dickson Wright claims that it "came to Scotland in a longship [ie. from Scandinavia]
even before Scotland was a single nation."
[7]
Dickson-Wright further cites etymologist Walter
William Skeat as further suggestion of possible Scandinavian origins: Skeat claimed that the
hag element of the word is derived from the Old Norse haggw or the Old Icelandic hoggva
[8]

(hggva in modern Icelandic
[9]
), Modern Scots hag, meaning 'to hew' or strike with a sharp
weapon, relating to the chopped-up contents of the dish. One theory claims that the name
"haggis" is derived from Norman French. This conjecture, however, is discredited by the Oxford
English Dictionary.
[10]

Dickson Wright suggests that haggis was invented as a way of cooking quick-spoiling offal near
the site of a hunt, without the need to carry along an additional cooking vessel. The liver and
kidneys could be grilled directly over a fire, but this treatment was unsuitable for the stomach,
intestines, or lungs. Chopping up the lungs and stuffing the stomach with them and whatever
fillers might have been on hand, then boiling the assembly likely in a vessel made from the
animal's hide was one way to make sure these parts did not go to waste.
[11]

Folklore
In the absence of hard facts as to haggis' origins, popular folklore has provided some theories.
One is that the dish originates from the days of the old Scottish cattle drovers. When the men left
the highlands to drive their cattle to market in Edinburgh the women would prepare rations for
them to eat during the long journey down through the glens. They used the ingredients that were
most readily available in their homes and conveniently packaged them in a sheep's stomach
allowing for easy transportation during the journey. Other speculations have been based on
Scottish slaughtering practices. When a Chieftain or Laird required an animal to be slaughtered
for meat (whether sheep or cattle) the workmen were allowed to keep the offal as their share.
A fiction sometimes maintained is that a haggis is a small Scottish animal with longer legs on
one side, so that it can run around the steep hills of the Scottish Highlands without falling over.
The Hebridean Haggis is "thought" to be the original native species. The Lewis Haggis is
different from the Haggis on the mainland: unlike its mainland relative all its legs are of the same
length.
[12]
According to one poll, 33% of American visitors to Scotland believed haggis to be an
animal.
[13]

Modern usage

Recitation of the poem Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns is an important part of the Burns
supper
Haggis is traditionally served as part of the Burns supper on the week of January 25, when
Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated. Burns wrote the poem Address to a
Haggis, which starts "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!" In
Burns's lifetime haggis was a common dish of the poor as it was nourishing yet very cheap,
being made from leftover parts of sheep otherwise thrown away.
Haggis is widely available in supermarkets in Scotland year-round, with cheaper brands
normally packed in artificial casings, rather than stomachs, just as cheaper brands of sausages are
no longer stuffed into animal intestines. Sometimes haggis is sold in tins or a container which
can simply be microwaved or oven-baked. Some supermarket haggis is largely made from pig,
rather than sheep, offal.
Haggis is often served in Scottish fast-food establishments deep fried in batter. Together with
chips, this comprises a "haggis supper". A "haggis burger" is a patty of fried haggis served on a
bun. A "haggis pakora" is another deep fried variant, available in some Indian restaurants in
Scotland.
Haggis has also been used as a pizza topping launched successfully by Cosmo's Pizzas.
[14]

Since the 1960s various Scottish shops and manufacturers have created vegetarian haggis,
substituting various pulses, nuts and vegetables for the meat in the dish.
Drinks
Scotch whisky is often asserted to be the traditional accompaniment for haggis, though this may
simply be because both are traditionally served at a Burns supper.
Haggis-maker MacSween conducted a taste-test
[15]
which indicated that whisky is a proper
accompaniment, and adds that lighter-bodied, tannic red wines, such as those made from the
Barbera grape, are also suitable, as are strong, powerfully flavoured British Ales.
Outside Scotland

Haggis platter at a Burns Supper in the U.S.

A fictional Wild Haggis Haggis scoticus, next to a prepared specimen, as displayed at the
Glasgow Kelvingrove Gallery
Haggis remains popular with expatriate Scots in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand, owing to the strong influence of Scottish culture, especially for Burns Suppers. It can
easily be made in any country, but is sometimes imported from Scotland. A recipe from the
Canadian province of New Brunswick uses pork and bakes it in a loaf pan.
Since 1971, it has been illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food
containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10 to 15% of the traditional recipe.
[16]
The situation was
further complicated in 1989 when all UK beef and lamb was banned from importation to the US
due to the BSE crisis.
[16]
In 2010, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Agriculture stated
that they were reviewing the ban on beef and lamb products, but the ban on food containing
sheep lung will remain enforced.
[16]

Other uses
Haggis is used in a sport called Haggis Hurling, which involves throwing a haggis as far as
possible. The world record for haggis hurling was achieved by Lorne Coltart on 11 June 2011,
who hurled his haggis 217 feet. This throw surpassed the longstanding previous record of
180 feet 10 inches (55.12 m), held by Alan Pettigrew since 1984.
[17][18]

On October 8, 2008, competitive eater Eric "Steakbellie" Livingston set a world record by
consuming 3 pounds (1.4 kg) of haggis in 8 minutes on WMMR radio in Philadelphia.
[19]

Following his victory in The Masters golf tournament in 1988, Scottish golfer Sandy Lyle chose
to serve haggis at the annual Champions Dinner before the 1989 Masters.
[20]

See also

Food portal
Andouillette
Chireta
Chistorra
Drob, a traditional Romanian dish with an identical recipe
Kaszanka
Kishka
Plsa
Saumagen
Scrapple
Slatur
Soondae
Skirlie
White pudding
Boudin
Weckewerk
References
Notes
1. Jump up ^ Montagn, Prosper (2001). Larousse Gastronomique. p. 592.
2. Jump up ^ "Liber cure Cocorum - A Modern English Translation with Notes, -Based on Richard Morris'
transcription of 1862.".
3. Jump up ^ Dunbar, William; Harriet Harvey Wood (2003). William Dunbar: Selected Poems. Routledge.
p. 18. ISBN 0-415-96943-3.
4. Jump up ^ Markham, Gervase (1631). The English House-wife, Containing the Inward and Outward
Vertues Which Ought to Be in a Compleate Woman (4th Edition). John Harison. p. 240.
5. Jump up ^ Davidson, Alan (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. UK: Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-280681-5.
6. Jump up ^ Andrew Zimmern
7. Jump up ^ Barham, Andrea (2005). The Pedant's Revolt: Why Most Things You Think Are Right Are
Wrong. Michael O'Mara Books Ltd. ISBN 1-84317-132-5.
8. Jump up ^ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, 1996. Retrieved on 29 June 2009
9. Jump up ^ An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Page 309, Richard Cleasby, Gubrandur Vigfsson, George
Webbe Dasent - 1874
10. Jump up ^ "Haggis", etymology in Oxford English Dictionary, second edition, 1989 (on-line). Retrieved
on 29 June 2009
[dead link]

11. Jump up ^ Dickson Wright, Clarissa (1998). The Haggis: A Little History. Pelican Publishing Company.
ISBN 1-56554-364-5.
12. Jump up ^ "Haggis History" thehaggis.com.
13. Jump up ^ "American tourists believe Haggis is an animal", guardian.co.uk, 2003-11-27.
14. Jump up ^ Ranscombe, Peter (2012-01-22). "Scots sell focaccia to Italy and haggis pizzas to Burns
revellers". Scotland on Sunday.
15. Jump up ^ "Drinks with haggis". Retrieved 2009-05-29.
16. ^ Jump up to:
a

b

c
"US not ready to lift ban on Scottish haggis". BBC News. 2010-01-26. Retrieved 2011-
01-19.
17. Jump up ^ "Lorne is haggis world record-breaker". Milngavie Herald(Scotland). Retrieved October 2,
2012.
18. Jump up ^ "Haggis in Sport". Retrieved 2012-10-02.
19. Jump up ^ "International Federation of Competitive Eating". IFOCE. 2008-10-08. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
20. Jump up ^ The Course. The Official Site of the Masters Tournament. Retrieved on 2007-01-08.
External links

Look up haggis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Haggis.

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on
Haggis

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Address to a Haggis
Alton Brown's Haggis Recipe
Belief in the Wild Haggis
How to cook the perfect Burns supper at scotland.org
Haggis, Hail to Thee!
[dead link]
- slideshow by Life magazine
HAGGIS at The Foods Of England
Address to a Haggis in French on YouTube
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