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Haggis

Haggis

Specialised

Sheep’s pluck — heart, liver and lungs — minced with oatmeal, onion, suet and spice, and boiled in the stomach lining. ⚠ NOT A JOKE AND NOT PARTICULARLY UNUSUAL: it is a pudding of the same family as many European offal puddings, and its point is that it uses the whole animal on the day of slaughter, when the offal will not keep. ⚠ THE ORIGIN IS DISPUTED: similar dishes are recorded in England, in Scandinavia and as far back as classical literature, and the first known recipes in English are in an English source; the claim that it is English in origin is argued and contested. What is not disputed is that Scotland made it a NATIONAL SYMBOL, through Burns. ⚠ Also: sheep lung is banned in food in the United States, so American haggis is a different product by law.

Atlas — where and when

Communities and languages

  • Scots community documented

Languages: Scots, English

What is recorded

  • Offal puddings of the haggis family are recorded in England, in Scandinavia and in classical literature, and the earliest known recipes in English appear in an English source, so the claim of English origin is argued and contested. Scotland’s adoption of haggis as a national symbol, largely through Burns, is not in dispute. Sheep lung is prohibited in food in the United States, making American haggis a legally different product. disputed

Related foodways

This foodway relates to

  • related to English Foodways disputed

    Offal puddings of this family are recorded in England and in Scandinavia, and the earliest known recipes in English are in an English source. The origin is contested; the national symbolism is Scottish and undisputed.

Recipes

No recipes are filed under this cuisine yet.