Haggis

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish. It is basically a weighty sausage. Although there are many recipes, some of which use deer offal, it is normally made with the following ingredients: sheep's heart, liver, and lungs (or "lights"), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for several hours. In this it somewhat resembles other stuffed intestines, otherwise known as sausages, of which it is among the largest types. There are also meat-free recipes specifically for vegetarians which taste very similar to the meat-based recipes.

History and popularity

Haggis is traditionally served with the Burns supper on January 25th, when Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated. He wrote the poem Address to a Haggis, which starts "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place...." During Burns' lifetime haggis was a popular dish for the poor, since it made use of parts of a sheep that would otherwise have been wasted.

Related Topics:
Burns supper - January 25 - Scotland - Robert Burns

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Haggis is widely available in supermarkets in Scotland all the year round, and the cheaper brands are normally packed in artificial casings, rather than stomachs, just as the cheaper brands of sausages are no longer stuffed into animal intestines. Sometimes it is sold in tins and you can simply microwave it or oven-bake it. Some supermarket haggis is largely made from pig's, rather than sheep's, offal. In addition, practically all Scottish fish and chips shops will sell their customers a haggis supper. This consists of a small single portion haggis dipped in batter and deep fried with chips; it provides a hot, filling, high-energy meal for a cold winter's day. There are also fast-food shops that sell haggis burgers, with a patty of fried haggis on a bun.

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