O Haggis Of Scotland (Haggis)

Member Name: topsyturvy

Product:	Haggis
Date:	28/01/03 (321 review reads)
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After Burns Night just passing on Saturday I decided to write about the food my country Scotland is famous for, haggis. Haggis is the traditional food for Burns night, the one evening dedicated to the famous Scottish poem where all famous poems are read out and everyone eats haggis, neeps and tatties (those who don't know, haggis, turnip and potatoes). This is the day Robert was born so that is why January 25th is the day we celebrate.

Some people completely hate the taste some love it, mainly the non Scots like it more because it's new to them but being Scottish I don't love it, once a year is enough for me, I only eat it mixed in with the potatoes because it is much nicer, sometimes I find the taste can be spicy. Lots of people will like the taste but they actually don't even know what they're eating, Haggis is a lamb's stomach, as soon as people hear this they won't touch it again but I don't get put off easily because I know every type of meat is made from some animal's body part.

To cook a haggis you cut any tags off it and it will be in a plastic covering of some sort in a sausage shape and then put it in a pan of water. Then the heat is turned up high and you let it boil for an hour. You don't have any tests to know if it is ready or not but you do time it and then hopefully when you cut the sack open it will ooze out.

The haggis is not just plain lamb's stomach it also has spices in the bag and other ingredients to give it a better flavour.

I recently noticed that haggis has had many recipes made from it, there is Americanized haggis, lamb haggis, full blooded haggis etc, these recipes can be seen at www.smart.net/~tak/haggis.html where the recipes are given to cook these. Haggis is not spotted in places all year round but nearer January all of a sudden haggis' attack the supermarkets and it is very easy to buy them, well I know this is true in Scotland.

Some peopl
e in England also celebrate Burns Night and I am sure haggis can be bought there also, I haven't really looked before. With haggis you can use a gravy to make it not so dry because it can be that way. The full dish with turnip, potatoes and haggis is very nice and a perfect traditional Scottish meal.

Although haggis is the traditional food of Scotland, it doesn't mean we eat it every night though.

Haggis is made by stuffing a sheep's or other animal's stomach lining with a minced mixture of the organs (heart, liver, lungs, and so on), onion, suet, oatmeal and seasonings, then boiling the sausage in water for a while.

Haggis recently was known to mean Scandinavian hag meaning to hew or the French hageur - "to cut" or German "hackwurst" meaning minced sausage. If you haven't had haggis you must, I have tried all famous English foods.

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