Haggis

(For the Canadian film/TV screenwriter, producer and director, see Paul Haggis.)

Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish.

There are many recipes, most of which have in common the following ingredients: sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours.

Haggis somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines otherwise known as chitterlings or the kokoretsi of traditional Greek cuisine), sausages and savoury puddings of which it is among the largest types. 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." (p592)

Most modern commercial haggis outside Scotland is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach. There are also meat-free recipes for vegetarians: these are designed to taste like the meat-based recipes.

It is often asserted (e.g., on the packaging of MacSween's haggis) that the dish is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes; these are boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (ie. a glass of Scotch whisky). However, it might perhaps be more accurate to describe this as the traditional main course of a Burns supper, since on other occasions haggis may be eaten with other accompaniments. Whisky sauce (made from thickened stock and Scotch whisky) has recently been developed as an elegant addition.

History

The haggis is frequently assumed to be Scottish in origin though there is little evidence for this, and food writer Alan Davidson states that the Ancient Romans were the first people known to have made products of the haggis type.^[1] Haggis was "born of necessity, as a way to utilize the least expensive cuts of meat and the innards as well" (Andrew Zimmern). In fact, in times of famine people would eat whatever it was that they could get their hands on, which is how all those fascinating ingredients became a part of Scottish tradition.

Dickson-Wright repudiates the assumption of a Scottish origin for haggis, claiming that it "came to Scotland in a longboat [ie. from Scandinavia] even before Scotland was a single nation." (quoted in Barham 2005:54). Dickson-Wright further cites etymologist Walter William Skeat as further suggestion of possible Scandinavian origins: Skeat claimed that the hag– part of the word is derived from the Old Norse hoggva or the Icelandic haggw, 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. Norman French was more guttural than normal French so that the "ch" of "hachis", i.e. "chopped", was pronounced as a "g" giving "haggis".

Another theory, put forward by food historian Clarissa Dickson Wright, is 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. ^[2]

Folklore

In the absence of hard facts as to haggis' origins, popular folklore has provided more fanciful 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. Although those legends are widely accepted, there is one more that holds more truth to actual Scottish history.

Modern usage

Haggis is traditionally served with the Burns supper on the week of January 25, when Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns, is commemorated. He wrote the poem Ode Tae a Haggis, which starts "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!" During Burns's lifetime haggis was a popular dish for the poor, as it was very cheap, being made from leftover, otherwise thrown away, parts of a sheep (the most common livestock in Scotland), yet nourishing.

Haggis is widely available in supermarkets in Scotland (and in some parts of England) all the 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, which can simply be microwaved or oven-baked. Some supermarket haggis is largely made from pig, rather than sheep, offal.

Haggis is one of several foods, such as pizza, that Scottish fish and chip shops serve 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, and a "haggis bhaji" is another deep fried variant, available in some Indian restaurants in Glasgow. In August 2006, haggis was even used as a pizza topping in the restaurant of the Oak Tree Inn on the banks of Loch Lomond. Higher class restaurants sometimes serve chicken breast stuffed with haggis; haggis can also be used as a substitute for minced beef in various recipes.

Another modern haggis-based dish is 'Flying Scotsman', chicken stuffed with haggis [1].

Since the 1960s various Scottish shops and manufacturers have created vegetarian haggis for those who do not eat meat. These substitute various pulses and vegetables for the meat in the dish. Since both the offal-based and the vegetarian haggis have wide variations in flavour depending on the recipe used, it would be difficult to demonstrate that the two varieties do or do not taste alike.

Drinks with haggis

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. Warren Edwardes of Wine for Spice notes that haggis is spicy and therefore recommends refreshing semi-sparkling wines to drink with haggis with increasing level of sweetness depending in the spiciness of the haggis: whisky, with its high alcohol level, can exaggerate spice rather than complement it. ^[3].

Use outside Scotland

Haggis spread with oat cakes in the U.S.

Haggis is a popular with expatriate Scots due to the strong connotations it has with Scottish culture, especially for Burns Suppers. However, food safety laws in some countries prevent the use of some of the ingredients in haggis (for example, United States law forbids the sale of any animal's lungs for human consumption), necessitating the the use of substitutes.

In 2007, the Scottish Haggis championship was won by a 22 year old Northern Irishman who had only been making the dish for three years. [2]

Entertainment

Haggis is an amusing subject for many people. Along with some other foods associated with a specific country or region (such as Australia's Vegemite, or Scandinavia's salmiakki), it's perceived to be loved in its home country and loathed by the rest of the world.

Many tourists are also duped (or nearly duped) by Scottish pranksters attempting to lead them on a 'Wild Haggis Hunt'. The Scotsman newspaper's web site runs an annual Haggis Hunt [3].

Haggis is also used in a sport called haggis hurling, throwing a haggis as far as possible. The present World Record for Haggis Hurling has been held by Alan Pettigrew for over 22 years. He threw a 1.5 lb Haggis an astonishing 180 feet, 10 inches on the island of Inchmurrin, Loch Lomond, in August 1984.

'Haggis' is an uncommon surname, such as for the screen writer Paul Haggis, known for his work on Million Dollar Baby, Due South, Thirtysomething, the three Jason Bourne movies and other film and television series. In names it may come from Old English, meaning 'a woodsman's hut', and a Lord Haggis rode on the third crusade with Richard the Lionheart.

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.^[4]

Similar dishes

In some ways, the northeastern United States dish scrapple resembles haggis, however scrapple differs in the following ways: it uses pig offal instead of sheep offal and cornmeal instead of oatmeal; it is a meatloaf rather than a sausage; and it is baked instead of being boiled. As a result, the appearance and the flavour vary significantly. So the resemblance lies more in the fact that it is a combination of offal, grain and vegetables than in any specific ingredient or cooking style.

Other similar dishes include:

Bahur, Bulgarian sausage made from rice and pork liver and heart
Balkenbrij from the Netherlands
Bopis from the Philippines, made from pork minus the casing
Boudin, an Acadian/Cajun sausage made with pork offal and rice
Buchada from northeast of Brazil, in which goat's intestines are filled with pieces of liver, heart, blood, etc... cooked then served with white rice.
Camaïot, a Balearic Islands sausage related to sobrassada made from pork offal, coarsely minced, and boiled into pork skin from the leg
Chireta from Aragonese valleys of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and Girella from Catalan valley of Pallars, both made by boiling inside sheep intestines a mixture of rice and sheep offal, mainly lungs and heart
Drob from Romania, made from sheep's organs, mixed with spices and herbs and wrapped in the sheep's stomach (or rarely, in a thin dough), prepared especially for Easter
Gartálg, an intestine and fat dish from the northern Faroe Islands.
Ghammeh (aka kroush), from Lebanon, sheep stomach stuffed with rice, garlic, onions, pine nuts, minced lamb meat and spices, usually served with a soup that has similar ingredients to the fillings.
Hogs Pudding or Groats Pudding from Devon & Cornwall containing oats and spiced pork offal
Jaternica or hurka, from Slovakia. Very similar to Bulgarian Bahur, made with rice and mixed pork bowels.
Kaszanka from Poland, closely resembling haggis despite its very different ingredients of buckwheat and pig's blood
Kepeninė from Lithuania made from animal's (most frequently pig's) liver, lungs and some fat, all that stuffed into pig's large intestines.
Kishka, a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish kosher dish consisting of a mixture of meal,meat and spices stuffed in a beef intestine or a sewn pocket made of poultry neck skin
Knipp (Speise) from Bremen and Lower Saxony, north Germany. Made with any animal leftovers, spiced with salt, pepper and thickened with cereal. Served in either a sausage or in slices usually with fried potatoes and bacon. Tastes exactly the same as Scottish haggis.
Kraujiniai vėdarai from Lithuania, Samogitia made from pig's blood and wheet grains, stuffed into pig's large intestines.
Lungemos (Lungmush) Norway. Similar to haggis. Pork, Beef meat, Lung and Heart. Eaten with Lefse or potatoes, mashed or boiled
Montalayo from Mexico, which is prepared from sheep or goat offal in a manner very similar to haggis
Pölsa from Sweden, made from beef
Saumagen from Western Germany, made with pork
Slátur, an Icelandic cooked sheep's stomachs filled with blood, fat, and liver
Švargl in Croatia and Serbia, made from pork
Tlačenka, from the Czech Republic. Similar to haggis, but from pork.
Tripas from Portugal made from animal's entrails and is served with beans and rice.

References

^ Davidson, Alan (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192806815. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Dickson Wright, Clarissa (1998). The Haggis: A Little History. Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56554-364-5.. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
^ http://winewithhaggis.co.uk Wine With Haggis
^ The Course. The Official Site of the Masters Tournament. Last accessed January 8, 2007.

External links

[1] Davidson, Alan (2006). The Oxford Companion to Food. UK: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192806815. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[2] Dickson Wright, Clarissa (1998). The Haggis: A Little History. Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 1-56554-364-5.. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)

[3] ttp://winewithhaggis.co.uk Wine With Haggis

[4] The Course. The Official Site of the Masters Tournament. Last accessed January 8, 2007.

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