Haggis

Haggis is Scotland's national dish. Traditionally it is sheep's heart, liver and lungs minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices and salt, mixed with stock and simmered in the sheep's stomach lining for several hours. It is most commonly served at a Burns Supper, on or around 25 January, to mark the birthday of the poet Robert Burns.

At a Burns Supper the haggis is piped in on a silver platter to the table. The host then recites Burns's poem Address to a Haggis — eight verses written in Lowland Scots that praise the dish, mock the French and English alternatives, and ask the Lord to keep Scotland fed with haggis. At the line "His knife see rustic Labour dight" the host draws a knife and cuts the haggis open, and the rich steam rises.

Burns's praise (in the original Scots): "Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, / Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! / Aboon them a' ye tak your place, / Painch, tripe, or thairm: / Weel are ye wordy o' a grace / As lang's my arm." In plain English: an honest, friendly face — the great chieftain of the pudding race — taking pride of place over all the other innards, well worth a long grace.

Haggis is traditionally served with neeps (mashed swede) and tatties (mashed potato), and washed down with whisky. Vegetarian and even halal versions exist today. ScottEst hosts Burns Suppers each year — see the Burns Supper page on this site, and the haggis recipe on the Estonian version of this article.