Haggis

Posted by Kalie on October 3, 2009

According to Wikipedia, haggis is “a dish containing 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.”  Now if that doesn’t get your stomach grumbling, I don’t know what will.

A group of friends and I decided to try out this traditional Scottish dish for ourselves.  The venue we chose for this monumental event was The Archibald Simpson pub on Union Street.  We ordered one dish of haggis, complete with tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (turnips), to share between the eight of us.  It was the last dish to arrive.  As I watched everyone else try it, I was slightly relieved to see that nobody ran for the bathroom ready to blow grits.  Then it was my turn.  I reached for the haggis with my fork, drink ready in hand to drown the presumed-awful taste, and ever so slowly brought it closer to my mouth.   The haggis made contact with my taste buds and…it wasn’t that bad.  Really, it wasn’t.  I’m not saying I would ever eat it again, but it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever had.  I would try to explain the taste, but I couldn’t do it justice.  Mostly the texture didn’t agree with me; it was kind of gritty.

All in all, I would say my first (and most probably last) haggis experience was a pleasant one.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but I think it’s an experience everyone visiting Scotland should have.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the plate of haggis, tatties, and neeps was taken from the table with most of the food remaining.

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