SCOTTISH FOOD
Scottish cuisine has distinctive attributes and recipes, but shares much with British and wider European cuisine as a result of local, regional and continental influences.
Scotland's cornucopia of vegetables, fruit, oats, seafood, dairy and game is the chief factor in traditional Scottish cooking. Notably simple flavors and minimal seasoning, without the rare and historically expensive spices found abroad.
Pigs were seen as an unlucky animal in many coastal areas and were neither kept, nor consumed in these areas up until the early 1900s.
As Scotland was a feudal state for a greater part of the second millennium there were certain restrictions on what one was allowed to hunt, therefore to eat. In the halls of the great men of the realm, one could expect venison, boar, various fowl and songbirds, expensive spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon, etc.), and the meats of domesticated species.
Before Sir Walter Raleigh's introduction of the potato to the British Isles, the Scots' main source of carbohydrate was bread made from oats or barley. Wheat was generally difficult to grow because of the damp climate.
All parts of an animal were used. Hence the Haggis. The mobile nature of Scots society in the past also required food that should not spoil quickly and be easy to travel. It was common to carry a small bag of oatmeal that could be transformed into a basic porridge or oatcakes using a girdle (griddle). It is thought that haggis originated in a similar way: a small amount of offal carried in the most inexpensive bag available, a sheep or pig's stomach.
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BREAKFAST
Dundee Marmalade
Dundee Marmalade was created in 1797 in the Scottish city of Dundee. Originally produced by James Keiller and his wife, this preserve was distinguished by thick chunks of bitter Seville orange rind.
According to a Scottish legend, orange marmalade was created in Britain by accident. The tale tells of a boat carrying a cargo of oranges that broke down in Dundee port. This resulted in some locals making marmalade out of the cargo.
Parrich (Porridge)
You’ll never be stuck for a hearty breakfast in Scotland, with porridge oats being one of our best-loved ingredients.
It's the simplest Scottish dish to prepare, made using oats with water or milk. You can top it with whatever you like - often people use sugar, honey or fruit - but for a traditional Scottish treat, try mixing in some double cream or a splash of whisky!
Tattie scone
The tattie scone - or potato scone is a beloved part of any full Scottish fry-up.
Combining just a few ingredients - mashed potatoes, butter and flour - the humble tattie scone is as simple as it is versatile.
It's best served grilled or fried with a knob of melted butter or dipped into something dribbly like a poached egg or baked beans.
Full Scottish Breakfast
In Scotland, a full breakfast shares the same ingredients as a full English breakfast: eggs, back bacon, link sausage, baked beans, buttered toast, and tea or coffee.
However, it can also include distinctive Scottish additions like black pudding, Lorne sausage and a tattie scone.
Bacon Butty
The Scottish bacon butty is oh so simply delicious it should be a crime if you don’t eat every last morsel.
The sandwich has a generous number of rashers of the finest locally grown bacon on a freshly baked white roll, smothered in butter.
Finished with a generous drizzle of tomato sauce or brown sauce - the finishing touch.
Aberdeen Buttery Rowie
A Buttery Rowie, also known as Aberdeen roll, is a savoury bread roll originating from the Scottish city of Aberdeen.
They have a flaky texture and buttery taste, similar to a croissant, but slightly saltier. It’s common to spread jam or butter on them and eat alongside a cup of tea. The high-fat content inside makes them extremely hot when toasted.
The Rowie is a pillar of working-class cuisine and was traditionally eaten for breakfast by workers and fishermen, this is because they needed a food source which wouldn’t get stale during the weeks they were out at sea. The high-fat content also provided a valuable energy source.
Lorne sausage
The Lorne sausage, also known as square sausage, or slice is a traditional Scottish food item made from minced meat, rusk and spices.
Although termed a sausage, no casing is used to hold the meat in shape, hence it is usually served as square-shaped slices from a formed block. It is a common component of the traditional Scottish breakfast as below with Black Pudding, baked beans and fried bread.
MAINS
Haggis
‘Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o the puddin’-race! Aboon them a’ye tak your place’. Address to a Haggis by Scotland’s beloved poet Robert Burns sums up how highly regarded haggis is in Scotland.
Scotland's national dish is made of sheep’s pluck (liver, lungs, and heart) minced with spices, salt, oatmeal, suet and onion inside a lining of the animal’s stomach (nowadays it can be artificial). Intestines aside, this delicacy is utterly divine.
Haggis might not sound particularly appetising, but one taste of this Scottish comfort food dish and you'll be hooked.
Myth and speculation has led many (Scots included) to think that the haggis is an actual living, breathing animal, sadly there's no such thing as a friendly little haggis.
It's best served with neeps and tatties (swede and potatoes), and a splash of creamy whisky sauce for an authentic Scottish dinner.
Scottish salmon
Scottish seafood is amongst the best in the world and Scottish salmon is no exception - it's known for its moist, smooth texture and rosy colour and it's at its best served simply with pan-fried green vegetables.
Neeps and tatties
Although typically served with haggis, neeps and tatties are featured in many Scottish dishes. Just to clarify, ‘neeps’ are turnips and ‘tatties’ are potatoes.
If you add butter and chives to the mix, you get clapshot (a dish that originated from Orkney). In Scotland, neeps and tatties go together like peas and carrots.
Bangers and mash
A generous lump of butter and milk are typically added to make the mashed potatoes that much fluffier.
Bangers (or sausages) in Scotland are second to none. Expect to find locally raised meat of the highest quality. Some have more exotic flavours, such as apple or venison mixed in as well. It is a classic.
Grouse
This prize bird inhabits the moorlands of Britain, with many residing all across Scotland.
Grouse is a delicacy, especially after the Glorious Twelfth each year (providing the shooting season goes smoothly and adheres to schedule). This dish receives rave reviews and is typically tender with a mild, gamey taste.
Black pudding
To those who are unfamiliar with traditional Scottish cuisine, black pudding tends to fall into the same category as haggis.
Black pudding is a distinct regional type of blood sausage. It is made from pork or beef blood, pork fat or beef suet, and oatmeal, oat groats or barley groats.
The high proportion of cereal, along with the use of certain herbs such as pennyroyal, serves to distinguish black pudding from blood sausages eaten in other parts of the World
Scotch pie
This wee pie may be small, but that doesn’t take away from its flavour. The double crust makes for the most perfect pie taste.
A Scotch pie can be served hot or cold, and has a filling of minced mutton or other meat. Every year, butchers and bakers from far and wide compete for the honourable title of World Scotch Pie Champion.
Stovies
In Scots, to “stove” something is to stew it. Stovies is a dish based on potatoes, usually with fat onions and often with other vegetables and pieces of meat added.
The potatoes are slow stewed in a closed pot with fat or butter and often a small amount of water or milk, stock or meat jelly. Stovies may be served accompanied by cold meat or oatcakes and, sometimes, with pickled beetroot.
Traditional comfort food, stovies are the ultimate pick-me-up dish
Bridie pies
Originating from Forfar in Scotland, the bridie pie is said to be named after a travelling food seller, Margaret Bridie, who sold them during the mid-19th century.
Deliciously more-ish, they resemble the pastie in shape and concept but are surprisingly similar in taste and texture to a plain sausage roll.
Before being baked, the bridie's filling is placed on pastry dough, which is then folded into a semi-circular or triangular shape; finally, the edges are crimped.
If the baker pokes one hole in the top of a bridie, this indicates that it is plain, or without onions; two holes means that it does contain onions.
Rumbledethumps
Rumblethumps is a traditional dish from the Scottish Borders. The main ingredients are sautéd potato, cabbage and onion with cheddar cheese and baked till golden.
Similar to English bubble and squeak, it is either served as an accompaniment to a main dish or as a main dish itself.
Crappit Heid
Crappit heid was a favourite midday or evening meal amongst those communities and was made from the head of a large cod or similar sized fish, washed, descaled and then stuffed with a mixture of oats, suet, onion, white pepper and the fish’s liver.
This was then sewn or skewered to close the aperture and boiled in seawater. The cooked dish would then be served with potatoes or other root vegetables in season.
In Gaelic it is known as ceann-cropaig. Its origins can be traced to the fishing communities of the North, Hebrides and North-Eastern Scotland in the eighteenth century.
In a time when money was scarce, the more expensive fish fillets, such as cod or haddock, would be sold to market, however the offal and less attractive parts were retained by the fisherfolk for the pot.
Clapshot
Clapshot is a traditional Scottish dish that originated in Orkney and may be served with haggis, oatcakes mince, sausages or cold meat.
It is created by mashing swede turnips and potatoes (neeps and tatties) with chives, butter or dripping, salt and pepper; some versions include onions.
SOUPS AND STEWS
Cabbie Claw or Cabelew
Cabbie claw is a traditional dish from the northeast of Scotland or Orkney. It is traditionally made using speldings, young fish, such as cod, haddock or whiting and served in white sauce with chopped egg white in it.
Leek and tattie soup
Leek and tattie soup is the sort of food that will be served when you visit grandma for lunch.
Even though this soup seems modest, it is served at Burns Suppers (an important cultural event where Scots congregate to celebrate poet Robert Burns and his brilliant works).
Cold from the unpredictable Scottish weather? This will warm you right up.
Cullen skink
A creamy and delicious Scottish soup, cullen skink combines smoked salmon, onions and potatoes.
Often served as a restaurant starter, it's the perfect dish to warm you from the inside should a somewhat unpredictable weather decide to take a turn for the worse.
It absolutely should be mopped up with bread so you can get every last drop.
Scotch Broth or Hotch-Potch
This is a rich stock made from boiling mutton (lamb), beef and marrow-bone. A range of vegetables are then added which have been cut into squares.
A handful of barley is usually also added to stock it up. Scotch broth is a thick soup that should be served piping hot.
Colcannon
This is a traditional dish found on the Western Isles of Scotland. It is made from boiled cabbage, carrots, turnip and potatoes. This dish is a cross between a soup and a stew.
Cock-a-leekie Soup
Cock-a-leekie soup is "Scotland's National Soup" the dish consisting of leeks and peppered chicken stock often thickened with rice or barley.
The original recipe added prunes during cooking, and traditionalists still garnish with a julienne of prunes.
The first recipe was printed in 1598, though the name "cock-a-leekie" did not come into use until the 18th century.
Partan bree
Partan bree is a seafood soup speciality from north-eastern Scotland, where much of the country's fishing fleet is based.
Its name derives from its ingredients, partan being the Gaelic and Scots for crab and bree a Scots term for soup. Crab and rice are used as main ingredients.
Powsowdie
Powsowdie is a specialty dish in Edinburgh - a Scottish sheep's-head broth or soup.
Traditional preparation of the soup includes sheep’s trotters as an ingredient. Dried peas and barley can also be used as additional ingredients.
Powsowdie is less popular and less known now. It was more prominent during times when "all parts of an animal were used in cooking and nothing was wasted.
CHEESE
Arran Cheddar
This cheese is made on the Isle of Arran and has a sweet and buttery taste.
Caboc
Caboc is Scotland’s oldest cheese. It is a Scottish cream cheese, made with double cream or cream-enriched milk.
This rennet-free cheese is formed into a log shape and rolled in toasted pinhead oatmeal - served with oatcakes or dry toast.
Crowdie
Traditionally made for domestic use by crofters and smallholders in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, using milk from the family cow, Its origins date as far back as the Viking era and possibly even earlier to the time of the Picts.
This is a simple white cheese that is generally understood to refer to a type of soft, fresh Scottish curd cheese made from slightly soured cows' milk. This is then seasoned with salt and pepper.
The crowdie is finally rolled in oats before serving.
Bannocks (or Oatcakes)
This is a savoury biscuit made from barley and oat flour. It is traditionally cooked on a griddle. This is now a common accompaniment to cheese.
SWEETS
Clootie Dumpling
A clootie also cloutie; from the Scots word cloot or clout is a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; or item of clothing; it can also refer to fabric used in the patching of clothes or the making of clootie mats
A traditional pudding called clootie dumpling is made with flour, breadcrumbs, dried fruit (currants, raisins, sultanas), suet, sugar and spices with some milk to bind it, and sometimes golden syrup.
Ingredients are mixed well into a dough, then wrapped up in a floured cloth, placed in a large pan of boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours before being lifted out and dried near the fire or in an oven.
Similar in taste to Christmas pudding, the clootie dumpling usually contains dried fruit, spices, and suet, and is served warm with a good dollop of custard or clotted cream.
Tipsy Laird
Tipsy laird is a trifle made for decoration as well as taste, incorporating the bright, layered colours of the fruit, jelly, jam, and the contrast of the creamy yellow custard and white cream with a liberal addition of Drambuie or whisky.
Often served at Christmas – otherwise known as tipsy cake.
Cranachan
Described as the king of Scottish desserts, cranachan combines the richness of cream, the tart sweetness of raspberries and the earthy umami flavour of oats to create the perfect dessert.
It’s also found with many different types of flavour. With whisky, chocolate and orange varieties available, you could have cranachan again and again and not have the same experience twice.
Dundee cake
A traditional Scottish fruit cake. often made with currants, sultanas and almonds; sometimes, fruit peel may be added to it.
The original development of the cake began in Dundee in the late 1700s in the shop of Janet Keiller
It was mass-produced by the marmalade company Keiller's marmalade who have been claimed to be the originators of the term "Dundee cake". .
A popular story is that Mary Queen of Scots did not like glacé cherries in her cakes, so the cake was first made for her, as a fruit cake that used blanched almonds and not cherries.
The top of the cake is typically decorated with concentric circles of almonds.
Black Bun
Black Bun is actually a fruit cake made with raisins, currants, mixed peel, almonds, brown sugar and ginger.
It is called Black Bun due to being a very dark coloured cake. If cooked correctly the cake should stick the knife when cut.
Shortbread
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish treat, originally created from leftover bread dough known as biscuit bread. By slowly removing the yeast and replacing it with butter, you’re left with a much sweeter biscuit.
1736 saw the first printed recipe of this wonderful invention which is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea.
The Scots present shortbread when they ‘first foot’ at Hogmanay or as a gift at Christmas.
It’s believed that Mary Queen of Scots was a big fan and helped spread the popularity of it.
Whisky Ice Cream
On a rare sunny day in Scotland, you can’t beat the combination of scotch whisky and ice cream.
Using locally-sourced double cream and a generous dose of single malt scotch whisky, you can enjoy the cooling down sensation of the ice cream followed by the distinctive and uplifting notes of a high-quality whisky.
Tunnochs Tea Cakes
These teacakes are a national treasure and are often served with a cup of tea or coffee.
They consist of a small round shortbread biscuit, topped with hand-piped meringue and coated in milk chocolate.
After being created in 1956 these teacakes have become famous sweets in the UK and a great choice to have when inviting guests over for a cuppa.
Edinburgh Rock
Edinburgh Rock is a confection that’s quite different from conventional rock candy. It contains sugar, water, cream of tartar, colourings and flavourings.
The texture is soft and crumbly and is usually formed into sticks to be sold.
Alexander Ferguson created Edinburgh Rock and during the 19 th century, taking his knowledge from working in the Glasgow confectionary trade to Edinburgh.
Scottish tablet
Tablet is a braw choice when it comes to Scottish treats. Imagine sugar, condensed milk and butter that have been cooked together until crystalised.
The result is a wee piece of Scottish heaven.
Even whisky can be found in some tablets.
This delectable confection is made all over Scotland.
Ecclefechan Butter Tart
Ecclefechan is a little Scottish border town and the place where this recipe originated. It''s been around for a very long time and is still popular. Only good recipes last 100 years!
Sometimes known as “Border Tarts” they're made with melted butter, brown sugar, egg, walnuts, currants and white vinegar. The mixture is spooned into tart shells and baked. It can also be made as one single larger pie. How light, or dark, the tarts are depends on whether dark or light brown sugar was used.
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Battered Mars Bar
Only the Scots could conjure up such a delight. Venture to any of the chippies in Scotland and ask for a battered Mars Bar: they won’t even bat an eyelid.
The chocolate bar is battered and placed in the deep fryer; voila; out appears a chocolatey, melted, sweet, beautiful dessert.
The batter does a fine job of keeping the chocolate contained. However, once it is pierced with that first bite, there is no going back.
The melted goodness oozes out and sparks a rush of endorphins.
Irn-Bru
Irn-Bru is the national hangover cure of Scotland. This ginger-coloured carbonated soft drink is made in Glasgow by A.G. Barr.
It’s well-known for its bright orange colour and unusual super-sweet taste.
Irn-Bru has a strong following of fans who consume their favourite beverage on a regular basis.
Scotched egg
The Scotched egg is not Scottish. It was created first at Fortnum & Mason in 1738 for Londoners travelling to their country homes. Today, the Scotch egg has seen a huge revival in popularity, emerging from the shadows of service stations to become a farmer's market staple or indulgent gastropub bite.
