What
is a Haggis?
Haggis
is an amusing subject for many people. Those who ask a Scotsman
about it rarely get a straight answer. A common reply to
the question "What is a haggis?" often goes along
the following lines. "A haggis is a small four-legged
Scottish Highland creature, which has the limbs on one side
shorter than the other side. This means that it is well
adapted to run around the hills at a steady altitude, without
either ascending or descending. However a haggis can easily
be caught by running around the hill in the opposite direction."
Surprisingly, this humorous myth is believed by many tourists,
and thus they are shocked — and possibly disappointed
— to hear the truth.
Many tourists are also duped (or nearly duped) by Scottish
pranksters attempting to lead them on a 'Wild Haggis Hunt'.
Ok so What is it REALLY?
Haggis
is a traditional Scottish dish. Although there are many
recipes, it is normally made with 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 an hour.
It somewhat resembles stuffed intestines (pig intestines
otherwise known as chitterlings), sausages and savoury puddings
of which it is among the largest types. Most modern commercial
haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.
There are also meat-free recipes specifically for vegetarians
which supposedly taste similar to the meat-based recipes.
Haggis is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties"
(Scots: turnip and potatoes), each of these being mashed,
separately. (The "neep" is the yellow vegetable
called 'swede' in England and 'rutabaga' in the United States.)
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