Haggis, neeps and tatties (2024)

FAQs

What are haggis, neeps and tatties made of? ›

While it is eaten all year round, haggis is particularly associated with Burns Night, when it is traditionally served with "neeps and tatties" (Scots: swede, yellow turnip or rutabaga and potatoes, boiled and mashed separately) and a "dram" (i.e. a glass of Scotch whisky).

A traditional haggis recipe describes haggis as "sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver, and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and boiled".

Neeps are what Scots, Irish and a lot of Northern English people call turnips - ie the big orange veg. Others call those a swede. The wee white ones - whether you call those a turnip or not - are not part of a 'neeps and tatties' recipe.

What does haggis taste like? Haggis is like a crumbly sausage, with a coarse oaty texture and a warming peppery flavour. It's most commonly served with neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and washed down with a wee dram of your favourite whisky.

Haggis was always a popular dish for the poor, cheap cuts of nourishing meat that would otherwise have been thrown away.

Haggis is usually quite healthy if eaten traditionally as a main meal as it's accompanied by mashed boiled potatoes and turnips. *Haggis does have a high saturated fat and salt content so people should be mindful of portion sizes.

Haggis tends to be more peppery and has texture. Black pudding doesn't have as much texture and the taste is different. The similarities lay in the type of food. They're both old recipes made with similar byproducts available at the time.

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

Haggis. Haggis is our national dish, and the first recipe dates back to the 15th century (in recorded history).

It's also known as yellow turnip, Swedish turnip and Russian turnip and, in America, rutabaga. In Scotland, where it's known as neeps, swede is the traditional accompaniment to haggis on Burns Night.

What is the most popular vegetable in Scotland? ›

The results of a new survey released forDiabetes Weekhas found that strawberries are Scotland's favourite fruit with 20 per cent of the public vote. The accolade of favourite vegetable goes to broccoli (18 per cent).

Haggis Scotland

When you think of Scottish food, haggis always comes to mind. One of our most traditional and famous dishes is haggis, neeps and tatties, (turnips and potatoes). A delicious combination of meat, oatmeal, onions, salt and spices, haggis is really flavoursome.

How to serve haggis. Serve hot with neeps & tatties and whisky cream sauce. Haggis also works well with leeks or carrots. For pudding, follow your haggis main with our clootie dumpling or another classic Scottish dessert, cranachan.

I don't remember it smelling bad. It's been a long time since I had haggis. It was a bit funky when boiled, then it's cut open. The ghastly, fascinating thing about haggis is the description: Offal cooked in a sheep's stomach.

Black pudding is another traditional Scottish dish that is very similar to haggis as they are both made with the same ingredients: onions, pork fat, oatmeal and spices. Contrary to haggis, black pudding is made from pigs' blood, which holds all the ingredients together.

In Scotland, it is known as turnip, tumshie (also used as a pejorative term for a foolish or stupid person), or neep (from Old English næp, Latin napus). Some areas of south-east Scotland, such as Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, still use the term baigie, possibly a derivative of the Swedish dialectal word rotabagge.

Neeps are a root vegetable, so are similar to a potato in that sense. They can also be used in the same way in soups and as a mash. What is this? The flavour is a little nuttier and sort of buttery, so when roasted they also taste sweeter and can be a bit like butternut squash.

Haggis Scotland

When you think of Scottish food, haggis always comes to mind. One of our most traditional and famous dishes is haggis, neeps and tatties, (turnips and potatoes). A delicious combination of meat, oatmeal, onions, salt and spices, haggis is really flavoursome.

The dish was popularised by Robert Burns in his poem Address To A Haggis. Later, in 1801, when his friends got together to celebrate his life five years after his death, they served haggis in his memory. Since then the unusual food has become the centre of Burns Night.