Here’s a list of traditional food from Scotland that you could try on your next trip. Scottish cuisine is unique and quite exciting to explore with savory dishes that are heartwarming.
Haggis
Haggis is a traditional dish in Scottish cuisine comprising a savory pudding. The key ingredients of the pudding are sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs minced with onion, oatmeal, various spices, suet, and salt.
All the ingredients are traditionally enclosed in the animal’s stomach before the whole assembly is cooked in meat stock. Haggis has a notably nutty texture with a delicious, savory taste.
It is usually served with a side of neeps and tatties that are boiled and mashed separately. Scotch whiskey is also considered the perfect companion for Haggis. Haggis is also produced in kosher and vegetarian variants as well.
Neeps and Tatties
Neeps and Tatties is a simple Scottish dish that is almost always paired with Haggis. It comprises of a simple mixture of swedes, potatoes, sea salt, white pepper, olive oil, and butter.
The ingredients are simply boiled together and stirred from time to time. Swedes are cooked first and potatoes are generally added towards the end as they cook relatively quickly.
The whole mixture is then mashed before being served warm as a side dish of Haggis. While Haggis is considered an obvious accompaniment, Neeps and Tatties may be served on their own as well.
The Full Scottish
A Full Scottish is a full breakfast menu that is very popular in Scotland. The name comes from The Full English breakfast which is very similar. The Full Scottish usually comprises of eggs, bacon, black pudding, sausages, buttered toasts, baked beans, tattie scones, and either tea or coffee.
It may also include fried or grilled tomatoes or mushrooms. Other option additions to the palette are haggis, white pudding, fruit pudding, pastries, or fresh cakes. The Full Scottish is a heavy and hearty breakfast and is surprisingly served throughout the day at most establishments in Scotland.
Bangers and Mash
Bangers and mash is a popular Scottish dish comprising of sausages served with mashed potatoes. The dish is simple to prepare in large quantities and that makes it a classic supper option.
The sausages can come in many varieties such as ones made from pork, lamb, or beef, and even in many flavors. The dish is traditionally prepared with butter and milk to make the potatoes fluffier and is served with an onion gravy after topping with fried onions or peas.
Fish Supper
Fish Supper, or fish and chips, is a popular dish in Scotland. It comprises of fried fish in batter served with potato chips. It is one of the most common takeaway foods in the country and is usually served and consumed hot.
The word supper is specific to Scotland and Northern Ireland referring to any dish served with chips. The most commonly used fish for the dish is cod or haddock. The dish is easy to prepare and is ready to serve within ten minutes.
Salt and Vinegar are a popular choice of condiments sprinkled or added to the fish supper before serving.
Black Pudding
Black pudding is a traditional food from Scottish cuisine comprising of a pork blood sausage. The sausage is made primarily from pork blood, fat, and a choice of cereal (usually oatmeal, or barley groats).
Other common ingredients added to enhance the taste are pennyroyal, mint, marjoram, thyme, and occasionally a blend of other spices like rue, cumin, and parsley to add a new dimension of flavors. Black pudding can be cooked in many ways.
It may be grilled, baked, fried, or boiled with or without skin. It may also be eaten cold on its own. Black pudding is part of the traditional Full Scottish breakfast. Deep-fried and battered black pudding is also a popular snack in Scotland.
Bacon Butty
Bacon butty, or a bacon sandwich, is a popular Scottish snack that comprises a sandwich of cooked bacon between slices of bread. Butter is usually spread and may be seasoned with ketchup or brown sauce.
Bacon butty is generally served hot and fresh on bread toasted on only one side. Bacon butty is a popular choice of snack throughout the day and is served in almost every café in Scotland.
Battered mars bar
Battered Mars bar is a popular Scottish snack that comprises of a chilled Mars chocolate bar that is battered and then deep-fried in oil. Battered Mars bar is consumed as soon as it is served for the best experience as the chocolate will start solidifying as soon as the first bite is taken.
Battered Mars bar now refers to almost any other such snack where the Mars bar can be replaced with virtually any other item. It is commonly considered a notoriously unhealthy snack but that does not hamper its popularity.
Scotch Pie
Scotch pie is a traditional double-crust meat pie that is a famous dish from Scottish cuisine. It comprises of minced meat (almost always mutton) that is seasoned with pepper and a selection of other ingredients filled into a shell of hot water crust pastry.
Scotch pie is usually served hot or cold on its own or with small accompaniments such as mashed potatoes, baked beans, brown sauce, gravy, or an egg. They are often sold at sports events, most notably football matches, earning them the nickname of football pies.
Grouse
Grouse is a popular game bird in Scotland and the meat is rich red and coarse with a mild, unique taste. It is usually shot in the wild so one of the biggest concerns is to clean up the game such that the amount of lead shot in the bird is minimal.
Care is also taken to remove the shot from the bones which can otherwise tarnish the flavor. Dishes containing the grouse are considered a delicacy and the most popular one is the simple roast grouse.
It is a lean bird and needs to be cooked with care so it doesn’t dry. It is usually served pink indicating moisture that is retained in the flesh. The bird is also braised and pot-roasted in a mix of stock and wine. It is served with fruit jelly, chips, and gravy.
Cullen Skink
Cullen skink is a specialty Scottish soup originating from the town of Cullen in northeastern Scotland. The main ingredients are smoked haddock, potatoes, and onions. It is a thick soup that is widely served as a daily dish across the region.
Cullen Skink may use milk or water to make the soup runny or creamy. Some variations even include mashed potatoes to make the soup thicker. It is traditionally served with bread is often compared with chowder and bisque.
Scottish Salmon
Scottish salmon is one of the most famous and premium varieties of salmon widely regarded as the best in the world. Scottish salmon has a heavenly taste combined with a perfect texture.
The usual way to prepare the salmon involves salmon portions, asparagus, potatoes, strawberries, olive oil, lemon juice, whole grain mustard, cream, butter, salt, and pepper.
The salmon is first cooked on both sides before being removed from heat and allowed to rest. The rest of the ingredients are then cooked in butter in a separate pan and combined with salmon on plates to serve fresh.
Clootie Dumpling
Cootie dumpling is a traditional Scottish dish that comprises of a steamed pudding prepared from flour, breadcrumbs, dried fruit, suet, sugar, and spice. Some milk is usually added to bind the mixture with golden syrup being another popular option.
Sultanas and currants are the usual choice of dried fruits although virtually any other dried fruits can be added to the dish. The preparation involves mixing the ingredients well into a dough before wrapping them up in a floured cloth.
They are then placed in boiling water and simmered for a couple of hours before being dried. They are served warm or at room temperature. It is commonly paired with custard or ice cream.