Did you know haggis is a furry four-legged shy creature that lives in the Scottish highlands? Its legs on one side of its body are shorter than the other and it only runs in a clockwise direction. At least that is what the legend states.
In fact, haggis is Scotland's national and most notorious dish.
A traditional haggis is made of suet, spices, onions, oatmeal and a sheep's pluck, which is its heart, liver and lungs. This mixture is then stuffed and boiled in a sheep's stomach for several hours. Haggis should be served at the table still in its original casing. The typical accompaniment for the dish is neeps 'n' tatties, also known as mashed turnips and potatoes.
Haggis can be eaten anytime of the year, but is traditionally served on Jan. 25 - Robbie Burns Day.
The history of the haggis does not begin in Scotland. However, its exact origin is unknown. Some historians believe the dish arrived in Scotland when the Romans came to Britain.
The original dish did not contain oats or mutton. The addition of these ingredients would have been added as the population adapted to the new surroundings.
Another popular belief is haggis was used as a form of preservation.
It was necessary during hunting to eat the offal of the animal immediately or to preserve them in some fashion so they would not spoil. The original haggis was a method of preserving and transporting the offal. The Mesolithic Britons would not have had any vessels to cook their meat in, thus the use of the stomach casing.
The animal would have been cooked directly from the kill or it would have been hung to breakdown the connective tissue.
The origins of the word haggis itself are also somewhat of a controversy.
The most common belief is the word derives from the French word "hachis". When translated into English, the word means hash, hack or chop. Some, however, argue the French term was not frequently used at the time when haggis first became common.
The second source of the word haggis comes from the celebration of the New Year.
Some authorities suggest the word is derived from the words "au gui l'an neuf," which means "mistletoe for the New Year."
This saying was the cry of the mistletoe sellers in the Middle Ages. Haggis is traditionally eaten at the celebration of New Year's Eve, which is known as Hogmanay in Scotland and to the half million Scots in Toronto.
It was Scottish poet Robert Burns who escalated the peasant dish to the level of national icon.
In Canada, the poet's best-known work is Auld Lang Syne. The poet has another piece of work recited annually around the globe - be it only among Scots (and Canadians who feel Scottish) - and that is Address to a Haggis.
In 1785, Burns was a guest at a dinner in a haggis club in Scotland. When asked to say grace, he chose instead to address the haggis. A year later he completed the poem and it was published in the Caledonian Mercury on Dec. 20.
On the fifth anniversary of his death, nine men sat down to what was the first Burns supper.
They recited, Address to a Haggis and, naturally, consumed one and several glasses of whiskey. The party met again the following year and the tradition was born.
To this day Burns suppers are held both in Scotland and around the world on the anniversary of his death Jan. 25. A typical Burns' supper includes specific poems including The Selkirk Grace and Address to a Haggis. Other songs and poems included depend on the tastes of the supper's host. The poetry is accompanied by haggis and washed down with whiskey.
To hurl a haggis
Many countries have odd sports, however Scotland's sport of haggis hurling takes the cake. The game involves throwing a haggis as far as one can.
According to the game's rules, each competitor must rub peat on their hands and hurl a haggis while standing on top of a half-barrel of Scotch whiskey.
The length of the throw is always measured in feet and inches, and the haggis must not burst on landing. The game was said to have originated from the days when women would throw a haggis over a river for their husbands to catch and eat for lunch.
Although interesting, the story is untrue.
Robin Dunseath started the event as a practical joke during the 1977 Gathering of the Clans in Edinburgh. Despite the unlikely history of the event, thousands now gather annually around the world to hurl haggis.
The sport has taken off to such an extent that national haggis hurling organizations have been created in Canada, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. The Guinness Book Of Records recorded the longest hurl in 1984 as being 180 feet, 10 inches, by Alan Pettigrew.
The Yuck Factor
Haggis' uncommon ingredients have made it the butt of jokes worldwide. Yet, the dish has cousins all over the globe. Yiddish kishke is one such food. It is made from a beef intestine stuffed with matzo meal, fat and spices. The beef traditionally is kosher. Blood is not used, as it is forbidden by kashrut. The dish is sometimes called "stuffed derma", based on the Hebrew word for "gut".
Ghammeh is a dish from Lebanon that also makes use of the stomach of the sheep.
The stomach is stuffed with rice, garlic, onions, pine nuts, minced lamb meat and spices. Many other offal dishes can be found throughout the world. Greece, Italy, Germany and France all have traditional dishes making use of organ meats.
Although well known in Canada, the dish can be hard to find. In general it can be bought canned from Scottish specialty shops, raw from Scottish butchers or cooked from fish and chip shops.
In Toronto, canned haggis can be purchased from The Nutty Chocolatier on Queen Street East (www.thenuttychocolatier.com). Raw haggis can be purchased from The Butt 'n' Ben in Scarborough or Pickering (www.butnbenbakery.netfirms.com). Cooked haggis can be found in many fish and chip shops across the GTA. This haggis will be battered and deep-fried before it is served. Check out St. Andrew's Fish and Chips (www.standrewsfishandchips.com) or Highland Fish and Chips to try it out; both restaurants are in Scarborough.
Whether you are of Scottish ancestry or not, Robbie Burns day is a great excuse to add haggis to your diet. Give it a try this year - you just may be surprised at how good it is.
Chef Alexandra Turnbull has just completed her master's degree in food studies. Her thesis topic was, unsurprisingly, haggis. Email her at alexandra_turnbull@hotmail.com
Visit http://www.robertburns.org. the official Robbie Burns site, and www.burnsheritagepark.com for more Burns information.