From the New Yorker Book Bench: Haggis Noblius

I've found a way to frantically finish my dissertation AND update my blog - for your reading pleasure, a post from The Book Bench, the New Yorker's book blog:

"From the Daily Mail, a wee bit o’ drama over the “great chieftain o the puddin’-race”—Robert Burns’s name for the dish made from mutton stomach, mutton liver, mutton heart, mutton tongue, suet, onions, and oats. That’s right: people are fighting over haggis! Specifically, over who invented what has long been thought of as a quintessentially Scottish delicacy. The food historian Catherine Brown has claimed that the first printed reference to haggis is in a 1615 book called “The English Hus-Wife.” The first Scottish reference dates to 1747. But Scots are crying foul, claiming that haggis is a Scottish invention introduced to England. One Edinburghian haggis-maker summed up his feelings: “I didn’t hear of Shakespeare writing a poem about haggis.”

The true feelings of the people can be found, as always, in the comments.

From English readers:

• The Haggis (haggi noblius) was introduced to Britain in A.D. 123 by the Emperor Hadrian to control the heather and gorse on the Scots side of his wall, thus denying the barbarian Picts and Scots any cover for attack and ambush. History records that there were few, if any, successful incursions across the wall after the introduction of the haggis. In A.D. 171 the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, is believed to have said about the haggis, “Truly the knobbliest Roman of then all”.


• As an Englishman I say let the Scots keep it. It’s a horrible, horrible dish and they’re welcome to it!

From Scottish readers:

• It’s not that nice to be honest … But we scots are the only ones who really actually know what it is and really the only ones who eat it. Therefore it is ours.


• Who cares, it is not very nice. Now Scotch pies, they are delicious if made properly.

(Photograph: Walking Haggis, by Spodzone.)"

Click here to see the original post.

Maybe something's wrong with me but... I quite like haggis! Not as something to eat everyday, mind you, but every once in awhile, when it's chilly and dark outside. Maybe it would lose it's charm outside of Scotland.

Gotta love that photo, though. Makes me think of the rather amusing tall tale of the wild haggis, which claims that a haggis is actually a woodland creature. The best part is that, according to a 2003 survey, 1/3 of US visitors to Scotland actually believe that a haggis is a real animal. Sadly, no - just mangled bits and pieces of a real animal. My sister bought a stuffed toy 'haggis' on her visit here - wish I had a picture to post (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, if you're reading this, mum).

Now I'm wondering if I've already blogged about the wild haggis in my Burns Day post. Dissertation-induced mental-mushing strikes again - which means it's back to editing for me...