From Haggis to Shortbread: Navigating Scottish Food

Scots are proud of their bountiful natural larder and local specialities. In many cafes and restaurants, you’ll find the chefs and staff are keen to share the provenance of their ingredients, and will happily tell you all about it if they’ve not already listed the information on the menu.

Wherever you go in Scotland, you’ll find regional variations of national dishes and recipes. Some regions have also become quite famous for the invention of their own special dishes. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Cullen Skink

Originating from the town of Cullen on the Moray Coast, Cullen Skink is a hearty, creamy soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Perfect for warming you up after a day exploring, it’s found on menus all over the country. ‘Skink’ is a Scots word that means shin, knuckle or hough of beef. Originally, Cullen Skink was made with scraping of beef from the shins of cattle, but by the 1890s, beef had become too expensive for locals, so they started to use smoked haddock, which was in plentiful supply at the harbour. There’s even an annual Cullen Skink World Championship competition!

The famous Forfar Bridie comes from the Angus town of Forfar, and is said to date back to the 1850s. It’s uncertain where the name of this horseshoe-shaped meat pasty comes from – possibly due to their regular appearance on wedding menus, or perhaps because a lady called Margaret Bridie used to sell them at market in Forfar. Like a Cornish pasty, Forfar Bridies contain minced steak, butter, beef suet and seasonings encased in shortcrust pastry and are perfect for eating on the move.

Stornoway Black Pudding is a blood sausage made from pork blood, beef suet, fat, oats, onions and seasonings. Black pudding is an ancient food dating back centuries, and the Stornoway speciality gained PGI status in 2013. You’re bound to find it in your Full Scottish breakfast.

Arbroath Smokies, Photo Credit: VisitScotland

Holding Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status since 2004, Arbroath Smokies are a special kind of smoked haddock that can only be produced within a 5-mile radius of Arbroath town centre. Authentic Arbroath Smokies are still made using traditional methods dating back to the late 1800s. The haddock is cleaned and salted overnight before being dried and hung up, ready to smoke over a particular kind of fire in a barrel for 30-45 minutes. The simplest way to enjoy a smokie is to heat it with butter in the grill or oven.

Although originating in Spain and Portugal, marmalade has a very long association with the Tayside town of Dundee. From the 1790s, the Keillor family made and sold orange marmalade, including strips of orange rind in the distinctive spreadable, semi-liquid form that we know today. In 1876, ‘Keillor’s Dundee Orange Marmalade’ was among the first brands to receive a legal trademark. Mackays are the only remaining Scottish preserve brand making Dundee Marmalade locally.

The Aberdeenshire buttery or ‘rowie’, or ‘Aberdeen roll’, is a flakey, buttery, salty flat roll popular across the North East of Scotland and typically eaten for breakfast. It’s traditionally made from butter, flour, lard, salt, sugar, and yeast, and it was often used by fishermen as an easy snack to carry that was more robust and longer-lasting than a bread roll. Usually served at home toasted and topped with butter, jam or golden syrup, it’s a high-calorie treat – the high-fat content ensures it becomes extremely hot, so watch you don’t burn your tongue.

Scotland is rightly very proud of its extensive and varied natural larder. Our short film Skye’s Foodie Culture provides a fabulous introduction.

With so many sustainable, locally sourced, fresh and high-quality ingredients, you’ll surely come across most of these on restaurant, cafe and hotel menus during your travels across Scotland. This really is the very best of Scottish food.

Scottish Seafood

Seafood

With nearly 30,000km of coastline – including all the Scottish Islands – it’s no surprise that Scottish fish and seafood are some of the best you’ll find anywhere in the world.

Salmon, hot smoked salmon, cod, haddock, monkfish, hake, prawns, langoustines, scallops and crab are the most common items you’ll come across. You’ll often be able to literally see the area of the sea where the fish was caught.

Scottish Beef

Scotch Beef

Scotch Beef has held PGI status since 1996. Only certain Scottish cattle that meet exacting standards can bear the Scotch Beef standard. Authentic Scotch Beef is of the highest quality, and fully traceable, providing peace of mind to those who cook it and eat it.

While most of the cows used are a cross between Scottish and European breeds, there are several Scottish heritage breeds that may be name-checked on menus, including the famous Aberdeen Angus and Highland Cattle, Ayrshire, and Belted Galloway.

Sea Bass with Seasonal Vegetables

Vegetables

The types of vegetables that grow best in Scotland haven’t changed much in hundreds of years. In the past, the typical Scottish diet included home-grown peas, beans (eaten fresh and dried and used as a grain during the winter months), kale and cabbage.

It might be surprising to learn that most Scots ate their greens daily back then. The most common crops include carrots, broccoli, onions and potatoes. Fresh, local Scottish produce picked and prepared in season is the best you can get.

Pigeon Breast

Game

Game meat is plentiful in Scotland and a great way to taste local, seasonal food. Game comes from wild animals that have been hunted, and the meat’s ‘gamey’ flavour comes from the animal’s naturally varied diet of grasses, insects, berries and grains. The best time to try fresh game is usually autumn or winter.

Pheasants, grouses, partridges, rabbits, pigeons, and hares may all be found on Scottish menus.

Scottish Berry Pavlova

Scottish Berries

Scotland’s long summer daylight hours are credited with supporting our delicious berry crops. Wide wild edible varieties are there for the picking – including wild cherries, blaeberries, blackberries and sloes. You’ll find these while out walking in woodland and along the edge of quiet trails and roads, predominantly in Perthshire and Fife but also in Aberdeenshire, the Highlands, Arran, Ayrshire and the Scottish Borders. In line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Guide, only take what you will eat, don’t disturb the environment, and leave plenty for the local wildlife to enjoy.

Perthshire and Fife, in particular, also host many successful berry growers, and there are plenty of farms across Scotland where you can pick your own strawberries, raspberries, and many other varieties. Scottish berries are second to none in season, so try them when you get the chance.

Porridge

Grains

Grains have formed part of the Scottish diet for thousands of years. Scientific analyses of residues on pottery fragments from the Isle of Lewis date a form of ‘porridge’ made of milk and wheat all the way back to Stone Age settlers 5,500 years ago. Barley porridge has been found in 2,500 year old pots, also from the Outer Hebrides.

It is believed that the Romans originally brought oats to Scotland. It was quickly apparent that this crop was hardier and more reliable, thriving in Scotland’s climate of long daylight hours, plenty of rain and acidic soil. Over the centuries, oats have become a predominant feature in numerous meals and recipes, including many mentioned in this blog. Wheat, barley and oats are still grown in Scotland today.

Isle of Arran Cheese

Scottish Dairy

Scotland is hard to beat for quality dairy milk, cream, cheese, and ice cream. Cow’s milk has been a food staple in Scotland since ancient times. Nowadays there are dairy farms all over Scotland but the majority of dairy herds are found in the south-west. Here the wet, warm climate supports the growth of lush grass for dairy cattle to munch, helping them to produce creamier and more flavoursome milk. You’ll be sure to drink tasty local milk and cream during your travels, and very likely to spot Scottish cheeses and ice cream on menus too. A couple of speciality, ancient Scottish cheeses to look out for are:

• Crowdie – believed to have been introduced to Scotland by the Vikings, this soft, creamy cheese with a sharp flavour was traditionally made by crofters and smallholders using the spare milk from the house cow. There are many variations, and it’s often rolled in toasted oats and black pepper.
• Caboc – possibly Scotland’s oldest cheese, this is rich and creamy, made from thick double cream and rolled in toasted pinhead oats

Venison

Venison

Venison in all its forms – from stew, steak, loin, pie, to pate and even salami – appear often on Scottish menus across the country. Roe and red deer are native species, while sika and fallow deer have been successfully introduced. Without any natural predator – since the wolf’s extinction in Scotland – deer populations continue to increase.

The culling that happens through coordinated deer management programs gives us the high-quality wild venison that reaches our plates with the help of the Scottish Quality Wild Venison assurance scheme. There are also around 70 deer farms in Scotland.

A Mars bar, coated in batter and deep-fried? Yes, the deep-fried Mars bar was first created in a Scottish fish and chip shop in the 1990s. It’s become synonymous with the unhealthy nature of the Scottish diet – although whoever coined that was obviously oblivious to the wonders of the Scottish natural larder! It’s true that Scots often enjoy baked and fried goods, and that, combined with a sweet tooth, is what gives you the unique opportunity to try a deep-fried Mars bar while you’re here.

Macaroni Pie

Another favourite from the chippy, the macaroni pie is a Scotch pie case filled with macaroni and cheese, then baked without a pie lid. It can be eaten hot or cold, at home or on the move. It’s a favourite post-pub night out snack too.

Irn Bru, the bright orange carbonated drink, was introduced by Scottish drinks company AG Barr back in 1901 and is more popular than Coca-Cola in Scotland. It also makes a very effective hangover cure if you’ve tucked into too many whiskies the night before.

Anything made by Tunnocks – Tea Cakes, Caramel Logs, Caramel Wafers, SnowBalls – brings a smile to the face! Established in 1890, Tunnocks is a family-run Scottish business that continues to produce some of the nation’s favourite sweet snacks with eye-catching and beloved wrapper designs. Delicious with a cup of tea.