...for a true Scottish culinary experience, try some of these gastronomic traditions if you see them on the menu!  To introduce you to some of the delights you are about to experience, I've added "Know Before You Order" info below!

The Food

Bannocks (or Oatcakes)

     A chewy type of pan fried biscuit, bannocks are a popular breakfast food in Scotland. The barley and oat flour biscuit is historically tied to the druid’s division of the seasons where special bannocks were made for each. Traditionally bannocks were made unleavened, but with the modern use of baking soda and powder it is light and airy. Several versions of bannocks are made in Scotland, with the most popular being the selkirk bannock. The selkirk bannock is a spongy variety with a lot of raisins first made by Robbie Douglas in 1859. It is said that when Queen Victoria visited Sir Walter Scott’s granddaughter she took a slice with her tea, ensuring the bannocks be placed in Scottish history. The bannock can now be found in supermarkets of Scotland and variations are made worldwide.

     Hotch-Potch is a delicious soup stock made of boiled mutton, carrots, leeks, turnips, onions, and celery. Mutton is the traditional meat used, but can be replaced with chicken or beef and the choice of vegetables is up to the chef. In this popular Scottish dish the mutton is often removed after cooking and served separately as the main course. Today, the meat is usually kept in the soup as a one course meal. A popular New Year’s Day dish, Scotch Broth is better served a day after cooking which gives the flavors time to marinate.

Another recipe steeped in Scottish history, this popular dish is made in a pastry crust with a fruity filling of raisins, almonds, currents, and brandy. This recipe was once eaten to celebrate Twelfth Night, but is now enjoyed for Hogmanay on December 31st (the Scottish new year’s eve). This popular Scottish dish is thought to date back to the 16th century and made several weeks in advance in order for the fruit to absorb the alcohol. It takes its name from the very dark color.

Similar to the Scotch Pie, (or  what we call "pasties" in Michigan--those from the U.P. of Michigan will know what I'm talking about--delicious!  Except that we add carrots and potatoes and make a full picnic meal out of it.)

The plain pastry is made and rolled out into an oval shape about 5" by 7". In the centre is placed minced beef, a little suet and a sprinkling of very finely chopped onion. The pastry is then folded over along its longest dimension, brushed with milk and cooked until the pastry is golden brown.

Haggis

     Haggis is perhaps the best known Scottish delicacy. The recipe first appeared in 1615 in “The English Huswife” by Gervase Markahm and is heralded as Scotland’s national dish. While the thought of haggis seems unappealing to tourists, this dish actually has a pleasant taste. Traditionally the heart, liver, and lungs of a sheep were removed, boiled, and minced with chopped onions, oatmeal, and spices, and stuffed into a cleaned sheep’s stomach. Then the stomach was sewn shut and boiled for 3 hours. Today, haggis is served in a synthetic skin and there are vegetarian recipes made with legumes and vegetables. Haggis is usually served separately with mashed potatoes and turnips, also know as neeps and tatties, or with a whiskey based sauce.  (For me---lots of whiskey sauce, please!!)

     Oatmeal was once described as "the backbone of many a sturdy Scotsman". Porridge was one of the main ways of eating oats, in days gone by. There is a lot of mystique about making porridge and lots of traditions associated with cooking and eating it (most of which can be ignored). The important thing is to obtain good quality medium-ground oats, rather than rolled oats, and to keep stirring with a wooden spoon (spirtle) to avoid solid lumps.

     Recipe: Slowly pour the oatmeal into the boiling water, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon at all times. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the salt and simmer and stir for a further 5/10 minutes (time depends on the quality of the oats). It should be a thick but pourable consistency. (Your arm should be tolerably sore if you're doing this right!) Serve hot in wooden bowls if you have them.

Traditions:
*   Stirring the porridge should always be clockwise (though going in different directions probably mixes more efficiently).
*   Porridge used to be served with separate bowls of double cream. A spoonful of porridge (in a horn spoon) was dipped into a communal bowl of cream before eating.
*   Porridge is eaten standing up. While some people have suggested that this is out of respect for the noble dish, it probably arose from busy farmers doing other things while eating their morning porridge - or as an aid to digestion.
*   While some people frown at the idea of sugar on porridge others not only approve but suggest a lot of whisky. To each their own!
*   Porridge used to be poured into a "porridge drawer" and, once it had cooled, it could be cut up into slices. These were easier to carry than brittle oatcakes.
Stovied Tatties (or Stovies)

     Scotch Whisky (or simply "Scotch") is certainly the best known Scottish drink. Scotch Whisky (only the Irish and American varieties are spelled with an "e") is distilled from a barley liquor and flavored with peat tainted water. Known as the Water of Life or Uisge-Beatha in Gaelic.

     There are two basic classes of whisky:

     The whisky-producing areas of Scotland include some of the most beautiful areas of the country. The most notable areas are along the River Spey, in the Highlands, west of Aberdeen and on the island of Islay, off the west coast.

     Many of the distilleries lie along "Whisky Trails" and welcome visitors. These tend to offer free guided tours and exhibitions and, inevitably, a tasting of their product.