Food in Scotland

With fresh lakes, mountain waters and the Atlantic on the doorstep, it is unsurprising that the quality of food in Scotland means that it has some of the best seafood and shellfish in the UK. Due to the country’s diverse and luscious environment, Scottish cuisine is renowned for its quality and variety. From Aberdeen Angus beef, Shetland salmon to traditional haggis, you can be sure there is something for every taste and palate.

Breakfasts:

A Full Scottish Breakfast

A Scottish breakfast usually consists of Lorne sausage, black pudding, bacon, eggs, potato scone, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, baked beans, buttered toast and the Scottish favourite – haggis. A Scottish breakfast will leave you feeling rather full, typically served at breakfast time, the dish can also be served throughout the day at certain restaurants and pubs.

Kippers

You might come across some strong flavoured kippers served for breakfast. Once upon a time, kippers were the ideal British breakfast food in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, now kippers seem to be benefiting from a revival. Kippers are traditionally split from tail to head, then salted in brine and smoked over blazing woodchips.

Meats:

Black Pudding

Black pudding is a mixture of suet, oats, blood, barley and a blend of spices stuffed in a length of protein casing. You will often find black pudding in a Scottish breakfast served in many pub B&B’s up and down the country.

Haggis

Haggis is Scotland’s national dish which is a type of savoury pudding immortalised by Robert Burns famous poem ‘Address to a Haggis’. Similar to Black Pudding, the main ingredients consist of minced offal of a sheep, pig or cow mixed with suet, onions, oatmeal, spices and seasoning.

Desserts:

Tablet

A traditional Scottish sweet is Tablet, which is made from sugar, butter and condensed milk. This confectionary is similar to fudge but with a harder, grainy texture. It is often flavoured with vanilla and sometimes has nuts in.

Shortbread

Scottish shortbread is a luxurious biscuit that melts in your mouth. It is made using generous amounts of butter which is what gives it a crumbly texture. Shortbread is traditionally baked into a round shape, pricked with a fork and dusted with caster sugar.