The Finest Scottish Food
Deep Fried Mars Bar - Scottish Cuisine or a Recipe for Disaster?
Jun 23, 2007
For many Scots to go out for a meal means eating Indian, Chinese, Italian, Mexican or a myriad of other wonderful dishes from around the world. However to do so is to miss out on some of the best Scottish cuisine.
From our lochs, hills, rivers, forests and surrounding seas come an embarrassment of riches.
Scottish Seafood
Our West of Scotland sea-lochs which are fed by the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean produce the best of oysters, lobster, crab, mussels and scallops. From the sea, cod, haddock, plaice or whiting. When served in the most delicate of sauces they give us a tasty and healthy meal. Let’s not forget another favourite, the Arbroath Smokie, a wood-smoked haddock from the east coast.
Scottish Salmon
Salmon from the rivers Tweed and Tay add that touch of luxury to a ‘special’ occasion followed by venison, pheasant or grouse from a Highland estate.
Aberdeen Angus Beef
The best of Scottish beef is the Aberdeen Angus but if you prefer lamb whether from Border or Highland farms it’s tasty and succulent.
Mornings are best started with a plate of porridge oats made with salt and not sugar followed of course by traditional bannocks (oatcakes) with marmalade a recipe we claim as our own and synonymous with the city of Dundee.
To finish a meal – the cheese board with Crowdie – a white cheese made from the whey of soured milk with a touch of seasoning added or Cheddar from Ayrshire or Dumfries and Galloway.
Less well known are some of the traditional dishes our mothers and grandmothers would have cooked, particularly when times were hard. Colcannon, a favourite of the Western Isles (and Ireland) is made from cabbage, potatoes, turnips and carrots boiled together for about half an hour and served hot.
Stovies is still a Scottish favourite with a varying recipe, essentially a dish made from leftovers. It’s potato based, with vegetables and if times were not to hard some meat as well.
Some other wonderful dishes to temp the palette are: Bawd Bree, Bubblyjock, Inky-Pinky, Black Bun and Melting Moments.
Scotland of course is forever linked to the haggis, eaten throughout the year but particularly on the birthday of Robert Burns (25 January) when it’s washed down with a dram or two of Scotch whisky.
What is Haggis?
However, the ingredients of our national dish can provide a daunting challenge for those about to taste it for the first time. They include the windpipe, lungs, heart and liver of the sheep boiled and then minced. These ingredients are mixed with beef suet and toasted oatmeal before being placed inside the sheep’s stomach and then boiled for a number of hours.
When served with neeps (turnip) and potatoes it provides a wonderful, spicy dish for a cold winter’s evening. Go on try it!
For our final offering, we have to thank an American couple who produced in 1920 the Mars Bar. Little did Ethel and Frank Mars from Tacoma, Washington realise that their chocolate and caramel delicacy would end up on the menu at many Scottish fish and chip restaurants.
The Scottish Daily Record first ‘broke’ the news of the Deep Fried Mars Bar which has now become part of Scottish culture. Wikipedia describe the process, “An ordinary Mars Bar fried in a type of batter used for fish, black and white pudding and sausage.The Mars Bar is typically chilled before use to prevent it melting into the frying fat, though a cold Mars Bar can fracture when heated…”
It’s little wonder that Scots have one of the worst health records in Europe. Never mind I’m off for a large glass of our other national drink, Irn Bru, it’s made from girders.
