What food to try in Scotland. Cuisine of Scotland: what tourists should try Scottish national dish for the festive table
Scottish cuisine is an amazing combination of simple ingredients and excellent taste. Most of her dishes are based on the simple and hearty food of local fishermen and peasants.
The main products used for cooking are oats and barley, lamb and beef, potatoes, and salmon. They are included in many national dishes that have become classics of local cuisine.
So what food can you try in Scotland and where to start getting acquainted with its gastronomic features? The main dish of Scottish cuisine is considered to be, which we talked about in a separate article. But as you travel around the country, you will encounter other delicacies.
10 main dishes of Scottish cuisine
Porridge (oatmeal)
If you immediately expected something out of the ordinary, do not rush to be disappointed. Good old porridge deserves mention, if only because it has been considered a typical everyday food in the diet of a true Scotsman for centuries.
In the old days, a housewife could brew porridge several days in advance. The porridge not eaten at breakfast was cooled and waited for it to thicken. Then they cut it into pieces and used it as lunch, dinner or a new breakfast.
The peculiarity of preparing porridge is the minimal amount of sugar or its absence at all. According to the traditional Scottish recipe, all you need to cook is oatmeal, water and salt.The subtlety is that cold milk or cream is poured on top of the already prepared porridge in a plate. But the Scots themselves recommend dipping each spoon of porridge in it one by one. It may take longer, but it’s much more interesting and tastier!
Skirlie (stir-fried oatmeal with onions)
Scottish national cuisine has learned to create culinary surprises from literally nothing, and skyrley is clear proof of this.
The traditional recipe for this food is simple. The onion is slowly fried, then a little salt and spices (thyme, black pepper, lemon zest) and cereal are added to it. The finished dish is served as a side dish. Sometimes it can be mixed with mashed potatoes or vegetables.
In Scotland, skirlie is not prepared for breakfast, but is offered along with a main meat dish for lunch or dinner.
Cullen skink (smoked haddock soup)
Cullen skink can be found on the menus of many food establishments in Scotland, although here it is considered a characteristic dish of the north-eastern part of the country. No, no, there is not a single gram of oats in it, but smoked haddock, potatoes and onions are present in abundance!
This unusual Scottish national dish owes its rich and delicate taste to fish, milk and cream, and its thick and soft consistency to mashed potatoes. Before serving, add butter and parsley to the soup. Eating cullen skink in Scotland is customary with fresh bread toast.
Cock-a-leekie (vegetable soup)
Scottish cuisine contains many old national recipes that are still popular today. Cocci-licky is just one of them.
This is a delicious and very satisfying soup, which is cooked in chicken broth with leeks, carrots, celery, and sometimes with rice or barley. Some chefs prefer to add a fine white wine to it.
In Scotland, you can also try a vegetarian version of Cock-a-leekie: made with vegetable broth and flavored with a chicken meat substitute.
Clapshot (vegetable puree)
Like most of Scotland's national dishes, clapshot is a simple yet nutritious meal. This is a quick vegetable puree, which is prepared from boiled potatoes and turnips with the obligatory addition of butter.
Klapshot is usually served with the main dish of local national cuisine - haggis. It is also recommended as a side dish for meat stews and chops.
Black Pudding (blood sausage)
It is impossible to imagine the national dishes of Scottish cuisine without the famous blood sausage. Visiting the country and not trying Black Pudding is probably the same as not drinking local beer in the Czech Republic. In a word, unthinkable.
Traditionally this food is part of the Scottish breakfast. It can be ordered in almost any pub or bought in supermarkets and farm stores.
To prepare the sausage, pork fat and blood are used, as well as oatmeal, onions and spices. Despite the ingredients that are not the most pleasant to the ear, the finished dish captivates with its spicy and rich taste - unexpectedly for yourself, you can become one of its loyal connoisseurs
Smoked salmon
Scotland's rivers are one of the world's most famous natural salmon breeding grounds. In addition, there are many farms in the country where this fish is grown in conditions as close as possible to nature.
A distinctive feature of Scottish salmon is its preparation method. Salmon is not salted, but smoked, often using the boards of whiskey barrels or pre-marinating it in whiskey. The result is exceptional taste and quality of the dish.
In Scotland, Smoked salmon is widely used for making scones and sandwiches, soups and, of course, main dishes. The best side dish for it is potato or vegetable puree.
Scotch pie (Scottish pie)
Compared to Russian or even English pies, Scotch pie is just a baby. Its diameter is only 10 cm, and everyone is surprised: how can this national food of Scotland be so filling!
A true Scotch pie is a small, savory pie with a double crust. It is filled with minced meat with spicy seasonings.
Baking in rectangular pans makes the pie easy to hold and eat without a plate, making it . In Scotland, this national delicacy is even called football pie - it is very popular during football matches.
The pie is equally delicious hot or cold. It can be eaten on its own or enjoyed with meat gravy, mashed potatoes or vegetables. Scotch pie is sold in butcher shops, stores, and street stalls.
There is a real cult of Scottish pie in the country. Every year, the Scotch Pie Club hosts the World Scotch Pie Championship, which brings together bakers from all over the world.Cranachan (oatmeal dessert)
As has already been said, the national cuisine of Scotland is simply unthinkable without oatmeal! Even sweets in the country are prepared using roasted oatmeal, although they add quite confectionery ingredients: whipped cream, honey, fresh berries. They also use excellent cream to make cream. This is how a simple and elegant dessert is born, which is definitely worth trying at least once in your life.
Usually cranachan is “collected” in tall dessert glasses. The traditional way of serving involves putting all the necessary ingredients on the table so that everyone can create a cranachan to their taste.
Tablet (creamy candies)
Tablet are small square sweets made from butter, condensed milk and sugar. Sometimes they add nuts, vanilla or whiskey.
In Scotland, these sweets are served as a small treat with tea or coffee, and are also given as gifts at Christmas, wrapped in shiny bags. Tablet, like other delicious ones, is loved by both children and adults. You can safely buy sweets as a souvenir from a trip around the country.
The harsh Scots, accustomed to the harsh climatic conditions of their country, can be proud of their own national cuisine. Although it is, in fact, not purely Scottish, since other peoples have left the imprint of their traditions on it, the traditional cuisine of the Scots still has its own originality.
The harsh Scottish land is generous with grain: barley, rye, oats. Therefore, for the Scots, perhaps the most favorite and national dish is oatmeal, which is so healthy and so recommended by most of our nutritionists. Almost every Scots morning begins with a bowl of porridge, sometimes scones or pickled herring. Previously in Scotland, many dishes were cooked in pots - this continues to be done in many families today. Chicken, goulash, and stews are prepared in pots.
People in Scotland love meat. Moreover, most often the meat is prepared with the addition of currants, raspberries, and blueberries. Soups are often prepared - meat, potato, fish, cabbage. Oatmeal is also used in desserts. Thus, the Scots love to prepare delicious and light cookies based on oatmeal and honey. All kinds of puddings and, of course, ice cream are common.
"Scottish cuisine" - the best recipes
Hello my dear. The work week is gaining momentum. We were well energized by hearty, rich meat soups on Monday and Tuesday, now we need to take a little rest. So today we will have fish soup. It is no less satisfying than previous soups, but much lighter. “Skink” means “essence” in the Scottish Celtic language, but now it’s just a very thick soup. “Cullen” is a small seaside town where it was once invented. So "Cullen skink" is "thick soup from Cullen." The ingredients of this soup are very simple - aromatic chopped salted and smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and cream - it was from them that the fishermen of the pretty Scottish village of Cullen cooked the first "Cullen Skink". The fish is boiled in milk, then potatoes and other ingredients are added to it. Moreover, you can add a lot of potatoes, because for locals this soup can sometimes replace a whole lunch. Traditionally, as I said, Cullen Skink was made from smoked haddock, but now they also use fresh. I made soup from fresh haddock (my husband was banned from all smoked stuff!) and milk, but believe me, this option is no worse. And then a surprise awaits you - a bonus to the “Star Week”.
