Eating my way through Scotland...

Perhaps it is fitting that the last (well, maybe) chapter in the Scotland journey is about the food.  While it certainly was not the raison d’être for the trip, it was a fascination for the Feeder.  Being a stranger in a strange land that has a different cultural heritage in foodways is always fun.  Just for reference, out of the 1260 photos I took, roughly 100 or so were of the food (not to mention the settings). So, almost one of ten were about the food..

And probably it is also fitting that we lead off the food of Scotland discussion with the enigma of “Haggis”.  As I noted before, knowing I would be in the land of Haggis presented me with a challenge.  The common perception (IMHO) here in the colonies (aided by helpful recipes) is that Haggis is made from unmentionable parts of the sheep and you have to consume a half bottle of Scotch before you eat it.  Well, nothing could be further from the truth (except the half bottle of Scotch which is always good).  My first opportunity to try it was on the initial night of our trip (excluding the miserable cattle car airplane), in our hotel in Ayr.  Before our dinner, there were passed appetizers, and one was little ping pong ball sized globes of a dark material (it may have had a coating I don’t remember).   “And what have we here?”   Haggis.   Yikes!  Okay, Feeder put up or shut up.  So without the benefit of liquid courage through Scotch, I took one, and hesitatingly took a small bite…….Hey!  This isn’t bad!  A big grainy, but not heavily flavored and has a nice little kick.

The other (mistaken) impression that I had was that due to the (presumed) disgusting nature of Haggis, it was only reserved for drunken festivals, like Robert Burns Dinners, or special occasions (like our Thanksgiving, for instance).  Wrong again, oh presumptive one.   Throughout our journeys,  Haggis was a common staple and appeared on many menus.  Fried at breakfast (along with black pudding – another story), a specialty item (Such as the “tower of Haggis” starter at the Carrick Lodge Restaurant), used to stuff chicken or guinea fowl, such as this “Guinea Fowl with haggis, potato and turnip dauphinoise, red cabbage and Whisky sauce” from our group’s farewell dinner in the Amber restaurant in Edinburg.

Come to think of it, the dish sort of characterizes Scotland: Haggis, potato and turnips (tatties and neeps), cabbage, and whisky.  A country on a plate!!

In general, we tended to eat as a group in the hotel where we had lodging, usually with a special room and menu for the forty some odd of us.  Most days we were all tuckered out from touring castles and such anyway, pooped from climbing those damn circular stone stairs, and were just as happy to remain where we were and not venture out.  Also some of the places where we stayed were kind of isolated (Western Scotland/Highlands). Typically for dinner, there were choices of starters, main plates, and desserts, with at least two, mostly three, sometimes more in each category.  Here’s the menu made for us at our hotel in Ayr (where haggis appeared) which was pretty typical of what we found on the rest of the trip

 (note expert photographer including his hand's shadow)

Generally the food was nicely prepared and presented.  For instance, here’s the excellent smoked salmon starter from the menu above

All in all, (aside from our one night at a restaurant) there were 70 items offered for our dinners.  Lots of seafood (duhh)

(Always served skin side up which I still haven’t figured out)

Poultry....

(Hey, what’s that dark stuff?  Take a guess)

And occasionally beef (or venison, such as this dish in Mull)

What was surprising to us was that although most days we looked at fields and fields and fields of sheep, it (lamb) was offered only once as a menu choice.  Our Scottish bus driver said that it was quite expensive and most of the meat was exported.  Still a bit strange.  Most of the time, there were vegetarian offerings, such as a pasta dish.  That pretty well covered evening meals, so going back to the start of the day for

Breakfasts (a tradition) varied.  Some places had a buffet either fancy

or Plain

Pretty generally there was a lot of stuff on them… many kinds of sausages and meats,

this was a little less quality than most, but has you guess it, haggis and black pudding

eggs of some sort, tomatoes usually fried or grilled, cheeses, cold meats, a variety of breads and pastries, cereals both hot and cold, several juices, and tea or coffee.

Other hotels had buffet tables for breads and pastries, but a menu for a la carte of your choice

Always hearty, even though we weren’t facing a hard day in the fields.  Before we leave breakfast I have to remark on Scottish bacon (just above is more typical).  Nothing like the “streaky bacon” (as ours is referred to) we have here, it was always wonderful, salty, thick, and tasty.  There was a pretty wide variation in the sausages, but generally the haggis and black pudding were the same where ever we went.  Kippers didn’t appear often.  I never had the full blown “Scottish Breakfast” which was offered on several menus, just too darn much stuff for somebody who generally skips breakfast altogether..  If only I could get the bacon though..

So with bookend meals taken care of, that leaves the meal in the middle,

Lunch

A lot of the time we were “on our own” for this meal, with an hour or two between motoring to morning and afternoon sites.  Time to shop a little, find an ATM (for even more pounds) and stroll about observing local culture.  Mostly due to time constraints, we ended up in little pubs or tea rooms and had soups and sandwiches.  You couldn't miss on the soups,  usually potato and leek, or barley, but always thick and tasty. 

I kind of found I liked their “toasties” which to us would be like grilled ham and cheese.

Or some of the sites we visited had food service, like one of our first lunches was in the (converted) stables at Drumlanrig castle.

If you can strain your eyes a little, note the “cheese and pickle” at the top of the sandwiches.  That was something that turned up a lot.  Turns out that “pickle” would generally be like chutney to us.   And most any cold sandwiches with cheese looked like this Lockerbie Cheddar and Baked Ham

Shredded cheese (and a little short on ham - but excellent bread).

We did have a couple of group lunches that were very good.  One was at a charming little inn that had a great little salmon dish (which I may have posted previously)

And another memorable lunch was in the Columba Hotel on the lovely little Isle of Iona and a wonderful BLT

(Ripe tomatoes, that wonderful bacon, hearty bread, and a pint.  ahhhhhh)

We also had a nice pub lunch on a rainy day in Inverness one of the oldest ones in the city

And had a traditional shepards pie

Not Haute, but just right for the surroundings..(actually tasted better than it looks - with a pint, or two)

Summary...

Okay, everybody is getting tired (or hungry) so we’ll cease there (and we didn't even talk about desserts!)..  there are so many more meals to tell, but you get the idea...  what was my favorite meal?  Hah!  I won’t fall in that trap!  Was it the gorgeous bacon breakfasts?  The little sandwiches and chips in a cozy little shop or pub on a rainy day?  The multitude and varied dinners? 

What a great food experience, one which I won’t forget any time soon, and besides I have all those hundred or so pictures to remind me.. 

Maybe my overriding memory of food will be HAGGIS is GOOD!

And you can even eat it
DFD

okay, maybe one more Scottish memory...without videos.  still can't figure that out.