History 

The origins of haggis are somewhat mysterious, but the dish certainly dates back well beyond Burns’ era.

In early Roman theatre, a haggis-like dish held on a stick was part of the costume of the comic cook, but the earliest written clues come from ancient Greece.  Aristophanes’ play, 'The Clouds', features a slapstick kitchen scene where a sheep’s bladder is filled with ingredients remarkably similar to those of haggis.  There is a glowing description of the dish as it cooks, including reference to the golden beads of fat that Burns also highlighted in 'To a Haggis' two thousand years later.

In our view haggis came about thanks to the need for our forebears to be inventive and resourceful in their food preparation.  Going back thousands of years, when the hunters returned with their kill, some of the meat could be salted or preserved, but some would need to be eaten straight away.  The fresh, edible offals would be chopped and mixed with cereal and herbs and cooked over the fire in the ready-made container, the stomach bag.  Hey presto – the first haggis!

Similar dishes have developed in different countries, but the name ‘haggis’ is probably Scandinavian in origin.  Cook and food writer, Clarissa Dickson Wright highlights the linguistic link to such words as the Swedish 'hagga', and the Icelandic 'hoggva', meaning 'to chop'.  The connections between the lands we now know as Scotland and Scandinavia between the 9th and 15th centuries were especially strong, and this seems the mostly likely period during which haggis could have become established in Scotland.  Dishes similar to haggis are still made in Scandinavia, and visitors from Sweden enjoy eating haggis and frequently remark on its resemblance to a dish in their local cuisine.

So, why has haggis become identified as a national symbol of Scotland when food very much like it exists in other cultures?  The answer lies in poetry, because haggis achieved literary fame in the 18th century through the words of Scotland's most famous poet, Robert Burns.  The annual celebration on 25th January of Robert Burns’ life and work has made the eating of haggis a special Scottish ritual.  Burns’ world-famous “To a Haggis” is recited at Burns Suppers all over the world.  It is largely because of the enduring popularity of Burns that the much-loved haggis is now established as the national dish of Scotland.