# How should I eat my canned haggis? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 14, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982 "2007-01-14T21:37:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9e5f3/32.png) [@pretend\_my\_name\_is\_witty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pretend_my_name_is_witty)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/81 "2007-01-16T23:31:03Z")
One of my friends regularly has canned haggis on toast (all students, stretching the student loan so we can buy more vodka), and I’ve always thought it’s good. Particularly if you’re a little tipsy. Went to a Burns night last year, so I know the canned variety is nothing like the real thing, but it’s still filling and definately not as bad as you’d think. Got an invite to a Burns night supper this Saturday. But I finish a round of exams on Friday, so I think we may be opting for a less traditional in the classic sense, more student-traditional night. I’ll try and remember to have haggis, though! Let us know how it goes… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/82 "2007-01-17T00:17:59Z")
I’m still not convinced there is any such thing as haggis. My theory is, the Scots made it up so other nations would fear them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/83 "2007-01-17T00:56:52Z")
If one tried to bring a can of haggis from the U.K. to the States, would airport security regard it as a weapon of mass indigestion? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/84 "2007-01-17T01:06:43Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] If one tried to bring a can of haggis from the U.K. to the States, would airport security regard it as a weapon of mass indigestion? 😉 [/QUOTE] According to Wikipedia, [this would be a problem:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haggis) > [@](#): > > Since many countries’ food safety laws outlaw some of the ingredients in haggis (for example, United States law forbids the sale of any animal’s lungs for human consumption), expatriate Scots and Scots descendants overseas have been known to engage in ‘haggis smuggling’ to obtain true Scottish haggis. Now I wonder why the US forbids the sale of animal lungs as a matter of food safety. Are they somehow dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2007, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/85 "2007-01-19T22:11:10Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Now I wonder why the US forbids the sale of animal lungs as a matter of food safety. [/QUOTE] Probably to keep out the haggis. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/86 "2007-01-20T01:01:21Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] Have no fear! This purveyor of British Cuisine sells Vegetarian Canned Haggis. [/QUOTE] I dunno, “vegetarian haggis” sounds to me like an affront to both the concepts of vegetarianism and of haggis. Speaking of beastie-innards cuisine, it sounds to me like haggis would be the Gaelic and sheep-based equivalent of what we 'Ricans call “gandinga”, which I can best define as “an afro-caribbean stew made out of all that is in the\* inside\* of the pig”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/87 "2007-01-20T01:20:16Z")
[QUOTE=JRDelirious] I dunno, “vegetarian haggis” sounds to me like an affront to both the concepts of vegetarianism and of haggis. Speaking of beastie-innards cuisine, it sounds to me like haggis would be the Gaelic and sheep-based equivalent of what we 'Ricans call “gandinga”, which I can best define as “an afro-caribbean stew made out of all that is in the\* inside\* of the pig”. 😃 [/QUOTE] Yes to both. Vegetarian haggis makes as much sense as subterranean airplanes and haggis sounds a lot like gandinga (I am sure the seasoning will be VERY different, though). Isn’t haggis cooked inside the sheep’s stomach(another difference with gandinga)? How does that translate to the canned version? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/88 "2007-01-20T01:46:47Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] Isn’t haggis cooked inside the sheep’s stomach(another difference with gandinga)? How does that translate to the canned version? [/QUOTE] Haggis is cooked inside a membrane. Just like any sausage or meatloaf you care to name. It’s offal and oats and pepper. Scottish people sometimes eat it. It’s tasty, but hardly a staple. It does have some comedy value though, but only to people who seem to fit a rather unfair national stereotype. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/89 "2007-01-20T10:59:03Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Haggis is cooked inside a membrane. Just like any sausage or meatloaf you care to name. It’s offal and oats and pepper. Scottish people sometimes eat it. It’s tasty, but hardly a staple. It does have some comedy value though, but only to people who seem to fit a rather unfair national stereotype. [/QUOTE] I’ve had a lot of meatloaf…absolutely none of it cooked in a membrane…ever ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/90 "2007-01-20T13:38:29Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] Haggis is cooked inside a membrane. Just like any sausage or meatloaf you care to name. It’s offal and oats and pepper. Scottish people sometimes eat it. It’s tasty, but hardly a staple. It does have some comedy value though, but only to people who seem to fit a rather unfair national stereotype. [/QUOTE] Surely you mean it’s **awful** not offal. Haggis…the “food” of desperation ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/91 "2007-01-20T13:56:53Z")
[QUOTE=bdgr] I’ve had a lot of meatloaf…absolutely none of it cooked in a membrane…ever [/QUOTE] …unless you want to count a stainless steel breadpan as a “membrane”. I think that’s pushing it, though. Isn’t haggis \*traditionally \*stuffed into a stomach? Wouldn’t the rennet change the taste and/or texture of the loaf? I can well believe that most commercial haggis is in artificial membranes or intestines, but I was under the impression that Your Grandfather’s Haggis was indeed cooked in the stomach. ---
**Author:** ![Zachlee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Zachlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zachlee)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/92 "2007-01-20T20:28:42Z")
In the same vein, check out\*\* Steve Don’t Eat It!\*\* here: [http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/cat\_steve\_dont\_eat\_it.php](http://www.thesneeze.com/mt-archives/cat_steve_dont_eat_it.php) ---
**Author:** ![fighting\_ignorant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ac8455/32.png) [@fighting\_ignorant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fighting_ignorant)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/93 "2007-01-20T23:14:29Z")
I’d recommend giving it the ole “KFC Famous Bowl” treatment. Put it in a bowl, cover with corn, gravy, fried chicken, and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mycroft\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_H)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2007, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982/94 "2007-01-21T15:03:44Z")
[QUOTE=The Scrivener] If one tried to bring a can of haggis from the U.K. to the States, would airport security regard it as a weapon of mass indigestion? 😉 [/QUOTE] A few years ago my mom’s cousin tried to bring back haggis from a trip to Scotland/England. It was confiscated by US Customs. The next year my wife and I were over in Scotland and I brought back two cans of haggis for her. She was delighted. The first tip to getting things through customs is _don’t tell them you have it!_ (My brother-in-law, in a mental lapse, lost some Cuban cigars this way. :smack: ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-should-i-eat-my-canned-haggis/387982.md?page=4)