Ceud Mìle Fàilte!

One Hundred Thousand Welcomes from the St. Andrews Society of Maine!

The St. Andrews Society features haggis and fine Scottish whisky at the annual Robert Burns Luncheon.  Haggis is a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and nowadays often in an artificial casing & sausage. According to the 2001 English edition of the Larousse Gastronomique:  “Although its description is not immediately appealing, haggis has an excellent nutty texture and delicious savoury flavour.”

It is believed that food similar to haggis (though not so named), perishable offal quickly cooked inside an animal’s stomach, all conveniently available after a hunt, was eaten from ancient times.

Although the name “hagws” or “hagese” was first used in England c1430, the dish came to be considered traditionally Scottish, even the national dish, as a result of Scots poet Robert Burns’ poem ‘Address to a Haggis’ of 1787. Haggis is traditionally served with “neeps and tatties“, boiled and mashed separately, and a dram (a glass of Scotch whisky), especially as the main course of a Burns supper.