Haggis, and Neeps, and Tatties! Oh my!

On Wednesday, there was a “Traditional Scottish Meal” for the international students studying at Robert Gordon University. Most of these students will remain in the UK for a much longer period than me, as they are actually attempting degrees instead of just studying abroad for a semester. They have plenty of time to immerse themselves in Scottish culture, while I am jumping as fast as I can to see and do everything humanly possible.

So, in an attempt to be fearless, the four other Olin exchange students and I sat down to attempt our Scottish meal of haggis, neeps and tatties. And although some of my fellow exchange students were hungry enough to gobble their meals (and part of my meal) without a second glance, I had a harder time confronting the food before me.

I was first put off by the fact that it looked like scoops of ice cream, but was most definitely not. I sat staring at the food for a few moments before mashing it up. The neeps, which are turnips that looked deceptively like cheesy potatoes, were slightly disappointing. Tatties, the white scoop, are like mashed potatoes, not that abnormal. And then, we proceeded on to the haggis. The Scottish mystery meat either loved or hated. And from the smell of it, I figured I would be in the group that hated it.

But being hungry, I decided to give it a go. The texture is just not my cup of tea. After two bites, the haggis sort of tasted like stuffing. After three bites, the peppery after taste was kicking. And after four bites, I was starting to wonder what I actually eating. As if in answer to my thought, the host of the lunch welcomed us, and explained what we were eating. It was neeps (turnips), tatties (potatoes), and vegetarian haggis. I has completely psyched myself out about vegetables. There were mystery meat parts in the food that I was eating. It was all vegetables and spices. I know most of my suffering was psychological, and not actually from the taste. But now, I still haven’t had real haggis, one of the things that I must do before I leave Scotland. Maybe deep fried haggis is the way to go. We’ll see if my mind can deal with another scoop of mystery meat!