Foods You Should Try in Scotland

Visiting Scotland and want some authentic food – here are some that are easily available and worth a try. 

Shortbread

Scotland’s favorite biscuit is incredibly simple but still so perfect. It is made of just 3 ingredients: flour, butter, and sugar. It is not only a great option for dipping in your tea, but is actually part of an esteemed Scottish tradition, whereby a woman that’s newlywed has a shortbread cake broken over her head after crossing the threshold of her new home.

Scotch Pie

If you ever find yourself attending a football or rugby match in Scotland, you should consider joining local fans in the queue for scotch pies at halftime that are served alongside a cup of hot Bovril. While the vast majority of butchers have their favorite, fiercely guarded scotch pie recipe, what you will most likely come across is a lovely double-crust pastry filled with peppered mutton.

Full Scottish Breakfast

If you have ever had a full English breakfast, you will discover that a full Scottish breakfast also includes toast, eggs, bacon, baked beans, and grilled tomatoes, but it has the wonderful addition of white or black pudding, potato scones, and Lorne sausage (a square sausage made of rusk, meat, and spices). 

It cures everything that ails you, including hangovers – as long as you don’t plan to do anything remotely active for several hours afterwards. Glasgow is a great place for the full Scottish with an array of options. If you’re interested in trying this greasy god then take a look at these Glasgow hotel deals and enjoy some of the most delicious food.

Deep-Fried Mars Bars

The person who created this deep-fried endorphin rush has never actually tried a battered Mars bar himself. Still, you can because many chippies throughout Scotland currently offer this rather interesting dish. 

After the initial crunch of the oily batter, you will find that the chocolate is a brash, sugary punch to the palate. If you don’t like the idea of deep-fried Mars bars, most chippies are willing to deep-fry your preferred sweet.

Stovies

Stovies is a lesser-known Scottish dish, perhaps due to the fact it was born of hard times. It is potato-based, inexpensive to make, and is a solid food for the working-class aimed at reviving miners, lumberjacks, and farmers after a day of hard labor. 

You will find as many variations of the dish as the households that prepare it, but it basically comprises potatoes stewed in dripping butter or lard, mixed together with onions and mincemeat. Such a simple but satisfying dish.

Grouse

Grouse is one of Scotland’s favorite wild foods that are hunted in the Scottish moors between August and December. 1 bird makes the perfect serving for 1 hungry individual. It has a delicate but distinctive flavor. You can have it either stewed in a casserole or roasted. 

Irn-Bru

Irn-Bru is a luminous orange-colored soft drink that caresses your throat tightly while it slithers down the gullet. The drink is actually more ubiquitous in Scotland than Coca-Cola. It comprises 32 secret ingredients and there’s still no consensus among connoisseurs as to its taste. Rust, bubblegum, liquefied casual violence, salty banana, heaven, and cough syrup are just some of the comparisons. You try, then make your decision.

Whisky

Creamy or wood, big and peaty, single-malt or blended triple-malt – you simply cannot leave Scotland without having a bit of whisky. With 130+ distilleries located throughout Scotland’s islands and highlands, and many of them open to visitors, you will definitely find something that tickles your taste buds. Just don’t have it with some ice; whisky aficionados always drink it neat, with perhaps only a few drops of water aimed at bringing out its distinctive flavors.