Scotland’s “soul-food” sans pareil, is anything from a chip-shop. Traditionally, chips have been chunky and irregular (not the McDonald’s peely-wally uniformly-sized fries) and deep-fried in beef-dripping (a cholesterol heaven). They weren’t crispy but fried light brown and slightly floppy (due mainly to being once-cooked and put in hot storage trays in the frier until needed). You can ask for open (open for eating outside on a salubrious Scottish winter’s evening) or closed (for taking home, usually for tea-time) or after the pub. If you were buying the family’s tea to take home, the usually conversation might go something like (though being four, my family wouldn’t order as much as this) :-

“One large chips, 2 fish* suppers, 1 haggis supper, 1 black-pudding supper, 1 chicken supper and 1 steak pie supper – and 1 single fish please”

As they prepare the food in the wrappers, the chippie-person would say
“Everything** on it ?”

“Yes please, but just vinegar and salt on one of the fish suppers”
“Closed ?”***

“Yes please – oh and can I have 2 pickled onions please”


Note – not one mention of little sauce portions in wee packets or little two-prong wooden forks. !

*In Scotland “fish” is understood to mean haddock and shows on menu-boards as “fish”. Nowadays, other fish are available, such as cod (England’s substitute for haddock), salmon, monkfish tails (in posher chippies), scampi and also “rock salmon” (euphemism for dogfish, popular in England and previously never used in any self-respecting chippie in Scotland).

** Like most of the UK, Scotland uses salt and vinegar only on chips and suppers. Some places also put mushy peas over the chips. Some use ketchup. However, where I came from (the Edinburgh area) it was unique in the land for using brown chip-sauce, a thinnish brown spicy condiment whose recipe is a closely-guarded secret and is likely derived from bottled brown sauce such as A1, HP, Hammonds or a Scottish brand. Usually water and/or onion pickling juice or malt vinegar (or all) is added to thin it down and tone down the spiciness. Being thinner, it also runs over the chips in the bag and makes it delectable. To me, this way of eating chippie food, with chip-sauce, is the best ! What makes them even more delectable is eating it all straight out of the wrapper with your fingers.

*** Closed for eating at hope, left open for eating outside.

Everything from just chips to suppers (something + chips) were wrapped in grease-proof paper (either a sheet or a poke), then wrapped in brown paper, then in newspaper, but if ordering a few things to take home, then only the outermost wrapper was newspaper.

Nowadays, health concerns mean that sunflower or other vegetable oil is used. In all my years, I never ever saw a deep fried Mars Bar ! Also, wrappings are more convenient and hygienic, using card or foam plastic trays and also little eating forks are issued. The menu has expanded somewhat too. When I was young, it was fish (haddock), sometimes scampi, haggis, black pudding, red pudding (sometimes), Dutch smoked sausage (exotic !), battered sausage, battered hamburger, fried chicken, steak pie, mince (Scotch) pie, bridie, possibly Scotch egg and Aberdeen chippies had white puddings (mealie jimmies) - condiments were salt, malt vinegar and in my area brown chip-sauce and also big pickled onions and pickled eggs.

Nowadays, many things are available in addition to the above.

The Fish Supper today


The fish supper above looks pretty good to me. This is Scotland’s favourite fish – the haddock. This serving comes from a chippie in Anstruther, Fife, who have poshed it up with a lemon wedge and a bowl of mushy peas. The individual pots of ketchup wouldn’t happen in Edinburgh and Musselburgh chippies – brown thin chip-sauce over everything !


The Haggis Supper


Great Chieftain etc – battered of course !


Battered Black Pudding


Single black pudding please !

Red Pudding


Battered of course !

White Pudding


The famous Aberdeen mealy jimmies waiting to be cooked

Mince Pie


A Scottish basic, known in Dundee (or Din-day) as a pey.

SteakPie


This one ‘s is poshed up for eating-in.


Battered Sausage Supper



Saveloy Supper


An English invasion item, but available in some Scottish chippies now

Cod supper aka cod and chips


An English favourite, available in Scotland