Haggis and kilts? No Yanks

[skauwt]

It's not their apparel that is the issue it is more about their refusal to eat the usual fare.

Even if one did not wear lederhosen at a beer festival would one drink Coke?

funny you should say that actually ...yeah i only drink dry cider or baileys

[Matthew Siegmann]

I love Haggis! :mrgreen:

T.

***!

Several of my friends tried it with me, but they didn't care for it. I can't say much about the two Americans not wanting to try the haggis. My sister (who is now 26) doesn't care to try things that are unfamiliar to her either... especially if they involve parts of an animal that most Americans haven't had in their diet for 30+ years.

I will say this about American culture: since the 60's we've been limiting more and more the varied diet that we eat. I'm not going to say anything furthur than that becuase it could get political, and I discourage anyone else from doing so. As an American, and the lack of a varied diet, I always jump at the opportunity to try foods that are foreign to me, but that's me. Not everyone is as adventurous.

[long_hand]

>>>and to be honest, how many of you want to eat haggis?<<<

:-(

Dude! I love Haggis! What's with all the haggis hating? A Steak? I'll take haggis over steak any day of the week. Or better yet, steak with a side of haggis!

[Tobus]

It's not their apparel that is the issue it is more about their refusal to eat the usual fare.

Even if one did not wear lederhosen at a beer festival would one drink Coke?

Well, if they don't like beer but still want to attend to celebrate a cultural tradition with others, I wouldn't hold it against them. Beer isn't for everyone. And haggis, likewise, isn't for everyone.

Refusal to eat haggis isn't necessarily a cultural insult. Haggis has quite a reputation for being "not for everybody" in terms of flavor. If these guys weren't man enough to try something new, that's OK. It's their loss. This was specifically a celebration of Burns, not necessarily a celebration of haggis.

Do all Scots that attend these dinners eat haggis? I know Jock Scot, for one, has unequivocally stated that he does not care for it. Is he to be held to the same standards here? Or is it only an insult when an outsider refuses to eat it?

(Sorry, Jock, I didn't mean to drag you into it but you were the only example I could think of - and I only mention you with the utmost respect.)

[macwilkin]

funny you should say that actually ...yeah i only drink dry cider or baileys

Burns evidently wasn't much of a whisky drinker, even though he sung its praises in a number of his poems and songs -- according to our Immortal Memory speaker this weekend (a contemporary of John Cairney), RB preferred port or claret to the water of life.

T.

[Lallans]

At least the Rangers lads were not so young and callow as to demand hot dogs with ketchup. And if I had been in attendance, I would have been happy at the prospect of more haggis to go around. There's never enough haggis.

[davedove]

At least the Rangers lads were not so young and callow as to demand hot dogs with ketchup. And if I had been in attendance, I would have been happy at the prospect of more haggis to go around. There's never enough haggis.

That's right; that would be disgusting. Everyone knows you eat mustard on hot dogs.


As far as eating the haggis, the notion of it's ingredients don't really appeal to me. And just so you know, I'm real hesitant about eating sausage as well.

I am not at all a proponent of making anyone eat anything they don't want to eat, as long as they are respectful of other people's choices. Too many people in this world are too quick to take insult as it is.

[rocscotjoe]

one earlier poster made note of the narrowing of the American diet, and that kind of waste is not sustainable. we need to think about how to make better use of the "waste" cuts that we trash. I won't belabor the little history of haggis that I know, but I will say that I have done a fair amount of International travel, and to reject someone's food is to reject their culture at some level. Most of our memories of "home" wherever that may be, have to do with meals and shared experiences. I have spent a lot of time in India, and while I am no fan of Gol Gappa/Pani Puri I have eaten it with my cohorts because not to do so would be impolite. A "no thank you" serving was taught to me as a child, and I remember being reprimanded for calling dolmade (which I now LOVE) cigars...anyway, to not even TRY the haggis seems boorish to this Yank.

[McClef]

anyway, to not even TRY the haggis seems boorish to this Yank.

They would not know if they liked it or not without trying it and they might have been pleasantly surprised.

My mother tried me out on things I found I did not like - pigs trotters, cow hearts and tripe but I least I tried them first. Haggis I loved!

[Tobus]

On the flip side, maybe they decided it would be more rude to try it and gag on it than to politely decline. If I were the squeamish type (which I'm not; I'll eat almost anything), I'm not sure how I'd handle it. On the one hand, it may be considered impolite to order something other than what everyone else is eating (although if they were serving other dishes besides haggis, I'm not sure why it would be rude; that's what a menu is for). But trying something you know might make you need to spit it out in front of the hosts before you vomit might be the worse option.