Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Vegetarian Haggis?

One of my favorite things in the whole world is the ever burgeoning supply of examples of global cultural hybridity. How else can you explain a sign in an Edinburgh pub window offering vegetarian haggis?

For you fortunately uninitiated into the mysteries of haggis, it is a sort of mealy sausage made of oatmeal stuffed into a sheep's stomach. (Yummers!)

It is often put out there as one of the definite parts of Scots cuisine, something very local and traditional. Interesting then, that someone wants to sell a vegetarian version to Scots and tourists who want to maintain their heritage while also joining the definitely non-traditional global move toward becoming vegetarian -- a very laudable trend, mind you, but not one I ever expected to see connected with haggis.

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