Frequently Asked Questions - Scottish Food & Drink (2024)

FAQs

What is the main food and drink in Scotland? ›

Scotland's national dish is haggis, a savoury meat pudding, and it's traditionally accompanied by mashed potatoes, turnips (known as 'neeps') and a whisky sauce. Which brings us to the national drink – whisky.

WHAT IS SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL DRINK? Whisky! (Although IRN BRU likes to think of itself as Scotland's 'other national drink' too).

Thanks to the abundance of life in our lochs, rivers and seas, Scotland is one of the biggest exporters of seafood in the world – Scottish salmon was the first foreign product to gain France's prestigious 'Label Rouge' quality mark, while more than a third of the world's langoustines are sourced in Scotland.

So the Scots are the largest consumers of spirits (most particularly Scotch whisky), Yorkshire drinkers' favourite tipple is beer and those in the West Country are channelling their inner Wurzels by necking cider at twice the rate that Londoners do.

Irn-Bru has long been the most popularly consumed soft drink in Scotland, consistently beating rivals such as Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Fanta, and reportedly sells 20 cans every second throughout Scotland.

Scotland's iconic national dish known as haggis consists of sausage meat made from the innards of the sheep mixed with onions, oatmeal, suet, stock, dried herbs and other seasonings.

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

The results of a new survey released forDiabetes Weekhas found that strawberries are Scotland's favourite fruit with 20 per cent of the public vote. The accolade of favourite vegetable goes to broccoli (18 per cent).

When you think of Scottish food, haggis always comes to mind. One of our most traditional and famous dishes is haggis, neeps and tatties, (turnips and potatoes). A delicious combination of meat, oatmeal, onions, salt and spices, haggis is really flavoursome.

What are bars called in Scotland? ›

Many pubs use "Inn" in their name, either because they are long established former coaching inns, or to summon up a particular kind of image, or in many cases simply as a pun on the word "in", as in the Welcome Inn, the name of many pubs in Scotland.

So, what is a full Scottish breakfast? Usually made up of bacon, link sausages, Lorne sausage (also known as square sausage or slice), black pudding, haggis, baked beans, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, toast, tattie scones and fried eggs, the full Scottish breakfast is a sight to behold.

Scotland's staple drink, like England's, is tea, drunk strong and with milk, though coffee is just as readily available everywhere. However, while designer coffee shops are now a familiar feature in the cities, execrable versions of espresso and cappuccino, as well as instant coffee, are still all too familiar.

“Quaich” is a Scots rendering of the Gaelic word “cuach”, meaning cup. The two-handed design of this drinking vessel incorporates trust, on the part of both giver and receiver. Quaichs were used most commonly to contain whisky and brandy but larger quaichs were vessels used for drinking ale.

46% of Scottish adults drink at least once a week, lower than 50% across the UK. And there is evidence of an increasing number of adults in the country never or rarely (less often than monthly) drinking: 36% in 2021, up from 32% in 2018.