Home cooking, Health and Haggis

While critics bemoan the blandness of British food, there is one Scottish product than is famous throughout the world – haggis. Whilst haggis consumption has, by tradition, been linked to seasonal events at New Year and on Burns Night, it is becoming increasingly popular throughout the year. To find out more, we went to the experts. Based in Loanhead, just south of Edinburgh, three generations of the Macsween family have perfected a haggis that is renowned throughout the world.

“First of all, you might be surprised to learn that we sell more haggis in England than in Scotland,” Jo Macsween told us. “English cooks have always been more open to eating offal than Scots but then haggis isn’t just a meat by-product, full of poor quality ingredients.

“The nutritional profile of our haggis is similar to that of a lamb chop or roast chicken, with the skin left on. A good quality haggis is actually healthier than most processed meat products. Our traditional haggis contains a mixture of lamb, beef, oatmeal, onion, seasoning and spices and is a good source of iron, fibre and carbohydrate, with no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives. Our vegetarian haggis contains kidney beans, lentils, nuts, vegetables, oatmeal, onions and seasoning.

“In our view haggis came about thanks to the need for our forebears to be inventive and resourceful in their food preparation and storage. Some meat could be salted or preserved, but some would need to be eaten straight away. Nothing could be wasted. The offals would be chopped and mixed with cereal and herbs and cooked over the fire in the ready-made container, the stomach bag. Hey presto – the first haggis!

So haggis in various forms was a universal dish. But it has become synonymous with Scottish cooking. “We think the reason haggis has become identified as a national symbol of Scotland is simply because of Robert Burns and Burns night,” says Jo. “We sell an extra 300 tonnes of haggis every year for Burns Night.”

These days it’s hard to find any successful business that has survived as a family firm, but Macsweens is one of them. It began with Charlie and Jean Macsween who established Macsween’s first retail butcher’s shop in Bruntsfield, South Edinburgh, in 1953.

Charlie and Jean met while working at Orr’s, an upmarket butcher’s in George Street. Charlie worked his way up to the position of manager, while Jean worked in the accounts department. Orr’s was ahead of its time with the segregation of raw and cooked meats, its own in-house slaughter house, and even a dedicated engineer to look after their fleet of vans.

When Mr Orr died in 1950 and the company ceased to trade, Charlie and Jean went into business together in Bruntsfield. Despite customers having to travel a mile and a half out to Bruntsfield, the business was an immediate success. A fleet of vans was soon delivering quality meat to private and wholesale customers all over Edinburgh. Like all good butchers of the time, ‘Charles Macsween’ made a range of home-made products such as pies, sausages and the now famous haggis. The business quickly established a reputation for quality and its wide range of all meats and game.

John was Charlie and Jean’s eldest son. In 1957, on the day he left school, he joined the business. When Charlie died in 1975 and the business passed to John, dynamic and challenging times followed. It was just as well that John was so passionate about the business. The growth of supermarkets threatened high street retailers and the advent of ready made meals and fast food meant people were spending less time cooking.

However, John and his wife, Kate, saw opportunities in the specialisation of haggis. The chance to present Macsween’s haggis in Selfridges in the mid 1980s paved the way to take Macsween haggis to the London market. This, coupled with the creation of the first vegetarian haggis in 1984 saved the business and led to the next stage of expansion. Kate’s vision and John’s practical ability were a winning combination.

Sadly, John Macsween died in July 2006 after a life’s dedication to the business he loved so passionately. The business is now in the hands of brother and sister James and Jo. Both were teachers before joining the family business in the early 1990s. James now oversees the smooth running of the business operations and quality systems, while Jo takes care of customers and marketing.

In 1996, they moved to Loanhead, just outside Edinburgh, where they built the world’s first custom-built premises dedicated to haggis manufacture. The site was extended to include a new packing hall, which was formally opened by HRH The Duke of York in 2003, marking the company’s 50th anniversary.

“Our teaching background means that we understand the value of a learning culture,” Jo explains. “We have introduced the practice of ‘learning journeys’, in which team members visit Macsween’s suppliers and other non-competing food companies to share new ideas and gain valuable insights away from their routine environment. We firmly believe that these investments help ensure continual improvements within the company, as well as encouraging the food industry as a whole to share best practice.”

They were also involved in a mentoring programme, which won them the ‘Sir Alistair Grant Award for Outstanding Small Business’ in 2001. A string of awards including Great Taste Awards Gold Medals for both their traditional and vegetarian haggis culminated this year in the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards Business of the Year Award.

Haggis myths and legends abound! Here are some of the facts.

1. Macsween traditional haggis contains a mixture of lamb, beef, oatmeal, onion, seasoning and spices.

2. Macsween traditional haggis is a good source of iron, fibre and carbohydrate, with no artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives.

3. Macsween vegetarian haggis contains kidney beans, lentils, nuts, vegetables, oatmeal, onions and seasoning.

4. Haggis is already cooked and simply needs to be heated until it is piping hot.

5. Short of time? A typical Macsween haggis can be microwaved in six minutes.

6. Haggis freezes really well.

7. Macsween sells an extra 300 tonnes of haggis every year to satisfy the demands of Burns Night.

8. One in four haggis we sell is vegetarian – have you tried this nutty alternative, yet?

9. The world haggis hurling record stands at 180 feet (for a 1.5lb haggis).

10. Haggis is not peculiar to Scotland – similar dishes are produced in a variety of forms around the world.