Scotland

WHAT CHARACTERIZES MOST SCOTTISH food is the canny frugality of a northern European peasant tradition. As in Wales, the inhospitable terrain and climate made oats the staple grain, giving rise to the oatcakes, bannocks and porridges at the heart of Scots eating. Warming and filling broths based on barley or lentils and flavoured with mutton; offal dishes like mealie pudding and the world-renowned haggis; tasty preserved fish like smoked salmon, kippers, finnan haddies or Arbroath smokies— all speak of a need to make the very best of what is available and to set food by for harsher times.