Four Scottish foods you have to try while studying in Glasgow

When you study abroad at the University of Glasgow, you really should try some local food. It can intrigue, excite, and educate all at the same time. Glasgow has a proud food heritage, with much-loved restaurants and cafés cooking traditional dishes. But this city is well-known, too, for its diverse food scene, with a lot of modern twists on Scottish favorites. So get to know the city you’re studying in by trying sampling some of these Glasgow foods.

1. Tunnock’s Tea Cakes

The family-owned Tunnock’s factory in Glasgow has been busy baking since 1890. But in 1956 Boyd Tunnock invented the Tunnock’s tea cake and became such an important part of the city they featured in the opening ceremony of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games in 2014. Each teacake is a mouthful of biscuit and marshmallow coated in milk chocolate and wrapped in foil. They’re sold individually in stores and in multi-packs in supermarkets across the country. So, when you’re heading back from class, pick one or two up to enjoy with a cup of tea.

2. Haggis

This may well be a Scottish dish you’ve heard of. Considered Scotland’s national dish, the haggis is a staple of special occasions, like New Year’s Eve and Burns Night. It’s a savory dish made traditionally of sheep’s offal mixed with onion, oatmeal, suet, and spices. You usually eat haggis with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) and plenty of butchers and supermarkets in Glasgow sell it.

If you have a kitchen, try cooking haggis for yourself. Alternatively, restaurants across the city sell their version of the dish, from vegetarian haggis to haggis pizza to fried battered haggis. Close to campus, Mr. Singh’s India serves a selection of haggis-themed dishes with Indian spices.

3. Scotch Pies

If there’s a football (soccer) match happening in Glasgow, there’ll be Scotch pies for sale in the stadium. This match-day snack has been keeping Scottish football fans warm and full for over 100 years.

Made with seasoned minced beef and encased in a pastry crust, they come hot or cold with brown sauce or tomato (red) sauce. They’re also available in Glasgow’s bakeries, butchers, cafés, and supermarkets. For a fresh scotch pie close to campus, head to James Campbell Butchers a short walk away.

4. Cranachan

Cranachan is a delicious Scottish dessert made with heavy cream, toasted oats, raspberries, honey, and whiskey. It was created as a harvest celebration, making use of Glasgow’s plentiful raspberries. Today, you can get Cranachan all year, and it’s popular on special occasions, weddings, and Burns Night suppers. The dessert showcases Scottish oats, whiskey, and dairy, so it really is a taste of Scotland. Many cafés and restaurants have cranachan on the menu, or you could try making it for you and your roommates