As Scottish families the world over prepare to mark Burns Night, there's one culinary item that's almost certain to be on the menu.
We are, of course, talking about that most hearty of Scots dishes, the Great Chieftain o' the Puddin-race, haggis.
But while the famous meal, which is normally paired with neeps and tatties, is synonymous with both Scotland and Robert Burns, there is evidence to suggest that its rise was at least partly down to the culinary skills of one little-known Edinburgh cook.
READ MORE: Burns Night 2023: Top Edinburgh events to celebrate Scotland's national poet
In the 1770s, Edinburgh cook and pastry chef Mrs Susanna Maciver penned and published what is widely thought to be the first Scottish recipe for haggis.
It is important, however, to note that the dish had appeared in cook books prior to this. Haggis, many historians now believe, actually originated rather controversially as an English invention.
In 2009, food historian Catherine Brown uncovered a recipe for haggis in an early 17th century English book that predated any mention of the dish being eaten in Scotland by almost 200 years.
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Brown's discovery, quite understandably, caused a massive stooshie, with champion haggis maker Robert Patrick insisting: “Anything that’s to do with Scotland, everybody wants to get a part of".
And while the jury is out on precisely how long haggis has been consumed by Scots, as far as we can deduce, it was Mrs Maciver's detailed recipe, which she titled "A good Scots Haggies", that appears to have cemented its popularity.
Aimed at Edinburgh's growing Georgian gentry, Mrs Maciver's cook book, Cookery and Pastry as Taught and Practised by Mrs Maciver, included everything from bespoke recipes to how best to set a table for large dinner events. It paved the way for modern dining in the city and likely had an enormous impact on our cuisine.
Let's also take into consideration that the book had already been in circulation for the best part of a decade when Robert Burns arrived in Edinburgh in November 1786. As all good Burns scholars will know, it was during this time that the Ayrshire poet penned his legendary Address to a Haggis.
A coincidence? Quite possibly, but as you raise a dram to mark our great bard's birthday this Burns Night, it wouldn't hurt to take a wee extra sip to toast the magnificent Mrs Maciver too.
Further details about Mrs Maciver's historic recipe for haggis can be found here on the Threadinburgh website.
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