It is officially Burns Night on Wednesday, which means that it is that time of year when you can try out a range of Scottish delicacies for your supper.
While the annual tradition is a celebration of the life and poetry of our foremost poet, Robert Burns, it's also become well known for the different cultural dishes you can try out. Whether it be the classic haggis, neeps and tatties trio or traditional clootie dumpling, there is a lot you can serve up for your Burns Night menu.
And while I am quite partial to a haggis dinner myself, I want to introduce you to another Burns Night snack that I have become quite fond of over the years - the haggis bon bon.
We Scots do have a deep love for covering pretty much anything in batter - looking at you Deep Fried Mars Bar - so it was always going to be inevitable that we decided that we should cover our cultural delicacy in some of the stuff as well.
Made from tasty haggis and usually covered in some sort of crunchy crumb, these nibbles are a unique twist on our beloved haggis supper, and they are usually popular as a starter dish or as a party snack. Add on some whisky or peppercorn sauce and you have yourself a decent Scottish treat.
Considering I'm not just a fan of haggis, but of food in general, I decided to try out a few supermarket haggis bon bons to see which was offering the best version of the Scottish delicacy.
After visiting Aldi, M&S and Asda, here are my thoughts on each.
What haggis bon bons were sampled?
The first thing I found is that it was actually quite difficult to find some Burns Night dishes in the supermarkets this year, as most of them were gone by the time I got there.
In the end, a couple of the haggis bon bons I have picked up are branded, meaning that they don't officially represent the supermarket, as it was all that I could find.
The ones I tried were:
- M&S Haggis Bon Bons - £3.50
- Aldi Simon Howie 12 Curried Haggis Bon Bons - £1.99
- Asda Mash Direct Haggis Bites - £2
M&S
Starting out the taste test was M&S with its Haggis Bon Bons, which were, not surprisingly, the most expensive out of the bunch at a whopping £3.50. Considering the price tag, I was hoping M&S lived up to its premium quality here.
Made with haggis and pork sausage meat that is wrapped in a sage and onion breadcrumbs, these bon bons can be eaten hot or cold, but I opted to warm them up just for my own personal preference.
After spending the allotted eight minutes in the oven, I did find that they crisped up quite well and I definitely got that spicy aroma from cooked haggis.
The taste, however, was pretty lacking. While the crumb wrapping itself was fairly crumbly, I did feel like the overall taste lacked that peppery taste that I have come to know and love about haggis. In fact, I found that it tasted closer to a sausage roll, which was definitely not what I was looking for.
That being said, I did really like the crumbly and crispy coating, as you could clearly taste the sage and onion breadcrumb mix, so there was definitely some flavour there.
Rating: 2 out of 5
Aldi
Up next was Aldi, which was, surprisingly, nearly all sold out of its Burns Night range, which meant that I had to opt for the only option left, which were these interesting 12 Curried Haggis Bon Bons from Scottish butcher, Simon Howie.
Aldi Scotland has been a champion of Scottish produce and its stores across the country are known for ranges of locally sourced products - so I had high hopes for these.
Once again, I popped them in the oven for the recommended 15 to 18 minutes. Once cooked, I noticed Aldi's bon bons immediately looked more crispy than the M&S ones I just tried.
One of the most interesting features of these bon bons were the poppadom coating and curried flavour. It felt like mixing Scotland with India, which I didn't expect to have worked, but it did.
There was a decent amount of spicy and peppery haggis in each bite. Combined with the faint taste of curry, these bon bons definitely held a strong flavour that more than made up for M&S' lighter taste.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Asda
Last up on the list was this packet of Haggis Bites from Mash Direct which cost me the total of just £2. What was interesting about these ones, was the fact that each bite was made with haggis, neeps and tatties - like a mini Burns Supper in one mouthful.
Popping them in the oven for about 10 minutes I was eager to see if these ones could offer me all the individual flavours of the classic Burns supper trio.
Sadly, I do feel as though these ones were a bit of a disappointment, as the overall taste and texture had them more like a potato croquette, rather than haggis bites.
Despite being popped in a hot oven for the amount of time required, the coating was not really that crispy or crunchy at all. In fact, it felt more soft than anything else. With each bite, there was more potato than the haggis or neeps advertised on the packet.
That meant it tasted straight like eating a mash potato in some soggy coating. Maybe it was just the packet that I picked up, who knows? If you have a strong preference for potato croquettes, or potatoes in general, then this may be an option for you.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Overall verdict
It has certainly been an interesting taste test from struggling to find a lot of haggis bon bons to the ones that lacked in the taste department.
In the end, there was no real contest. The Simon Howie 12 Curried Bon Bons from Aldi didn't so much as steal the crown, but ran away with it.
With their peppery and bountiful haggis bites that were encased in a spicy and crunchy coating, these were both unique and flavourful. Not to mention that they were the cheapest out of the bunch at £1.99, making it a good result for the bank balance.
M&S' rather expensive Haggis Bon Bons weren't bad, though I think they lacked in flavour, tasting similar to a sausage roll. While the casing was nice and herby, it lacked that pepper and spice that Aldi had in spades. That being said, I am sure with a touch of peppercorn or whisky sauce would help flavours might be a bit more prominent. But, other than that, I, personally, wouldn't try them again.
Sadly, the Mash Direct Haggis Bites I picked up in Asda, which were £1 dearer than Aldi's, ended up at the bottom of this ranking, mainly due to the fact that they tasted closer to potato croquettes rather than anything to do with haggis.
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