Scotland still has some of the most distinctive regional dishes in Britain. The fact that many of them retain Gaelic or local names helps to make them identifiably Scottish, but there is also a common thread of rich, hearty food cooked by traditional methods. The most famous Scottish food is haggis. However, haggis is a good example of a traditional British boiled pudding - it utilises many ingredients which would be discarded in more delicate dishes and is ideal for winter cooking. Another boiled pudding from Scotland is the sweet clootie dumpling, a large suet pudding filled with dried fruit such as sultanas and often spiced up with ginger and nutmeg.
Some recipes call for large amounts of treacle, making a sticky, very sweet dumpling.
Broths and soups are also a very Scottish tradition. Scotch broth is a barley-thickened soup which was once popular throughout Britain. But the practice of adding cereals to soups in order to make a more nourishing meal has mostly died out south of the border, hence the association. Another name for this kind of dish in Scotland is brose, made with oatmeal. Two particularly Scottish soups are cullen skink, made with haddock and potatoes, and parton bree with a crab base.