h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ginger, you seem a bit quiet lately. I'm hoping all is well.

Recently, the entry on Haggis (A261136) appeared on the front page. It is an entry you edited, but for the uninitiated it seems a bit vague. I don't think I could accurately make the dish as the author described it.

Here are the comments I left on one of the conversation threads. After reading them, I suspect you'll want to get some of these things clarified and fixed, to prevent food poisonings, explosions, and indigestion.

I'll just paste my concerns here as I listed originally wrote them.

Message follows:
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Some of you sound well-versed about haggis. Perhaps you could enlighten me on this recipe's particulars.

A recipe for ten hungry Scots.

[ 1. Trim heart, liver, and lung and place in a large pot with 1 cup of water. Bring mixture to boil then simmer for one-and-a-half hours then leave to cool for about 20 minutes.]

How many pounds of internals can be boiled in 1 cup of water. Is this measurement correct?

[ 2. Cut out any grisly part of the lung and put this with the liver, heart and raw beef suet through a meat grinder.]

It isn't made clear whether the grisly, non-grisly, or both grisly and non-grisly parts are put through the grinder. Does the grisly part get thrown away?

[ 3. Mix up all the ground meat in a big pot, throw in the chopped up onion and season to taste.]

What kind of seasonings might be added. It seems as if this would be an important addition.

[ 4. Toast oatmeal lightly in heavy bottomed pan and add this to your mixture.]

How do you know when the oatmeal is done? Color? Scent? Smoke?

[ 5. You should now have a thick gooey mess. Stuff this into the sheep's stomach until about 3/4 full and then seal.

How do you seel a stomach? How many openings are there, 2? Are they tied off, sewn, stapled?

[ 6. Prick stomach.

This sounds as if it is meant to prevent explosions. Is this the reason? How much pricking? Is it important to the cooking, or just safety?

[ 7. Fill pot with 1 gallon of water and bring to the boil. When boiling add the haggis and boil gently for 4 - 5 hours.

Boiling gently sounds more active than simply simmering. Is it the same thing, or not?

[ 8. Leave to cool.]

Would twenty years be too long? (just kidding)

[ 9. Address the haggis (see below) and serve with neeps and tatties.]

Perhaps a definition of 'Address the haggis' is in order. I'm not sure what that would entail.

[ 10. Eat and then belch loudly or throw up.]

Yes, I suppose I would.

Thanks for any further information that is offered!
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Thank you for your kind attention. If, by the way, you are not the correct person to address these concerns, please let me know to whom they should be addressed, or forward them for me if you can.

All for a better EG,

Hi - Due to my new busy lifestyle I gave up being a sub-editor but I will let Peta know so she can inform the right people to take a look. Glad someone still reads these things - so many only seem to come here for the community pages!

I've pointed the h2g2 Eds in this direction, hopefully they'll be able to advise!