Edinburgh Fog
March 21st 2026
Edinburgh Fog receives a brief mention in the Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) at the entry for haggis, where it appears in a 2003 citation from the Evening Times: “Other tasty recipes include Drambuie ice-cream, drop scones, [and] Edinburgh fog (a rich dessert)”.
The dish is much older than this. In June 1929 the Dundee Courier mentioned it alongside a collection of Scottish dishes, stating: “‘Edinburgh fog’ sounds such a delightful thing that most of us will hasten to experience it. It is eatable, and not made of pease-soup either”.
We can find a recipe for this delicious dessert within Florence Marian McNeill’s The Scots Kitchen (1929): “Beat half a pint of cream to a stiff froth with a little pounded sugar and vanilla flavouring. Mix thoroughly with a good handful of ratafia biscuits and some blanched and chopped almonds”. If you can’t get hold of ratafia biscuits, some later recipes recommend replacing them with Italian amaretti.
In May 1973 the Highland News claimed that, “This may well be the year in Scotland for Powsowdie, Cullen Skink, Edinburgh Fog, Jethart Snails and baps” when reporting on an initiative from the Scottish Tourist Board to promote “traditional Scots food fare” to visitors.
The dish is still mentioned in the twenty-first century – usually in restaurant reviews like the following from the Daily Record in September 2009: “At the risk of boring you all to tears, our desserts (most notably the Edinburgh Fog which is an oatmeal-free Cranachan) were also very good”.
Dictionaries of the Scots Language would like to thank Bob Dewar for illustrating our Scots Word of the Week feature.
