'GREAT chieftain o' the pudding-race" it may be but the US authorities' dim view of sheep's innards has seen haggis Stateside ban for nearly half a century.
But in a bid to open a whole massive new market for Scotland's national dish, haggis makers have said they would be prepared to "tweak" the recipe to get round the barrier on selling it in America.
Richard Lochhead, the rural affairs secretary, has made a relaxation of the haggis ban one of his key aim in a trip top the US and Canada this week to promote Scottish food and drink.

The Herald: Accompanied on the trip by James Macsween, the director of haggis maker Macsween of Edinburgh, Mr Lochhead said if the product could be sold in the US it could enhance the reputation of Scotland's expanding food expert business and boost the strength of the sector.
Haggis imports have been outlawed in the US since 1971, with the country's food standards agency prohibiting sheep lungs, one of the key ingredients, in food products.
Sheep lungs are "considered an inedible item" in the US, a spokesman for the country's Food Safety and Inspection Service has previously said.
Mr Lochhead said: "Tens of millions of Americans claim to have Scottish ancestry and they want to enjoy Scotland's national dish, haggis.
"So I'll be using this trip to promote Scotland's larder, to speak to the US authorities on how we can get the ban lifted on the importation of haggis so that more and more Americans can enjoy our national dish.
"That would be great for the economy back here in Scotland. It would create jobs for our haggis producers and it would create millions of pounds for the Scottish economy at the same time.
"If it means tweaking the recipe to get round the ban of certain ingredients that's been in place since 1971, I think our haggis producers in Scotland are willing to come up with a US-Scots recipe that's as close as possible to the real thing."
Food and drink exports to the US have increased dramatically in recent years, soaring 78% from £450million in 2007 to £800million in 2014.
A similar increase has also been noted in the smaller Canadian export market, which has risen 64% from £49million in 2007 to £81million in 2014.

The Herald: Butcher Simon Howie said he could see no problem with adapting his haggis recipe for the US market, with sheep lung replaced with lamb shoulder or flank meat to make it suitable.
Mr Howie, the world's largest producer of haggis, said this would change the texture slightly but the taste would be broadly similar.
The Perthshire-based butcher added: "Haggis is eaten by a large proportion of the Americans who visit Scotland so it makes sense to get the product on the shelves of their home supermarkets.
"Haggis is always a talking point."
Fraser Macgregor, of haggis maker George Cockburn and Son in Dingwall in the Highlands, said: "If it does get overturned it will certainly be an immense opportunity for all the producers in Scotland."

The Herald: But he warned: "One of the staple ingredients of the haggis is obviously the lambs lungs, whether you can find a substitute for that I wouldn't like to say."
Mr Macgregor said the inclusion of lambs lungs gave the dish its "rich flavour".
He added: "If that is the only criteria to get haggis in we could maybe look at a substitute and see what happens then."
James Macsween said they had already started adapting the recipe using only approved ingredients in anticipation of a change in US law.