Irish Food/History Food Is an Important Cultural Subject in Our Travels

Irish Food/History Food is an important cultural subject in our travels. Eating local has been our goal and an attempt to enjoy a region's culture through its food and understanding food origin and tradition. Ireland has been no exception. In our food section we have a scone making video. This photo program will share some of the dishes that we were able to enjoy in our travels through various parts of Ireland. Our goal is to someday be able to visit all of Ireland. Ireland regarding food according to dochara.com states: "there are three major periods in Irish history, before the potato arrived, after the potato arrived and after the potato failed." Why the potato? There were thousands of years prior to the spud or potato, but its arrival during the 17th century had a profound effect on Ireland as it became a major source of food sustenance. The Potato Famine of the mid‐19th century was: "This dark and tragic event changed the country irrevocably, killing over a million people and leading many millions more to leave Ireland forever." <dochara.com> A misnomer about Ireland is that Irish food is mostly potatoes and mutton. Historians tell us differently. The first Irish settlers arrived in 8000 BC. Early settlers were hunter‐gatherers, but Ireland had much to give and provide in terms of food. For the most part, Ireland was covered with trees. Its rivers, streams and the surrounding seas provided ocean and fresh‐water fish, mussels and oysters. Wild garlic and watercress were abundant as were fowl and fauna. <irishcentral.com> Cattle raising was also evident and people were judged by the numbers they possessed. Ireland was over 1000 years ago a dairy based system that included curds and cheese. Legends were told about famous food masters. This history became more evident with the adoption of Christianity, as the monks kept records on paper and not verbal legends or tales. A poem from the 8th century called, "The Hermit's Song" or "Marbán to Guaire" spoke about food from the woodlands. <irishcentral.com> Dublin's Institute of Technology lecturer (professor) Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire spoke about food and exploration: "Ireland had a deep tradition of great food before the arrival of the potato and it’s not only Ireland that the discovery of the New World changed…" "It's interesting to remind ourselves that until Columbus sailed off on the ocean blue and the New World was discovered that tomatoes, chilies, potatoes, corn, chocolate, all these things came to Europe." "It's also interesting to think that there were no chilies in Chinese or Indian cooking until the New World was discovered. There were no tomatoes in Italian cookery or Spanish cookery. And there were no potatoes in Ireland.” <irishcentral.com> Another food production lecturer from Dublin Institute of Technology, John Linnane wrote: "The Irish diet before the potato was milk, cheese, cereals and some vegetables from the prehistoric times up until the introduction of the potato. (Danaher.K 1992)." Note: this source has more in‐depth information on cooking methods and other food matters. <Ravengard.org> According to Mac Con lomaire, in 1590 the population of Ireland was 1.2 million. By 1841, just before the potato famine, the population had grown to 8.4 million. It was the most densely population country in Europe. The growing of the potato and sugar beet took over fields that were mostly wheat. They became exportable to Britain and France along with salted beef. Since the planting process was hand‐labor intensive poor Irish found work and plenty to eat, thanks to the potato's nutritional value. He noted, one acre of poor or marginal land could feed a family of ten in a year. This allowed for big families that were able to thrive and sustain themselves. <irishcentral.com> This all changed when the famine hit. There are other acuri.net photo programs that speak to the potato famine in Ireland. Mac Con lomaire said, “One million died and one million emigrated, people stopped subdividing the land, stopped having big families, waited until the parents had died before they got married and only one person would get married and everyone else would become a priest or a nun and be shipped off to America and so on…" <irishcentral.com> Before we leave the potato topic, we need to understand its origin. "It is assumed that potatoes were among the first crops "domesticated" by man when the Andes were first colonised about 5000 years ago. The tuber bearing species of the Solanum (Potato) are found wild in North and South America." "Archaeological evidence of early use of the potato is difficult to pinpoint in that the people living in these regions left no artefacts of plants. The earliest record is an Inca ceramic with a picture of potatoes dated from the 4th century AD." <Ravengard.org> Though the potato has been a focal point of Irish food history, before and after the potato has made Irish food history of its own. Some of the dishes noted were baked salmon, sweet and orange scones, traditional Irish stew, roasted leg of lamb, Irish Barmbrack bread, Irish bacon and cabbage, Irish Shepard's pie, mussels in cream and garlic and a full Irish breakfast. <yourirish.com> What is a full Irish breakfast? "The main part of an Irish breakfast is also known as a fry‐up which consists of bacon, sausages, fried or scrambled eggs, black and white pudding, potato and wheaten bread, tomatoes and mushrooms that are all shallow fried in a pan. In addition to the fried foods extras would include, slices of toast, a pot of tea and glasses of orange juice making it a full Irish breakfast." <yourirish.com> Other Irish foods are: Boxty or Boxtie (potato pancakes), Colcannon (mashed potatoes, cabbage or kale, onions or leek and sometimes bacon), Irish soda bread (baking soda rather than yeast), Chocolate Guinness Cake (no need to explain) and Dublin Coddle (this dish is made of leftovers that turns in to a soup.) <littleshamrocks.com> This photo program shares some of the dishes we enjoyed while in Ireland. Dublin Cork and Killarney The Boathouse Bistro at Dromquinna, Kenmare Roast Irish Chicken Supreme‐Sneem black pudding, prosciutto, apple & honey Jus Baked Cajun Salmon Fillet‐lemon and coriander cous cous, tzatziki Dark Chocolate Brownie‐ butterscotch & vanilla ice cream Sources: https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food‐drink/history‐of‐irish‐cuisine, https://www.dochara.com/ireland/the‐irish/food‐history/, https://www.thespruceeats.com/food‐and‐cooking‐of‐the‐irish‐435483, http://www.ravensgard.org/prdunham/irishfood.html, https://www.yourirish.com/food, and http://www.littleshamrocks.com/top‐10‐irish‐dishes.html. acuri.net John R. Vincenti Irish Food/History .

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