Special Tours | The Story Of Irish Food And Drink
"A Land of Plenty"
Ireland is a land of plenty. 'Fat' and 'fruitful' are roots of Eire, the Gaelic name for Ireland. In pre-Christian times kings were symbolically wedded to an earth goddess to ensure an abundant harvest for his subjects. The ancient tradition of feasting was held to be pleasing to the gods and aimed to bring to this world the prosperity and plenty of the other side.
The arrival of the first Christians saw a changed attitude to food. Sixth century Rome was deeply suspicious of the sensuality of red meat and identified up to four shades of gluttony, connoisseurship and over-eagerness about food among them. In Ireland the early church distanced itself from a pagan past. St Columba recommended a diet of bread and vegetables, declaring that food should nurture the body but not injure the soul. St Mael Ruin of Tallaght held that porridge and gruels, if sufficiently watery and drunk in sips rather than long drafts, dampened the libido.
Nonetheless oats and the cow remained staples of an Irish diet from earliest times. Oat cakes were a nutritious snack and in the seventeenth century oat-fed Irish armies lost (in good health) to Crown and Cromwellian forces who in turn were nourished on the three Bs - beer, (wheaten) bread and beef. The cow is often referred to as the 'living larder' in that it produces milk for white-meats (butter, soft cheeses and curds), could be bled in winter for a protein source with oats while its meat was kept fresh until the season when the beast was slaughtered. In a time where wealth and status was determined by one's cattle herd and capturing the herd of one's enemies made one's enemies vulnerable, the cow was also a suitable dowry gift and used as payment to monasteries for novice monks.
Human beings have lost many versions of paradise, one of them a world where gods do the cooking. The supreme god of central Nigeria withdrew in anger from the people of Kantana when a woman stole fire from the sun to cook with. And while gods turn water into wine and St Patrick turned lake rushes into leeks to feed a dying woman, we humans must work and lean on our creativity to transform our food into great soups and breads and drinks. Our remotest and more recent ancestors roasted good cuts of meat over fires. But to extract the protein rich marrow from bones society and culinary skills evolved to boil meats together with water, ale, milk and honey to nourish the sick and healthy. Even the dead might be revived by a good broth, claims a South American proverb.
The sea that surrounds Ireland was dangerous and so first settlers in Ireland followed and fished the rivers for trout, pike and salmon. The miles of rocky coastline meant for a plentiful supply of shellfish or 'sea-pickings', cnuasach na mara. A stew of limpets, scallops, cockle and mussels transformed a potato heavy diet. This ancient form of food gathering was traditionally food for the poor, an bia bocht, and also provided opportunities for courting, as Noel Wilkins tells in his book Alive Alive O. A woman was out gathering limpets from the rock but fell into the sea at Dunquin when, it was claimed, she saw the image of the devil beside her in the water. Nine months later she gave birth to a boy which the priest refused to baptise and the child grew up and disappeared...
Back to food. In 1959 the winner of the Irish Food Festival prepared this: Achill Lobster Cocktail; Cottage Broth of Peas, Mutton and Lentils; Creamed Mussel and Mushroom patties; Braised Calves Sweetbreads Maeve; Castlegregory Lamb's Kidney (roasted onions stuffed with kidney and bacon); Roast Slieve Bloom Pheasant with Hazelnut Butter; Leaf Spinach, Minted Peas, Game Chips; Heather Honey Gateau and Rose Hip Jelly.
The Great Irish Dinner.
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