The very mention of the word ‘Irish’ is enough for the mind to conjure up images of beautiful landscapes. The country which has made rapid strides in industrializationn still retains a very strong agricultural sector. This is perhaps the reason is so dependent on agricultural produce. After the English came and conquered Ireland, there was a period when English foods became the norm. The potato was in fact the only vegetable that the poor could afford at that time. In fact, the potato still continues to be a key ingredient in several Irish dishes. After the English left there has been a revival of Irish cuisine. If you were to go through Irish cookbooks you would come across some wonderful recipes such as Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, colcannon and boxty, among others.
Whatever may a cookbook tell you, just remember that traditional Irish cooking is all about using simple ingredients. It is basically a peasant’s diet. Therefore, if you come across a cookbook that asks you to use ingredients such as apricots, peaches and prunes, you can be rest assured that it is not talking about Irish cuisine in the first place.
As mentioned earlier, potato is one of the key ingredients in Irish cuisine. You could just open any of the cookbooks and you can rest assured that it would be mostly about potatoes. Let us take for example the popular boxty, which is nothing but potato pancake. Similarly, a mix of mashed potato, butter and cabbage is used for preparing the delicious colcannon. Shepherd’s pie is another tasty combination of meat, along with vegetables, topped with a round of again, potatoes. Potato crisps are also the number one choice here when it comes to snacks too. Fish and chips takeaway is another snack that is a popular part of Irish cuisine.
Latest Irish cookbooks would also be full of bacon recipes. Pigs have been part of the Irish cooking tradition for centuries now. ‘Drisheen’, a sausage for example is a very popular dish. ‘Crubeen’ or pig trotters is also very popular.
There was a time when the Irish population passed through some tough times. It was during those times that foraged food became popular and part of the Irish cuisine. It is perhaps because of this reason that foods such as berries, hazel nuts, beech nuts and wild mushroom became a key part of Irish cooking. Similarly, crabs, mussels and shrimp too became an integral part of Irish cooking. One can find a regular mention of these ingredients in most of the Irish cookbooks.