Traditional Food skills

Traditional Food skills
for Tomorrow
Food Heritage in Living Memory
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Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture
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Contents
Page
1. Introduction
3
2. Background
5
3. Lost and Forgotten skills - An overview
10
4. Category-by-Category Analysis
13
5. Conclusion
28
We would like to thank the following for use of photography through this
publication:
Michael Gleeson, Federation of Irish Bee Keeping Associations (FIBKA)
Jonathan Bell and Mervyn Watson, authors of ‘A History of Irish Farming, 1750-1950’
Ed Hick
Fermanagh County Museum
Kieran Murphy, Murphy’s Ice Cream
2
1. Introduction
Ireland has enjoyed a virtual rebirth in interest in artisan food production in the last two
decades. A formidable range of influences in the food scene, have combined to reassert
the value of traditional and hand-crafted foods. These influences include food producers
themselves, chefs, the media, and the growing strength of the organic and consumer
movements such as Slow Food.
In restaurants, blood puddings, pigs’ trotters, boxty and other traditional foodstuffs
confidently sit side by side with other offerings. Farmers’ markets, farm gate selling and
farm shops have flourished around the country, inspiring a new generation of home cooks
to return to the kitchen. For a small but growing set of people a new-found interest in
‘self sufficiency’ and sustainability is being expressed. Participation in weekend courses in
foraging, cider making, preserve making and vegetable growing is increasing. A popular
course in Leitrim ‘how to make a living off one acre’ succinctly encapsulates the desire, if
not the expectation, of these participants.
This revived interest in the artisanal, the organic and the local and naturally harvested,
is expressed in different social and consumer trends. However, at its foundation is
a fundamental underlying recognition of a natural, simplified and transparent food
production process such as that which prevailed before the modern consumer era.
Equally there is recognition of that process’ potentially desirable consequences for the
environment, the producer and the consumer.
In 2008, Bord Bia at the recommendation of the TASTE Council instigated a research
project to begin to identify Ireland’s ‘lost and forgotten’ food traditions and food skills.
The impetus for the project was the growing interest in artisan, sustainable, organic, local
food production on the one hand, combined with a general agreement that this can be in
keeping with the ‘lost’ traditions of food making. Yet, actual knowledge and awareness
of what constitutes Ireland’s almost lost traditional food heritage is not necessarily as
thorough as it could be.
Equally, the project was spurred by a recognition that there exists, particularly in rural
Ireland, a finite group of people who have that knowledge. It was agreed that it would be
opportune to make use of this group for the purposes of recording food traditions which
3
they remember practicing themselves or being practiced during their lifetime. In essence
the research would begin to capture the food traditions of living memory in Ireland. It is
perhaps knowledge which is available in the minds of an older generation of people who
can talk about their first hand experience of traditional food production, ingredients, skills,
methods and tastes from the recent past. This group despite their obvious expertise are
not necessarily recognised for the knowledge resource they represent in terms of living
food memory.
The project was, therefore, conceived as an opportunity to bridge the disconnect that
has been identified between that generation of people for whom ‘self sufficiency’ was a
working value of daily life and a newer generation for whom it is a principle to aspire to.
In this way the repertoire of living food memory in Ireland is a cultural asset in the form of
an inventory of artisan food product ideas available for revival through a growing network
of artisans, small producers and small farmers. These revived products could then be made
available for sale through a farm gate, farmers’ market and farm shop system, onwards
to restaurants, independent stores and into full local and broader distribution. It is also an
inventory that has the potential to add significant value to a distinctive food in tourism
offer for visitors.
In conceiving the project, it was noted that a great deal of important work has already
been undertaken by historians in identifying and contextualising Ireland’s food and drink
traditions. Rather than seek to duplicate their work, the focus of this project was on the
opportunities presented through wide-ranging oral narratives articulating the recent food
memory of primarily rural citizens. The project sought to record, through extensive and
wide-ranging interviews, the memories of those who had worked in either a specialised
area of food production during a period of time which can broadly be identified as premodern Ireland or who had vivid memories of the traditional food culture in Ireland in the
earlier part of the last century.
Though specific details of food production techniques formed the core of the interviews,
it was beyond the scope of this project to provide a conduit of these skills at a level
on which training or duplication might be possible. Also, although this was interviewbased, the end result was not intended to catalogue individual reminiscences. The
intention instead was to create, through a synthesis of a broad range of food tradition
recollections, a picture of almost lost food traditions and skills. The aim was to build an
authentic general picture of food production techniques in the era before the forces of
modernisation would change Irish society fundamentally.
Over 200 people were interviewed as part of this project. In most cases, contact was
made through organisations such as Irish Countrywomen’s Association, Slow Food Ireland,
Seed Savers, the Rare Breed Survival Trust and Teagasc. In addition, a media appeal made
through Ireland’s Own magazine, The Farmers’ Journal and some local newspapers proved
successful in attracting a number of interviewees. A small group of historians, curators,
food and farming writers were additionally consulted over the course of the project.
The aim of the research was to commence the building of a picture of traditional food
heritage rooted in the living memory of 200 individuals. It is Bord Bia’s aim over a period of
time and in particular through consumer facing events to drive further contributions to this
record. In this way a broader and more comprehensive record of almost lost foods can be
captured in the ultimate interest of revival through food entrepreneurship and food tourism.
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2 Background
2.1 Historical context
The period between the 1920s and the 1960s saw Ireland move, after a time of initial
political turbulence, to a prolonged period of politically stability, social conservatism,
and economic stagnation. Events such as the Economic War of the 1930s and Ireland’s
neutrality during World War Two were significant in setting the framework for a country
which would remain largely rural in nature, decidedly isolationist and inward looking in
character until, at least, the first phase of significant industrialisation in the 1960s.
Such a culture put great demands on personal and community resilience and selfsufficiency. Among interviewees a general consensus emerged of an era that was harsh
and difficult in many respects, with little social mobility or prospect for advancement,
beyond the opportunities held by emigration. It was also, however, a time of great
community spirit and co-operation, where neighbours worked side-by-side and where the
luxuries of life were scarce but greatly appreciated.
At a time when access to farm machinery was limited and farm work itself highly labour
intensive, neighbourhood cooperation was a matter of survival. Where labourers were
employed, bed and board usually formed a significant part of their remuneration.
Food at this time was considered to be much scarcer than it is today and came from a
narrower repertoire of ingredients, but virtually all respondents were in agreement that its
quality across all food types in freshness and taste was high.
Respondents painted a picture of an era when even the smallest parcel of land was
pressed into service for the supply of the basic staples of life: milk, butter, eggs, meat, fruit
and vegetables.
A space of less than half an acre could, for example, be sufficient to keep one or two dairy
cows, a half dozen laying hens, a pig and a kitchen garden. The seasonal availability of
foods was a simple fact of life. Seemingly exotic and complex tasks by today’s standards,
such as butter making and the home slaughtering of pigs were set fixtures on virtually
every calendar.
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2.2 Kitchen
The kitchen was for these individuals, as it is today, the engine of family life where a huge
variety of activities were undertaken.
Traditional food production in Ireland inevitably centred on the hearth and its importance
was regularly reflected upon. This apparently simple space could serve a number of
functions at once: as cabbage boiled or bread cooked in a pot, fish and bacon could be
smoked in the chimney.
While it goes without saying that facilities were basic, it would be a mistake to presume
that a commitment to hygiene was correspondingly weaker. Whether talking about the
workspace, the implements and equipment, or the ingredients themselves: good hygiene
was recognised by respondents as essential for the health and wellbeing of the family, as
well as a matter of individual pride.
For example, it is notable in that describing the procedures involved in a wide range
of food production techniques, key words and phrases were spontaneously repeated:
‘a scrupulously clean basin’, ‘scrupulously clean, scalded and scrubbed’, ‘barrels were
wooden and very, very clean’.
Food was always washed well, again before cooking. Respondents recalled storage tasks
unimaginable today such as rinsing salted fish overnight in a stream and storing cuts of
beef in running water, but perhaps practical all the same in an era of no fridges.
Cooking was governed by an overriding concern for safety, meaning food was often
cooked for a long time, much longer than today.
The time of year chosen for specific food tasks also reflected whether warm or cold
conditions were most appropriate to produce the food in. Food types were segregated in
different parts of the house and in outbuildings.
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2.3 Taste
Almost without exception, respondents referred to their memory of the far superior taste
of traditional home produce. Staples made freshly as required – for example daily bread or
weekly butter – or freshly killed, traditional meats are described as having unquestionably
better flavour than their modern mass-produced equivalents.
Many respondents further attribute the particular taste of pork, beef and chicken to
particular breeds, the diets of the livestock and their natural roaming, outdoor habits.
Of course, taste is also an acquired and subjective attribute. A number of interviewees
commented that their parents’ generation were able to enjoy the saltiest bacon and cured
fish at a level that they themselves could not.
Respondents also noted changing tastes reflected in a new generation. Older jam and
preserve making techniques, for example, produce a result that is often considered too
sharp for those with a taste for the low-fruit high-sugar variations freely available today.
2.4 End of an era
While there are strands of continuity that can be identified even to the present day in
rural Ireland, social historians broadly concur that the 1960s onwards brought a period
of great change to rural Ireland. Increased openness and social mobility was witnesses in
the advent of the motor car, television and a new affluence reflected in everything from
new architecture, to the ownership of fridges and electric cookers and the emergence of
supermarkets and shopping centre culture.
The arrival of foreign cuisines, the availability of more exotic ingredients, the development
of convenience foods, and increasing health awareness in Irish society were among the
factors deciding the changing tastes and priorities of Irish consumers from this point on.
7
One of the consequences of this relatively rapid drive to modernity was the fading away of
many generations-old traditions, the significance of which was not always recognised at
the time. Of course, it is well to be realistic about the context in which this occurred.
Much of the home food production that would disappear so quickly from Irish life was
undertaken as a routine, laborious and often thankless chore. Meanwhile, a genuine sense
of progress accompanied the ready availability of products such as local bakery bread and
creamery butter. Equally, the move to dismiss the traditional churns and paddles of home
butter production to the back of the cupboard was undoubtedly speeded up by the belief
that they represented an outmoded way of life.
A simple cost/benefit analysis is probably sufficient to explain the speed at which certain
skills went into decline. Developments in farming and retailing coupled with the arrival of
refrigeration made pork and bacon widely and cheaply available meats, meaning that for
the vast majority of people, the incentive to keep pig simply disappeared while the man
hours dedicated to its care, slaughter and curing were gladly employed elsewhere.
In some cases, the introduction of new technology would have unintended consequences.
As stoves and electric ovens also transformed how food was cooked, traditions such
as griddle bread and the baking of bread in a pot, which had been built around the
traditional fireplace or hearth, fast disappeared.
2.5 Revival
From the 1980s onwards in Ireland, a distinctive
artisan food ‘renaissance’ took place, revitalising
many areas of food production which had fallen
into decline particularly as a supermarket food
culture became more dominant.
These artisan businesses bring high levels
of professionalism to their production and
marketing and their success has been supported
by a new generation of chefs, food writers and
consumers who see in their quality an integrity
and provenance worth investing in.
Yet while revitalisation has taken place, it
is important to note that this is not always
‘like for like’ regeneration of native skills and
traditions. Producers have, in many cases,
equally been influenced by other traditional
food cultures and the broader philosophy of
the organic and Slow Food movements.
The development of Ireland’s farmhouse cheese
sector is a case in point. Widely celebrated
as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Irish artisan
sector, it largely reflects an embracing of the
continental tradition in cheese production in its
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revitalisation. Such was the period of decline in farmhouse cheese making as a tradition.
This does not negate in anyway the significance of the dairy in Ireland and the reference
to dairy produce in Ireland as “white meats” in times gone by.
Notwithstanding this, there are many areas where the lineage between past and present
is obvious, for example, preserve making, fish smoking and blood pudding manufacture,
albeit in the context of purpose-built manufacturing facilities or production units rather
than the domestic settings where production was originally undertaken.
More recently, a growing interest and demand for home-grown and (usually) organic
produce has seen in return to smallholding, gardens as productive gardens or kitchen
gardens and small scale poultry keeping, often with a commercial outlet through farmer’s
markets or local restaurants.
Against the backdrop of a radically changed society, the concept of self-sufficiency is once
again on the agenda in Ireland. The irony is not lost on an older generation for whom
self-sufficiency across a vast range of activities was a matter of survival and not a ‘lifestyle
choice’ or aspiration.
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3. L
ost and Forgotten
Skills – An Overview
The following tables provide a pen portrait of Ireland’s ‘lost and forgotten’ food skills as
reflected by the 200 respondents interviewed.
Table 1 shows the key categories and within them the key staples on the Irish kitchen table
of the time.
Table 2 categorises traditional foodstuffs according to their current viability – whether
‘extinct’, produced by artisan food companies or still part of routine domestic life.
Table 3 highlights ‘ten of the best’ – ten recipes as identified through the interview process
which showcase the diversity and quality of traditional Irish cooking at its best. The
category-by-category analysis which follows provides more information on these.
Table 4 demonstrates the regional diversity of the Irish kitchen table, identifying dishes
which were popular in particular regions but not enjoyed uniformly across the country.
Table 5 lists a small number of rarer delicacies, often referenced in just a few, or in one
case, by one individual respondent. Again, greater detail is provided in the category-bycategory analysis.
Table 1: Main food categories and foodstuffs within them
MEAT
• Pork, bacon,
ham
• Blood pudding
• Beef, lamb
• Poultry & eggs
DAIRY
SEAFOOD
PRESERVES
& BAKING
• Butter
• Fish
• Jams
• Cream
• Shellfish
• Honey
KITCHEN
GARDEN
• Potatoes
• Whiskey
(inc Boxty,
potato bread) • Poitin
• Buttermilk • Seaweed • Breads, pies • Fruit
(inc apples)
• Tarts, cakes
• Cabbage,
turnips,
carrots,
onions
10
DRINKS
• Cider
Table 2: Traditional food production: status today
Almost extinct/
unquantifiable
Specialised/
artisan/SME
Still home produced/
micro business
Home killed and cured pigs
Home-made blood puddings
Farmhouse butter
Poitin/farmhouse whiskey
Fish smoking
Cheese making
Preserves
Breads
Bread, tarts, cakes
Jams
Laying hens
Kitchen gardens
Cider, apple juice
Smallholding/allotments
Blood puddings
Seaweed
Spiced beef
Table 3: Ten of the best
Boxty with apple and raisins
Blood pudding served with potato cake and (native) apples
Traditional brown bread with dillisk
Nettle and (heritage) potato soup
Rare-breed bacon dish with Irish wildflower honey
Dexter or moiled beef dish
Smoked fish dish
Blackberry and apple jam
Ancient island recipe for lobster and egg platter
Wild mackerel sautéd with seaweed condiment and farmhouse butter
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Table 4: regional foods
Dishes where citing by participants were clustered in particular areas:
• Boxty
• Seaweed
• Shellfish
• Spiced Beef
Table 5: Rarer delicacies
Brawn, a type of formed ham made from seasoned, minced meat from
a well stewed pig’s head;
‘Haddock’ a type of pudding of pig intestines, oats and pork scratchings
Goose blood fried with mushrooms
Cider
Homemade whiskey
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4. Category-by-Category Analysis
Bread and Bakery
Irish wheaten and soda breads are recognised by cooks both in Ireland and beyond for
their unique ‘yeast free’ recipes. A daily staple of the Irish country homestead, often to
this day, they were among the most frequently mentioned of traditional foods among
respondents. The spontaneous mention of baking is perhaps reflective of its daily making
but also with the ease in which it was done and in which recipes were passed on from
generation to generation.
Soda bread and scones using buttermilk for making is still thankfully with us. What might
be less well known is the maize breads. The Irish baking tradition extended to include
buttery and egg based cakes – fruit cakes, caraway seed cake, plum cakes and tea
bracks. A number of equally familiar favourites were the apple and rhubarb tarts using
homegrown apples and rhubarb. There were fond memories of the small but significantly
popular orchards of the Irish countryside. Pancakes were important for using up eggs.
Griddle breads and oatcakes were also important.
This tradition for some was reflective of a cereal harvest – wheat for flour and also the
availability of oats - as well as buttermilk. The home baking tradition was also reflective of
a community that competed on baking – comparing tastes of brown breads and keeping
brown bread recipes secret within families was not uncommon. The country or agricultural
shows fuelled this competition as women in particular contested to be champion bakers.
While most of the cakes could not be regarded as unique to Ireland, the fact remains that
they have sustained their popularity through the vast changes of Irish society.
Indeed, the modern ‘domestic goddess’ cookery
culture has ensured that the popularity of home
baking gained a new momentum in recent years.
A revival of interest in soda breads and griddle
bread is taking place and bread-making courses are
popular in cookery schools across the country.
Though the concept of home bakery has extended
to include non-traditional elements from muffins
to tomato bread, there is little doubt the Irish
baking tradition retains a distinctive space within
this. Today, traditional country favourites form an
integral part of the range offered by any selfrespecting baker, whether commercial, artisan or
domestic, throughout the country.
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Butter
Most farms and smallholdings had a couple of cows for
milking. Often these would be dual purpose animals
later used for beef. Many interviewees remember the
daily milking and weekly butter churning, and were
able to describe in vivid detail the different pieces of
equipment used.
A significant number of respondents still have the
old equipment on their farms and a few do churning
demonstrations at local fairs and farming events.
Butter making was primarily a female undertaking,
and respondents were particularly effusive over the
taste of farmhouse butter, asserting it as incomparable when set
against today’s dairy-made butter. ‘Absolutely delicious, totally
different now’, one respondent reflected.
Typically, milk was transferred to a basin after the cow was milked
in the morning. Next day, cream was skimmed off and put into a
different basin. This continued for a few days. Then it was added
to a wooden churn and turned repeatedly by hand. Through the
bottom of the churn the butter milk would drain out. Butter was
made once a week so that it was freshly available and salt was put
through it. The surplus was sold locally, or swapped for groceries such as tea in the local
shop.
Butter churning is a skill that has essentially been lost between the generations and
farmhouse butter has one of the clearest claims to being a lost heritage foodstuff.
A number of reasons contributed to its decline. As the larger dairies took over, the weekly
practice of making butter declined. Food legislation also played a small but nonetheless
significant part in this, effectively preventing butter makers from selling produce to their
neighbours. Significantly, it was not just the financial impact that mattered; the message
was telegraphed through these rules that this way of life had become obsolete. In an
era long before any widespread celebration of artisan food, all but the most determined
simply gave up.
What is interesting in a historical context is the limitation of living food memory in Ireland
to the one kind of butter – salted butter. This is reflective of the provisions focus of the
late 1600’s onwards when Ireland became an exporter in volumes of salted butter and
salted beef. Most available milk went into the production of salted butter over a long
period of time. Before this, varieties of butter were the norm including for example wild
garlic, sorrel, hazelnut and even honey varieties.
A couple of farmhouse butters are now commercially produced. These are obliged to use
pasteurised milk and do not ferment the product. One small commercial producer in Mayo,
uses pasteurised cream, replaces the natural bacteria with a culture to enable the butter
to ferment and creates a taste very close to traditional country butter. The widespread
availability of and appreciation for farmhouse butter is, however, a long way off.
14
14
Beef
While pork and bacon were the most commonly consumed meats in Ireland at this time,
cattle were also important, both for dairy and meat.
Red meat was a luxury at the best of times, and in an era before fridges, could only be
kept if it was cured, or ‘stored’ for a few days in a clean, cold, running stream. Lesser cuts
of meat, sweetbreads and offal were also consumed regularly.
Beef is a fondly mentioned food by respondents, remembering in particular the Sunday
roast but also the more extensive variety and uses of other cuts. Memories of oxtail
(particularly for boiled or for soup), tongue, stewing beef and shepherd’s pie made by
mincing leftovers were mentioned.
Spiced Beef
A dish primarily associated with Cork and,
there enjoyed traditionally during the
Christmas period, spiced beef may well enjoy
a more mainstream revival if the activities of
its most enthusiastic promoters are successful.
One respondent, an award winning butcher,
is working on making spiced beef available
on a year-round basis and is working with
influential local chefs to feature it on menus
as part of charcuterie plates, and as a starter
and a sandwich filling. Butchers elsewhere
in Cork and further afield are developing
their own spiced and corned beef products
based on traditional recipes.
Unlike today where foods often offer one
consistent variety, respondents mentioned the different spiced
beefs from different family and butcher recipes with a fondness akin to the differing
brown breads of a community.
Cattle breeds
From the 1960s onwards, the introduction of continental breeds has rapidly
transformed the genetic profile of Irish cattle. The cattle farmed prior to this were
truly those of a different era – often links in a continuous chain of breeding that
stretched back to the Bronze Age. Today, these breeds are rare though not extinct,
and are preserved due to the work of dedicated breeding societies. While they are
unlikely to ever return to the ubiquity they once enjoyed, many, such as the Dexter,
have an opportunity to grow in specialist niche areas.
Three types of cattle are indigenous to Ireland
• Kerry Cow
• Moiled Cattle
• Dexter Cattle
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• Kerry Cow
Kerry cows are the only dairy cow
native to Ireland and are thought to
date back to Celtic times. Black with
white on the udder, they are hardy
animals and can stay outside over
winter as they grow thick coats of
hair. The Kerry Cattle Society has
members in Ireland, Great Britain, USA and Canada. There are 1,100
registered cows in Ireland, mainly in the southern counties. It is not possible for
consumers to buy the (reputedly rich) milk sourced from Kerry cows specifically,
though such a development might, in the future, provide a niche opportunity for
the development of the breed.
Some Kerry cow milk is available to cheese makers in Ireland and farmhouse
cheese makers often use Kerry milk for making cheese. Respondents mentioned
how the Kerry cow was active and climbed to eat hill heather and briar as well
as eating field grass. For this reason farmhouse cheese makers rationalise the
molecular structure of Kerry milk to be closer to goats than cow’s milk.
• Moiled Cattle
One of rarest cattle breeds, traditionally a dairy cow but also able to give high
quality beef from poorer quality grazing. ‘Moile’ is derived from Gaelic and
relates to the distinctive mound on the animal’s head.
There are just 10 ‘finder’ ancestors from which all modern cattle descended. The
breed is thought to date back to before the 6th century. The bull referenced in
the Irish Bronze Age saga ‘An Tain’ is thought to have been Moiled.
Moiled cattle have small frames and are not competitive in the regular beef
market. Consumers are also put off by their dark red meat and yellow fat
marbling. However, in high-end foodservice, where their qualities are understood
by chefs and communicated to their customers, beef from moiled cattle is seeing
the beginnings of revival.
In the North West a heritage project to introduce Moiled back on to (mainly
organic) farms has seen 44 moiled cattle placed with 16 farms.
• Dexter Cattle
Known as the ‘poor man’s house cow’ because of its dual purpose nature,
(used for milk and then beef) the Dexter is thought to be an offshoot of the
Kerry. Its carcass is not very big, but the meat is now being recognised for its
quality and is being marketed as a ‘connoisseur meat’, specifically through
high-end restaurants where, like Moiled cattle, consumers are being educated to
appreciate and recognise its unusual dark colour/yellow marbling.
Dexter cattle were an easy-to-keep breed, good on all grounds. Their milk is high
in butterfat and omega 3. Today, there are around 65 members of the Dexter
Group around Ireland, often taking advantage of Rural Environment Protection
Scheme (REPS) benefits as members of that scheme to grow and develop their
herds.
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Lamb
Memories of lamb centred on a memory of the keeping
of sheep primarily for wool leading to the prominent
use of lamb mutton rather than young spring lamb.
Slow cooked hill lamb was remembered for its sweet
taste and more game like texture.
Where spring lamb was afforded or when a young
lamb became available it was remembered well for its
tender flavour.
Lamb was also remembered as a feature ingredient in the Irish stew – slowly cooked –
with staple winter herbs.
Pork, Bacon and Blood Pudding
Bacon was indisputably the most popular meat in rural Ireland in the earlier part of the
last century and salted sides of pork provided the most reliable and regular source of meat
year round.
Pigs were routinely kept in even the smallest of farms. A few would be kept for the
family’s own use with others reared and sold on. There would normally be two kills on the
farm per year, one in April and one in October.
From the reminiscences of participants the general procedure for the home slaughter of
pigs can be reconstructed.
To begin with, a tub of brine would be prepared and covered. The pigs would be killed
on site by the man of the house, with blood drained into an enamel dish for his wife to
make blood pudding (she would also take the intestine, which was rinsed out to hold
the pudding). Entrails were removed and the liver and kidneys would be saved. The head
would be removed and boiled for hours to salvage whatever was possible or made into
brawn.
The skin was scalded and shaved, the head and ribs removed. Salt was fundamental to
the curing of pork, not only to preserve the meat but to eliminate pathogens. Split down
the middle, the sides of the pig would be rubbed in with handfuls of salt, first on the flesh
side and then on the skin side. Often, two people would be involved, and hours would be
spent ensuring the sides were thoroughly salted – around 4lbs of salt for each flank. Laid
skin-side down, often on a bed of straw, sacking or jute would then be thrown over and,
after a few days, the salt would be further trampled in by men standing on the jute. Hung
up on hooks with sacking over, portions were cut off as required. Pork/bacon would also
be smoked in the chimney. Hanging sides of pork would be wrapped in muslin.
With regard to the pig’s head, as described by respondents, there were two options for
its use. Scrubbed clean and boiled for several hours in a pot with onions and cloves, the
head was picked over for whatever morsels of meat could be plucked from the skull.
A more sophisticated, but less mainstream approach was to make the delicacy ‘brawn’.
After boiling and salvaging, the meat would be minced and mixed with herbs and spices,
17
then placed in a pudding bowl with a saucer pressed on top and left aside. Sliced for
sandwiches or a cold meat platter, it was described by those interviewed who had tasted it
as ‘absolutely delicious’.
Blood Puddings
With the on-farm killing of pigs virtually extinct, the skills of making blood pudding are
now almost entirely in the hands of licensed butchers and meat processors.
The traditional method is, however, well documented and remembered. After being
stunned and the throat slit, an enamel basin was used to catch the blood drained from
the pig. Salt was added to prevent coagulation. Intestines were washed in running water.
Oatmeal was mixed in, along with some herbs and spices, salt and pepper. Sometimes
using a funnel, the mixture was then fed into the intestine, cut and tied at lengths of a
foot, put on a tray and steamed over hot water for several hours. The lengths of pudding
were then left out into the ‘dairy’ or outhouse and sliced off for frying at suppertime as
required.
The taste of home-made pudding was said by all respondents to be incomparable to the
manufactured alternative. Those few respondents who still make it in the traditional way
report huge delight in its tasting among friends and neighbours.
Many interviewees recalled the distinction as with spiced beef and brown bread of
individual family recipes for blood pudding.
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Fish, shellfish, seafood
The relatively minor place occupied by fish and seafood in the Irish diet is frequently
commented on. Nevertheless, as the staple ‘Friday food’ and the meat eaten during
Lent, fish was widely available and, fresh, salted or smoked, it was used in virtually every
household throughout the year.
Fish was either locally caught (usually sea fish) or, in inland areas, bought at market, with
cod and ling the most popular. One respondent in the South East remembered how a man
would collect herrings from Wexford harbour and go house to house by horse and cart
selling them between September and Christmas.
The salting of herrings for use throughout the year was common. Some would buy only
a dozen or so, others a ‘crann of herrings’ – around a half barrel’s worth – twice a year.
Preparation was simple: the head and intestines removed, the fish would be rinsed in
running water and then set in a wooden tub with salt, piled layer upon layer and then
left in an outhouse, covered with sacking.
After around a week, the barrel would be
tipped to one side to drain out the liquid,
left for another week, and then the process
repeated. Herrings then removed and put
into buckets with more salt. They would last
a year, and became stiff and dry.
When ready to use, they would string a
dozen onto a wire inserted through the tails
and leave in the ‘spout’ - a running stream
- for a few hours or overnight to wash salt
off.
For smoking, the fish would be strung with
wire and hung in the chimney. Ready after
a month, they could be removed or taken
down one by one as needed, often until
summer.
Fish was always simply cooked, usually
on the pan with a little butter. Among
respondents, there was an especially
enthusiastic affection for memories of
fresh mackerel.
Fishmongers in Cork can still be found
selling their own salted ling, and rusty
mackerel is found in Donegal.
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Seaweed
For thousands of years, seaweed has been prized in Ireland as a source of nutrition – for
humans, animals and the land. Nevertheless, it appears to have very limited appeal beyond
those areas where it is harvested.
Interviewees in coastal areas of Ireland and particularly Co. Sligo recounted harvesting
seaweed as children, along with memories of chewing dulse/dillsk like chewing gum,
and eating thick slices of white bread with a slab of firm sloke on top, baked in bread, or
mashed into colcannon. The nutritional value of seaweed was recognised, indeed revered
by these families.
Seaweed was also used dried and ground to supplement the meal of chicks. Some in the
West of Ireland, however, mainly remember it being used as a fertiliser.
Increased awareness of Japanese cuisine, especially dishes such as sushi and nori, which
incorporate seaweed, offers a fresh support to those who advocate seaweed as both a
delicious and nutritious food.
It may be noted, however, that Carrageen was remembered far beyond coastal areas for
its use in helping chest infections by boiling it with milk; a use that was rarely remembered
with any great fondness by respondents. It was also used to make a kind of bland
blancmange reflecting its use today in the mainstream food industry for its (vegetarian
friendly) gelatinous properties in set desserts.
Weekend courses extolling the benefits of seaweed for health and wellbeing have
become popular while packets of dried, whole seaweed, and condiments of dried,
ground seaweed blends, many made in Ireland by indigenous lifelong harvesters, are now
available in health food shops.
Organic farming and gardening also avails of seaweed as a natural, balanced fertiliser, and
in some cases, an animal feed dietary supplement.
Shellfish
Limpets and periwinkles were regularly collected in coastal regions. Cockles would
be collected after the first showers of April, and mussels in winter. Traditional recipes
identified by respondents include a lobster dish from the island of Innishmurray off the
coast of Sligo, and in Donegal a recipe for limpet stew, where the limpets were first fried
in oatmeal, (a combination not fondly remembered, however!).
Indeed, neither periwinkles nor limpets were remembered with much affection by most
interviewees, perhaps because like all harvested or foraged foods, they were associated
with subsistence and survival.
Shellfish such as oysters and lobster were also only rarely consumed, a situation which has
not changed greatly today. Farmed shellfish and lobster are mainly exported to continental
Europe, with only a small percentage making it into Irish restaurants, and less into
kitchens.
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Eggs, poultry
The management of poultry was always regarded as
women’s work – as with elsewhere in the world, and
often provided an independent source of income for
the woman of the house. One respondent noted that
raising turkeys provided ‘useful money for Christmas
time to buy winter clothing’.
Many interviewees remember raising chicks by hand.
Surplus eggs were brought to the local shop to swap
for tea and sugar.
Eggs were a kitchen staple, primarily used for baking,
they were also fried on Fridays, the traditional day of
no meat.
Most farms and smallholders had at least a few laying
hens. The eggs were used for baking and fried as
a supper or breakfast dish. As the laying frequency
slowed over winter months, it was traditional in
some regions to preserve eggs by rubbing after laying
(without washing first) with lard or butter. Other
interviewees remembered the use of ‘waterglass’ or
sodium silicate for this purpose. Some claim the eggs
lasted a year this way, and that eggs set aside in the
summer could be used over Christmas. Eggs preserved
in this way were only used in baking, however.
Turkey, geese
Turkey and geese were also kept on farms, though
on a smaller scale. One respondent reared young
turkeys, feeding them a mixture of hardboiled egg,
and later scrambled egg with chopped and boiled
nettles for extra sustenance. Goslings were fed the
same, and often oatmeal in water.
Referred to by just one respondent, goose blood
was described as “cooked as at treat on a rare
Sunday, fried in a pan with mushrooms and
creating a texture not unlike scrambled egg”
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The Kitchen Garden
Apples, cider
Native Irish apple varieties tended to be
knobbly and misshapen, in contrast to the
smooth English and continental varieties that
have since supplanted them. They usually
served a dual purpose being used for both
eating and cooking.
Harvested apples were stored in pits covered
with straw and used to make tarts through
the year. Apple tart was a regular feature
in the kitchens of most respondents, though the horticultural knowledge of
particular varieties was not particularly high.
It would be impossible to discuss Ireland’s horticulture traditions without reference to the
work of Seed Savers, a volunteer group committed to locating and preserving native Irish
varieties of vegetables, fruits, and even trees, and sustaining the biodiversity established
over centuries on Irish farms.
A 1940s study identified 70 native Irish apple trees in total. Seed Savers staff working from
this research and with the support of Professor Hennerty, one of Ireland’s leading (now
retired) pomologists, set about locating as many as possible of these varieties by visiting
old orchards, or identifying samples sent in by members of the public. Seed Savers runs
training courses and workshops and sells heritage varieties of apple trees from their shop
and by mail order.
The Orchard Trust in Northern Ireland was set up in 1995 to establish an orchard to
preserve apple varieties of Ireland. The Trust also plans to set up a museum dedicated to
the preservation of the apple production culture of Armagh - according to history, grown
there for over 3,000 years. Besides their obvious historical interest, old varieties may
demonstrate a natural resistance to diseases such as scab and provide valuable genetic
information in developing resistant strains of commercial apple trees in the future.
The Agrifood Institute in Armagh is home to an EU project seeking to identify which of the
150 varieties of apples currently grown in Ireland are uniquely Irish, by fingerprinting them
and matching against UK and EU databases.
Another intriguing example of modern technology fusing with an interest in past farming
traditions was an interviewee, based in Roscommon, who is keen to use GPS to map
orchards in the North West and Border regions. His vision is to get a better understanding
of the patterns of apple growers in this area and to encourage dialogue and setting up
apple presses for juice and cider production on a community, cooperative basis. It remains
to be seen, however, whether a thriving artisan cider production culture can be developed.
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Cider
Traditions of cider making in Ireland are somewhat ambiguous, surprising considering that
the commercial production of cider has been ongoing in Clonmel since at least the 1940s.
The historical records indicate cider production was certainly part of Irish life since, at
least, Norman times. Why it fell out of fashion at a time when ales and beers were brewed
across the country is less easy to explain, except perhaps that apples were not grown on a
scale necessary for commercially viable cider production.
While ordinary farms and smallholdings may have had a few apple trees for cooking and
eating, there appears to be almost no tradition of farmhouse cider such as is found in
parts of England.
On the other hand, Seed Savers, which run courses in apple wine and cider making,
reports that apple presses have been found around the country, and some experts in the
area have shed a little light on its mysterious absence in general lore.
Interestingly, a continuous tradition of cider has been located among the Palatines, a
community of German farmers who arrived in Ireland in the early 1700s and who brought
new methods of farming with them. They introduced the brewing of cider (as they were
unable to continue their wine making) to the districts of Adare and Pallakenry in Limerick
which later became famous for it. A descendent of this community, and one of the
respondents to the project, still makes cider on his farm.
Cabbage, turnips
Cabbage and turnips were the staples of the
Irish country diet and were the vegetables best
remembered by interviewees who recounted
growing a patch of them each year alongside
potatoes and, to a slightly lesser extent,
carrots and parsnips. While they formed the
core of what was certainly a limited diet,
there were exceptions. One man commented
on his father that he was ‘an adventurous
veg grower… with him it wasn’t just
potatoes and cabbage, he tried cauliflower
and Brussels sprouts too’.
Some of the precautions taken in spring
time would certainly appeal to those who
like self sufficiency with a ‘New Age’ twist.
One respondent remembered that the rule
in their house was to sow when the moon
was rising as otherwise, the seedlings
would bolt if sown when the moon was waning!
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Potatoes
All interviewees talked about potatoes. Served
as part of the main meal of the day, simply
boiled in their skins, respondents also usually
had experience of making colcannon, champ,
and potato bread. Except for a handful of
enthusiasts, the varieties of potatoes were
generally not known, only that they were ‘the
floury kind’.
A number of potato experts were contacted to
shed light on the varieties generally available in
the era. The Midlands Heritage Potato Group
has identified over 26 of the oldest native
varieties, and grows them each year. They are:
Arran Banner, Arran Victory, Black Champion, Bloomers,
Skerry Champion, Catriona, Champion, Di Vernon, Duke of York, Edzell Blue, Epicure,
Flourball, Great Scot, Gardenfiller, King Edward, Lumper, Langworthy, May Queen,
Shamrock, Sharpe’s Express, Spry’s Abundance, Thome Black, Up-To-Date, Irene, Libertas,
Pimpernell.
Another specialist in Mayo has recently handed over growing 150 varieties to Lissadell
House in Co. Sligo. These include a range of heritage potatoes but only some are
traditionally Irish.
Boxty
Boxty is a potato pancake deriving its name from arán boct tí in Irish. All respondents
agree that the dish was mostly associated with the northern part of Ireland, so much so,
that it is more likely to be a part of the modern Northern Irish kitchen than its southern
equivalent.
Traditionally a Hallowe’en speciality, some producers make it only seasonally but others
have recognised a year-round opportunity for it.
Research done to date has uncovered boxty-like recipes around the world, however, the
boiled version is agreed to be unique to Ireland. Discussions are underway to create a
protocol where only traditional Irish potatoes - used for the most truly authentic Irish
version - would enable it to acquire the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed designation in
the EU Protection of Origin Scheme.
Nevertheless, while purists argue about what constitutes ‘authenticity’ it is undoubtedly its
versatility that is key to its continued popularity: variations include adding raisins, apples,
cloves, with some modern recipes using garlic and other spices to flavour the mixture. It
can also be made into dumpling shapes, or into wheels akin to brown bread, with wedges
cut, known in Fermanagh as ‘hurleys’.
It is not unusual to see boxty on the menus of restaurants, even outside those areas with
which it is traditionally associated. It is also widely available in shops and supermarkets.
Enthusiasts regularly give demonstrations at fairs and events so as to ensure the continuity
of the tradition.
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Jams and preserves
Jams and preserve making were a key responsibility for the women of the house in the
pre-modern era. While there are plenty of traditional recipes and a tradition of making
jams with what was available in the garden, two types were mentioned most often
– rhubarb (sometimes made more exotic with gooseberry, ginger or figs added) and,
perhaps the one most affectionately remembered, blackberry with apple. The plentiful
supply of wild blackberries in the hedgerows, albeit for a very short window in the
autumn, provided the occasion for a sociable ritual of harvesting, recounted fondly by
many interviewees. While, in later decades, it was considered an activity primarily for
children, in earlier times families and neighbours would head out together, assisted by a
couple of the men brandishing long sticks to pull down canes for easier harvesting. Even
town dwellers fondly recall day trips to the country to pick blackberries. Apples were, of
course, also in season at this time and they provided both a pleasant contrast to the sweet
blackberry flavour and pectin to set the fruit.
Chutney-making was remembered by some but was a practice more closely associated
with ‘country house’ ways. However, the general resurgence of interest in jam and
preserves often incorporates it as a more ‘adventurous’ next step.
Home jam making is an ongoing craft and smaller artisan companies, and independent
suppliers of farm shops and farmers’ markets continue it on a commercial basis.
Oats
A staple of the Irish diet for thousands of years, oats featured in the diets of all
respondents on a daily basis. Usually used to start the day with breakfast, in the days
before the ‘progress oatlet’, the oats were ritually soaked the night before. ‘Stirrabout’
was the common name for porridge and milk in many areas.
Oats were, like all the staple foodstuffs of the era, truly versatile. There were used to feed
pigs and hens, and prepared into a meal to rear chicken and turkey chicks.
Once again, the link between producer and consumer was of a degree that is virtually
impossible to imagine today. One respondent recalled that when oats were threshed, each
farmer would bring a few sacks to the local mill, and would be handed back oatmeal - in
grains not rolled. This was kept in a wooden chest in the kitchen, and every night the
farmers’ wife would put down her pot and add oat meal.
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Whiskey and poitin
Poitin and ‘farmhouse’ whiskey come under
a different category than the other foodstuffs
mentioned being, of course, illegal to produce.
The 1831 Illicit Distillation (Ireland) Act makes
poitin illegal to distil for the two reasons that
the Government loses valuable excise duty as
a result and because, if not made properly, it
can be lethal. The actual scale of production
domestically is, as a result of this, difficult to
ascertain.
Whiskey was commercially very widely produced in Ireland in the
19th century and so the craft of making it would have been well understood in the 20th.
Poitin is generally easier to make, and varieties could be made using potatoes, barley or
indeed ‘mixed bag\ of what was available at the time. It also involving less procedural
steps such as drying grain over a turf fire than whiskey.
One respondent spoke of three different approaches to making poitin in their community:
A sugar-based variety of poitin, which took nine to ten days to make, was the most
popular. A treacle-based variety took about the same time but was not as pleasant tasking
(treacle would have been more widely available than sugar at the time).
The barley-based poitin took three weeks and was deemed the most superior.
A number of respondents were able to explain, in minute detail, the process by which
homemade whiskey was made.
The following is a description of the distilling process for oat whiskey from one
respondent:
The process begins with halving 20kg of oats into two heaps. ‘On a tray, it was spread half
thick and wet with water, then left until sprouted. A close eye was kept on it and when
sprouting was 3/4 inch in length, it was put on a steel or iron sheet and suspended on
a tripod over a fire, preferably turf for a better flavour, but you could also use sticks and
straw. The moistened grain took on the flavour of the smoke. The other grain was added,
mixed together and put in a barrel with 1lb of bakers’ yeast (if not enough it took longer
to ferment), 20 gallons of water and left somewhere warm.
Whiskey is best made in the summer time. ‘It starts to ferment in 10 to 14 days. You know
when it’s done when the gurgle stops and it goes quiet.’
‘Then to distil, you get a length of 3/4 inch copper piping. Every farmer back then would
have a granite horse roller for grass or clay. You put this upright into the ground. Fill the
pipe with sand and squash both ends. Bind the pipe around a roller - a two man job - until
a coil created. Lift off the roller and cut ends to empty sand and clean out. Insert one end
into the pot with a hole in its lid and the other into barrel. Piping on slant, pot near fire,
splash cold water on to keep it cold.
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‘Transfer the liquid from barrel to pot – seal the pipe in with dough. The mixture would
start to boil and steam along the coil. The steam would condense and drop into a jar or
bottle - this is the whiskey. The odd time the maker would run a finger in to taste it, when
it tasted like water all the whiskey was gone.’
This respondent learned from his father and neighbours and would make this 1-2 times
per year. ‘Oat whiskey was a clear liquid, but some people would add a drop of tea to
colour it.’
Poitin, he recalls, had a different taste, more alcoholic. ‘Cottage whiskey was delicious and
much milder. You could take neat or add a drop of water.’
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5. Conclusion
While respondents could not but note the vast range of foods which younger generations
take for granted, they recognised too that while their own children may not bake bread
daily or forage for blackberries, it was clear that they did appreciate home-made breads,
preserves, along with farmhouse cheeses (and more continental offerings like olives) and
are more than happy to support the local production of these by shopping at Farmers’
Markets. Older mothers also noted that their offspring were devotees of homemade
bread and apple tarts on their visits home and were happy to take a food parcels of
these ‘specialities’ back with them. For this generation, the irony is that a simple food like
homemade bread is now a luxury item.
The proliferation of TV chefs programmes has contributed to increasing awareness about
good food and ingredients, but perhaps a more interesting barometer of a changing
approach to food is the abundance of weekend courses being run around the country.
Here, people get hands-on practice in self sufficiency and food production from passionate
tutors. Sometimes the courses are not traditionally-Irish focussed, perhaps offering
sourdough, spelt and rye, but it is noted that the ‘back-to-basics’ traditional Irish baking
courses are frequently booked out first.
A pool of dedicated food professionals and organisations have been beating the artisan
food drum in Ireland for many years now and the end result has been a growing consumer
base of people who still want and appreciate foods hand-prepared and using traditional
recipes and techniques.
Home-baked produce or freshly caught fish, rare breed and organic meats and vegetables
are all highly desirable foodstuffs. Some are now in the domain of talented, specialist
artisan food businesses, others are produced in cottage-industry style from (approved and
licensed) home kitchens.
These products are rarely sold in mainstream multiples, so it is the route of the Farmers’
Markets and farm shops and independent retail outlets that enables them to reach the
consumer. In addition to meeting customer demand, these alternative market channels
support the ethos of local, quality food production, and help develop knowledge of, and
pride in, each region’s own producers.
The upsurge in farmers’ markets, farm shops and independent food stores is a critical
factor in promoting traditional foods to the contemporary consumer who lacks the time
and skill to prepare it themselves. In addition, another welcome trend in the phenomenon
of ‘good life’ or sustainable living. For the first time ever, sales of vegetable seeds in
Ireland and the UK in 2007 outsold flower seeds. Mail order organic vegetable and herb
seed companies are thriving as community food projects and urban gardens are now an
international phenomenon.
Whether a permanent opt-out of the rat race or a short course in growing herbs and
protected cropping, reconnecting to the land is becoming popular for a generation
whose parents in many cases were keen to escape from it. Often, German and English
expatriates, being part of a longer and deeper tradition of urban living, led the way in
downshifting, buying properties in areas such as Leitrim, Sligo, Donegal in the 1960s
28
and 1970s, believing Ireland to be a true escape from the pressures of modern life. A
generation later, it is the native inhabitants who are catching up and to some degree
benefiting from the earlier organic pioneers, restoring an appreciation for home-produced
foods that seemed to have disappeared for a time.
While, of course, proportionately only a small part of the population who hold the dream
or expect to succeed entirely in living ‘self sufficiently’ the aspiration alone is enough
to play a role in the support and revival of local food production and continuance of
traditional food skills.
As people dip their toe in the water, their appreciation for the skill and determination of
a generation for whom this was all part of a day’s work is set to increase. The designation
‘lost and forgotten’ has every chance of being a temporary one.
29
Honey
Farmhouse
butter
Bord Bia
Clanwilliam Court
Lower Mount Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
www.bordbia.ie
Growing the success of Irish food & horticulture