IRISH FOOD

                                            Filling and Nourishing
      It is said that in rural areas food is simple, but in Dublin the food is spectacular. However pub food tends to be simple everywhere and usually includes fish, salmon, and Irish stew.

     Potato is a staple of the Irish diet and potato dishes are popular. Boxty, champ and colcannon are all variations on mashed potato.

     Seafood, especially oysters and mussels, are popular. Ireland has some of the best smoked salmon in the world. It is served on soda bread with lots of butter.

     Coddle is a boiled stew of bacon, sausage and smoked meat; it is a favorite in Dublin.

      Irish coffee and Guinness are favorite drinks. A whiskey called Lageuvlin is known for its strong peaty taste.

      Breakfast is called fry and consists of bacon, fried egg, sausage (black and white pudding) and baked beans. Often breakfast is preceded with coffee or tea, juice, a muffin or pastry or a bowl of cereal.

      I always wondered just what made stew Irish stew. Irish stew is a filling, flavorful peasant dish made with the cheapest, most readily available ingredients. Also called ballymaloe or stobhach gaelach in Gaelic, the stew traditionally is made of lamb or mutton (less tender sheep over two years old), potatoes, onions, carrots and parsley. Often, only lamb or mutton neckbones, shanks, and other trimmings were the basis for the stock. Yet, these would-be discards still hold enough flavor after a long simmering process to do justice to a hearty bowl of stew. The root vegetables also add flavor and thickening, as well as a filling sustenance. Some cooks add turnips or parsnips, carrots, and barley when available.

      When Irish people began immigrating to the United States, fleeing from the ravages of starvation caused by the potato famine, they naturally brought along their wonderful hearty food traditions. The stew evolved and adapted to include local offerings. Sheep were not as plentiful, so other types of meat often were substituted. When made in the traditional manner, the result is very thick and hearty, not a thin soup. The recipe has evolved to often include Guinness stout. Some variations have exalted this original peasant dish to near gourmet status.

      I expected to see Irish stew on every restaurant menu. Not so. It is often on a pub menu though. We had stew that was thick enough to eat with a fork and some that was broth-thin. Sometimes the vegetable chunks were large, other times small.  It was always good.

      The Irish raised primarily sheep and root crops for subsistence. The sheep provided wool for warm clothing, milk for drinking and making cheese, and eventually food. Potatoes were the main food crop, prior to the potato famine.