It is, of course, not done to visit a country without knowing which foods fuelled the locals, especially as a co-writer of a food blog. This week I find myself situated in the Land of Saints and Scholars. From the living room window, I’m able to look at the Croagh Patrick, one of the most important sites in Ireland. It is the mountain where Saint Patrick spent 40 days in solitude in the 7th century to show respect to the Celtic gods (Celtic paganism was the no.1 religion at that time) and supposedly drove all the snakes away from the island. And so, this week we’re plunging into the history of Irish foods!
Ireland is booming. It seems that due to Brexit, Ireland is suddenly recognized. As if it didn’t exist before Brexit. Tourism to the island skyrocketed by 7.8% last year and is expected to grow even further this year. Many multinationals moved from London, Manchester, or Edinburgh to Dublin since the Republic of Ireland is still part of the European Union. And so you could state that Ireland is changing, Ireland is revising. This can also be seen in the old and dull cuisine of Ireland.
What are the first thoughts that come up when thinking about the culinary scene in Ireland? Definitely Guinness and maybe stew, bangers and mash, whisky and pies? Ireland has never been very famous for their foods. Most people think of Irish food as dull, boring, and flavorless recipes. People share this view because of three specific years in the complete Irish history, called the Famine. Unfortunately, the history of the Irish cuisine is so big we won't be able to cover it completely and so I’ve decided to focus on Irish seafood.
The world is yours
The Emerald Isle knows a though and unknown history that affected the cuisine heavily. It appears that the Irish may never live in peace and solitude. If it weren’t the Vikings coming to plunder the Irish villages it was the English who colonized the island and taxed the hell out of them. In 1601 Gaelic Ireland fought against the English in the historic battle of Kinsale. Gaelic Ireland was beaten and since then Ireland became under the full spell of the English and eventually British Empire, this had quite an effect on the island.
Prehistoric Snacks
But we’re going too fast here. The history of Irish cuisine doesn’t start when the land became part of the British Empire, that would be something. It all started in 8000 B.C. when Ireland was completely covered in trees. The diets of hunters and gatherers existed mainly of seafood, especially shellfish. They ate huge oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels, not a bad life…
Superabundance
The consumption of seafood continued for thousands of years. Nowadays, you can find some of the best mussels and oysters in Ireland, especially oysters. It is claimed that the province of Galway in Ireland has the best native oysters in the world. The native oysters nowadays are unfortunately more scarce and thus more pricey, however, plenty of wealthy Dubliners are happy to pay the price.
Oysters, oysters, Sir, said she,
If you want oysters buy them from me;
Two for a penny, but three I'll give thee
If you’ll buy my Malahide oysters.
Oysters, oysters fresh and good,
As ever came from an ocean flood,
They'll nourish your heart, cherish your blood.
Come buy my Malahide oysters.
Seafood merchant in Dublin, 1947
According to stories of old sailors, there was a time when Ireland was completely surrounded by native oyster banks. Around the late 17th century it became necessary to build artificial oyster beds due to the damage to the natural oyster beds and higher demand in foreign countries. During these times, oysters were consumed by conserving them or by cooking them in a stew. This style of eating oysters was seen till the mid-19th century.
Due to harsh winters and the construction of a new railway, great injuries were led by the natural oyster banks and almost all of them disappeared. The supply became scarce and people began to have more respect for the product. It was in Ireland where they invented the way of eating oysters as a fast food snack by gulping the oyster down in one go. Cheers, Ireland!
Witty Salmon
On the west coast of Ireland, there are plenty of streams and rivers where you have a high chance of spotting a flying salmon. Ireland is, next to oysters, also native to The Atlantic Salmon. It’s honestly one of the funniest yet most fascinating phenomena I’ve seen.
The Atlantic Salmon swims upwards in order to complete its lifecycle. They spent their juvenile phase in the mountain lakes (or in Irish: Lough) of Ireland. Once matured they swim downstream, in The Atlantic Ocean, and they grow into one big piece of muscle. Then, every summer, often carrying eggs or ‘ova’s’ they return to their origin of spawn. This phenomenon had people puzzled in times when things like these could not yet be explained. And so an Irish myth was born, and it goes like this:
Salmon of Knowledge
According to Irish mythology the first thing to ever come into creation was a hazel tree, and in its branches was contained all the knowledge of the universe. This hazel tree flourished over the Well of Wisdom (Tobar Segais) within which lived an excellent speckled salmon. The story goes that the salmon ate the hazel nuts which on one occasion fell into the well, thus acquiring all the wisdom of the universe. It was foretold that the first person to catch and eat the salmon would gain this knowledge.
Finegas was a poet who lived near the River Boyne, where he read books and wrote poems. He was one of the wisest men in Ireland. Finegas had tried for seven years to catch the fish but he had no luck. A young warrior named Fionn had come to live with Finegas. Fionn was unaware of the legend about the salmon of knowledge. When Fionn asked Finegas why he spend his days fishing, Finegas just smiled and gave no answer.
Then one morning in the springtime, Fionn heard a shout and a mighty splash. Finegas had caught a salmon. It was a beautiful fish and its body shone like silver. Finegas immediately knew he had caught the salmon of knowledge.
Finegas instructed his apprentice, to prepare it for him. Fionn burned his thumb bursting a blister on the cooking salmon. Instinctively he put his thumb into his mouth to ease the pain and acquired all its knowledge instantly. When Fionn brought the cooked meal to Finegas, his master saw something in the boy's eyes that had not been there before. When asked by Finegas, Fionn denied that he had eaten of the fish.
When pressed, he admitted his accidental taste. It was this incredible knowledge and wisdom gained from the Salmon of Knowledge that allowed Fionn to become the leader of the Fianna, the famed heroes of many Irish myths.
Time for a Pint
We will leave it at this for now, I might write a continuation on this Edit if the views are high. We’ve grown a lot in the past few weeks so everyone who is new, welcome, and thank you very much for subscribing! It flatters us to see how many read our Edits every time. For now, I’m headed for the pub. Cheers!