• A History of Irish Food
• Ancient Celtic fare
• colcannon
• corned beef & cabbage
• Halloween traditions
• Irish coffee
• Irish soda bread
• Irish stew
• scones
• shepherds pie

Ancient Celtic fare
Much is known about what ancient Celtic foods, dining customs, and cooking methods:

"The eating and feasting habits of the Celts were recorded by a number of classical writers, the most important of these being Posidonius, a Syrian Greek philosopher who in his Histories provides eyewitness accounts of the Gauls in the 1st Century BC. Although his work does not survive intact, it was an important sources of information for a number of later Greek writers, notably Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC) and Athenaeus (fl. C. AF 200). Detailed accounts are also found throughout the corpus of early medieval Irish saga literature, much of which is believed to reflect Iron Age Celtic society. Athenaus, quoting Posidonious, describes the informal feasting arrangements of the Celts as follows: 'the Celts place dried grass on the floor when they eat their meals, using tables which are raised slightly off the ground.' The classical material indicates that the feast was centered around the cauldron and roasting spits and was characterized by an abundance of roasted and boiled meat, which were eaten with bare hands....the feast was a ceremonial manifestation of the warfaring nature of society."
---Oxford Compantion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 149-50)
[NOTE: This book contains far more information than can be paraphrased here. It also cites sources for further study. Your librarian can help you find a copy.]

"The Celts, like their predecessors, prepared their meat by roasting or stewing. Both methods became easier after the introduction of metal utensils. Bronze, known in Britain from introduction the middle of the second millennium BC, was for a long time used sparingly for weapons, knives or jewelry. The inspiration for cauldrons of the meat came from the Greek trading colonies on the French Mediterranean coasts. Their vessels of riveted sheet bronze were seen and copied by itinerant Irish smiths about the eighth or seventh century BC. Soon cauldrons began to made in Britain too, though there were rare at first and were probably reserved for ritual meals rather than everyday use. Metal had many practical advantages over pottery. The new containers could be placed directly over the flames of a fire. They were not liable to be broken through over-heating or by being accidentally dropped. They were even more hygienic, for they could be cleaned with sand or ask and water more thoroughly than earthenware pots."
---Food and Drink in Britain From the Stone Age to the 19th Century, C. Anne Wilson [Academy Chicago:Chicago] 1992 (p. 67)
[NOTE: This book is an excellent source for your project. It is arranged by general food group (cereals, breads, meats, vegetables, etc.) and then by time period. Each chapter has pages devoted to Iron Age Celtic foods/cooking methods. Sample below. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy of this book.]

Meat:
"Mealtimes among the Celts in Gaul were described by Posidonius (135-51 BC)...The diners sat on the ground on straw or hides, and ate their meat with their fingers in a cleanly by leonine fashion, raising up whole limbs in both hands and biting off the meat, while any part that is hard to tear off they cut through with a small dagger which hangs attached to their swordsheath in its own scabbard'. They were waited upon by t heir older sons and daughters. Beside them are hearths blazing with fire, with cauldrons and spits containing large pieces of meat. Brave warriors they honor with the finest portions of the meat.' The Celtic Iron Age saw the establishment of salt working around Britain coasts. The salt helped to preserve meat for winter use, and especially the pork so well loved by the Celts. The hams prepared by their neighbours in Gaul were exported to Rome as a delicacy; but we know no details about the salted meats of Britain. According to an Italian recipes of the mid-second century BC, hams had to be covered with salt and steeped in their own brine for seventeen days, dried for two, rubbed over with oil and vinegar, and them smoked for a further two days. It is likely that Celtic Britons followed similar practices, barring the oil and vinegar dressing."
---Food and Drink in Britain (p. 68)

"The Celts, who began to settle in Britain from the eighth century B.C., added hens, ducks, and geese to the list of Britain's domeseticated animals. They refused to eat the wild horses and instead tamed them for riding and for drawing wagons and chariots. The Celts were the first to recognize that the soil of Britain is more fertile than that of continental Europe, and they cleared forests to plant cereals and allow pasture to grow for grazing. They preserved meat, fish, and butter in salt and exported British beef to the Continent. The Celts also tilled the soil so successfully that they exported grain to many parts of Europe. In Britain, they built underground grain storage silos. The Celts processed wheat by setting ears alight, then extinguishing the fire when the husks were burnt. The wheat was then winnnowed and baked, and saddle querns were used to grind it into flour. These industrious farmers also began beekeeping, with conical hives made from wickerwork daubed with mud or dung. They employed shallow earthenware pots as drinking vessels, whereas deeper pots were made for cooking pottages (mixtures of meat, grains, leaves, roots, and herbs) slowly over a fire. Honey and water, left together in a pot, will ferment, and this drink--mead--was often flavored with wild herbs and fruits. Some cow, ewe, and goat milk might have been drunk fresh, but most of it would have been made into cheese and only the whey drunk. The Celts made an unhopped beer from barley and wheat, first allowing the grain to germinate, then stopping this process with heat and allowing it to ferment. Finally, they also imported wine and, later, began to grow vines themselves."
---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume Two (p. 1217-8)
[NOTE: page 1217 contains a summary of foods known in the British Isles prior to the Celts. Presumably, these foods were also known to these peoples.]

Recommended reading:

• Food and Drink in Prehistory Europe/Jacqui Wood
• Prehistoric Cooking, Jacqui Wood (includes modernized recipes)
• "The Celts," Food in the Ancient World, Joan P. Alcock (p. 172-180)

Colcannon
Food historians generally agree colcannon belongs to the Irish. This conclusion is based on linguistic evidence, ingredient availability, and culinary preference. Combinations of potatoes, cabbage, and leeks were also embraced by many other cultures and cuisines, most notably Germany, Russia, France, Scotland, England. These hardy, economical, filling foods sated the bellies of the working and poorer classes.

Cabbages and their cousins were known to ancient cooks. They were thought to have several medicinal attributes. The Romans are said to have introduced cabbages to Europe, with the possible exception of Ireland, where [According to C. Anne Wilson/Food and Drink in Britain(1973)], linguistic evidence suggests it was already known to Iron Age Celts. In Medieval Europe cabbage/cole (often in combination with members of the onion family) were the food of the common man. Potatoes were introduced to to Europe by 16th century explorers. They were first regarded as curiosities, not readily embraced as food. The French, then the Irish, were among the first to recognize the fact that potatoes could keep a nation from starving. Recipes for potato and cabbage dishes were inevitable. These dishes developed according to collective taste and culinary experience.

"Colcannon. Originally and Irish dish of boiled potatoes and cabbage or kale mashed together and flavoured with onion, shallots, or leeks and cream or butter...The word colcannon' is from the Gaelic cal ceannann' which literally means white-headed cabbage. However, the cannon' part of the name might be a derivative of the old Irish cainnenn', translated variously as garlic, onion, or llek. Therefore it can be suggested that in its earliest form colcannon may have been a simple mixture of some brassica and allium. One of the earliest Irish references to the dish as a mash of potatoes and cabbages is found in the Diary of Wiliam Bulkely, of Bryndda, near Amlwch in Anglesey, who made two journeys to Dublin in 1735...The dish was introduced into England in the 18th century, where it became a favorite of the upper classes...In Ireland colcannon was associated traditionally with Hallowe'en (31 October) festivities, when it was used for the purposes of marriage divination. Charms hidden in bowls of colcannon were portents of a marriage proposal should unmarried girls be lucky enough to find them, whilst others filled their socks with spoonfuls of colcannon and hung them from the handle of the front door in the belief that the first man through the door would become their future husband."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 203)

"There were variations, if rare, even thwat the poor ate. One was colcannon, or cale-cannon, turnips or cabbage mashed up with potatoes and stewed. (A northern version, popular in county Armagh, substituted beans for the turnips and cabbage.) Colcannon entered English usage in 1774, but the dish may be older. What is more certain is that colcannon was a treat--few cottagers grew turnips or cabbages. That didn't stop it from becoming a delicacy, however, because the peasants reportedly liked to steal the missing ingredients now and then. When Irish immigrants came to the United States, they introduced colcannon to American cuisine."
---The Potato: How the Humble Spud Rescued the Western World, Larry Zuckerman [North Point Press:New York] 1998 (p. 32)

The earliest recipe we have for colcannon printed in an American cook book is from 1847. Note... It is not called colcannon!

"Cabbage and Potatoes.--Chop cold boiled cabbage and potatoes quite fine; put them together, season with butter, pepper and salt, add a very little vinegar or hot water, to moisten without making it wet, put it into a stew-pan over the fire, stir it well, that it may be thoroughly heated, but not burn; then take it into a dish, and serve for breakfast, or with cold boiled salt meat for dinner."
---Mrs. Crowen's American Lady's Cookery Book, Mrs. T. J. Crowen [Dick & Fitzgerald:New York] 1847 (p. 194)

Irish Stew
The history of Irish stew, therefore, is truly a study of each ingredient. Onions were introduced by the Ancient Romans. Potatoes were a new world food, introduced to the British Isles in the 16th century, but not embraced until much later. The dating of "shepherd's pie" has similar notes. About shepherd's pie.

"Irish stew is a celebrated Irish dish, yet its composition is a matter of dispute. Purists maintain that the only acceptable and traditional ingredients are neck mutton chops or kid, potatoes, onions, and water. Other would add such items as carrots, turnips, and pearl barley; but the purists maintain they spoil the true flavour of the dish. The ingredients are boiled and simmered slowly for up to two hours. Mutton was the dominant ingredient because the economic importance of sheep lay in their wool and milk produce and this ensured that only old or economically non-viable animals ended up in the cooking pot, where they needed hours of slow boiling. Irish stew is the product of a culinary tradition that relied almost exclusively on cooking over an open fire. It seems that Irish stew was recognized as early as about 1800..."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 407)

[1874]
"Irish Stew.
Take from two or three pounds of chops from the best end of a neck of mutton, and pare away nearly all the fat, for an Irish Stew should not be greasy. If liked a portion of the breast may be cut into squares and used, but a neck of mutton is the best joint for the purpose. Take as many potatoes as amount after peeling to twice the weight of the meat. Slice them, and slice also eight large onions. Put a layer of mixed potatoes and onions at the bottom of a stewpan. Place the meat on this and season it plentifully with pepper and slightly with salt. Pack the ingredients closely, and cover the meat with another layer of potato and onion. Pour in as much water or stock as will moisten the topmost layer, cover the stewpan tightly, and let its contents simmer gently for three hours. Be careful not to remove the lid, as this will let out the flavour."
---Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1874 (p. 331)

Recommended reading:
"Irish Food Before the Potato," A.T. Lucas, Gwerin: A Half-Yearly Journal of Folk Life, Volume III, No. 2, 1960 (p. 8-43)
Land of Milk and Honey: The Story of Traditional Irish Food and Drink/Brid Mahon
---best overall history
A Little History of Irish Cuisine/Regina Sexton
---recommended by culinary historians
Oxford Companion to Food/Alan Davidson
---includes separate entries for traditional dishes
You Eat What You Are: People, Culture and Food Traditions/Thelma Barer-Stein
---popular foods, dining customs, holiday meals & glossary. Grades 4-12.

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Research conducted by Lynne Olver, editor The Food Timeline. About this site.