Historical Food Recipes of Ireland c. 1100 AD – 1847 AD
The pedigree of food (c. 1100 AD)
‘Son of honey-bag, son of juice, son of lard, Son of stirabout, son of pottage, son of fair speckled fruitclusters, Son of smooth clustering cream, son of buttermilk, son of curds, Son of beer (glory of liquors!), son of pleasant bragget (Mead and ale sweetened with honey), Son of twisted leek, son of bacon, son of butter, of full-fat sausage, son of pure new milk, of nut-fruit, son of tree-fruit, son of gravy, son of dripping, of fat, son of kidney, son of rib, son of shoulder, of well-filled gullet, son of leg, son of loin, of hip, son of flitch (A side of unsliced bacon), son of striped breastbone, of bit, son of sup, son of back, son of paunch, of slender tripe, son of cheese without decrease, of fish of Inver Indsén, son of sweet whey, son of biestings, of mead, son of wine, son of flesh, son of ale, of hard wheat, son of tripe, son of fair white porridge, made of pure sheep`s milk, of soft rich pottage, with its curls of steam, of rough curds, son of fair oatmeal gruel, of sprouty meat-soup, with its purple berries, of the top of effeminate kale, son of soft white midriff, Son of bone-nourishing nut-fruit, son of Abel, son of Adam’ (from Aisling Meic Conglinne / The Vision of MacConglinne)
The above tale was translated from the original Irish in the Leabhar Breac, a manuscript transcribed about the year 1400. Written in Irish by Murchadh Riabach Ó Cuindlis, at Cluain Lethan and Lothra (Lorrha), in north Tipperary.
12th Century Irish Recipe:
Leite / Stirabout
‘Leite also known as ‘stirabout’ is given to children; but the flavouring which goes into it is different; namely, salt butter for the sons of the inferior grades, fresh butter for the sons of chieftains, honey for the sons of kings. Stirabout made of oatmeal on butter-milk or water is given to the sons of the Feini grades, and a bare sufficieny of it merely, and salt butter for flavouring. Stirabout made on new milk is given to the sons of the chieftain grades, and fresh butter for flavouring, and a full sufficiency of it is given to them; and this stirabout is made of barley meal. Stirabout made on new milk is given to the sons of kings, and it is made of wheaten meal, and honey for flavouring’ (Brehon Laws, L. Ginnell).
Meat Recipes:
Beef naturally took the first place among the flesh meats: veal, lamb, mutton, and goat`s flesh were also eaten. Mutton was boiled, and the water in which it was cooked constituted the basis of the Bruth or broth. The carcass was cut up, salted, and hung up to dry on hooks in the smoky air of the kitchen. Fresh pork was considered a great delicacy. Young suckling pigs were roasted and were especially esteemed. The meat of a Muc Forais, or house-fed pig, appears, however, to have been specially smoke-dried in the smoke of green wood, such as beech, ash, and whitethorn.
Roasted Meat :
And he [Conglinne] called for juicy old bacon, and tender corned-beef, and full-fleshed wether (castrated male sheep), and honey in the comb, and English salt on a beautiful polished dish of white silver, along with four perfectly straight white hazel spits to support the joints. The viands [type of food] which he enumerated were procured for him, and he fixed unspeakable, huge pieces on the spits. Then putting a linen apron about him below, and placing a flat linen cap on the crown of his head, he lighted a fair four-ridged, four-apertured, four-cleft fire of ash-wood, without smoke, without fume, without sparks. He stuck a spit into each of the portions, and as quick was he about the spits and fire as a hind about her first fawn, or as a roe, or a swallow, or a bare spring wind in the flank of March. He rubbed the honey and the salt into one piece after another. And big as the pieces were that were before the fire, there dropped not to the ground out of these four pieces as much as would quench a spark of a candle; but what there was of relish in them went into their very centre. And when this was ended, he came into the house, with his four spits raised high on his back, and his white widespread cloak hanging behind, its two peaks round his neck, to the place where Cathal was. And he stuck the spits into the bed before Cathal`s eyes, and sat himself down in his seat, with his two legs crossed. Then taking his knife out of his girdle, he cut a bit off the piece that was nearest to him, and dipped it in the honey that was on the aforesaid dish of white silver’ (from Aisling Meic Conglinne / The Vision of MacConglinne)
Mead – Metheglin
Metheglin was probably made by the ancient Irish by simply dissolving honey in water, as the Romans did, but in medieval times aromatic plants seem to have been added.
Beer - Ól na Guala - ale of the coal
The chief intoxicating drink of the ancient Irish, as of all northern European peoples, was beer, which was called in old Irish Cuirm. Households should always have two vats in their house a vat of new milk and a vat of beer. Possibly Ól was a simple fermented, slightly sour concoction of malt, as it is said to have been in England before the introduction of hops, and that the wort of the Cuirm was boiled with some bitter aromatic herbs. Ól na Guala, or "ale of the coal ", and was so called because the wort was boiled over a charcoal fire. Barley beer, appears to have been the grain chiefly used for preparing the malt for beer in Ireland, though there is reason to believe that spelt wheat was also cultivated in Ireland, and also used for the same purpose. As oats was the corn crop most usually grown, it also must have been frequently used for malting, at least in the more mountainous districts not adapted for barley. The Irish name of malt was Brack, modern English Bracket or Bragget, a kind of sweetened ale. Before the introduction of hops, attempts were made used to flavour the beer with aromatic and bitter astringent plants — oak bark, it is said, among other things, having been employed for this purpose.
13th /14th Century Anglo-Norman Recipes:
Claree (Anglo-Norman spiced wine)
‘Take half a measure of cinnamon, ginger, and mace; a third of a measure of cloves, nutmeg, malabathrum (Indian spice leaf similar to cinnamon bark); fennel, anise, and caraway seeds, in the same amount; cardamom and squinant (lemongrass), a fourth of a measure; and spikenard (fragrant Indian plant with rose-purple flowers) in the amount of half the quantity of all the other spices. Grind this into a powder, and then put the powder in a pouch, and take white or red wine and pour it over the powder, wring it through the cloth, and you will have claree; the more you repeat the process, the stronger your claree will be. If you do not have all these spices, take two measures of cinnamon, ginger, and mace, cloves and spikenard to half the quantity of all other ingredients; grind to a powder, and strain as described above, and you will have claree’ (from British Library Manuscripts Additional 32085)
Cressee:
Cressee [crisscross of noodles/pasta]. Here is another dish, which is called cressee. Take best white flour and eggs, and make pasta dough, and in the pasta dough put fine, choice ginger and sugar. Take half of the pastry, (which is or should be) coloured with saffron, and half (which is or should be) white, and roll it out on a table to the thickness of your finger; then cut it into strips, then cut it into strips the size of a piece of lath; stretch it out on a table one strip crossed over the other ; then boil in water; then take a slotted spoon and remove the cressees from the water ; then arrange them on, and cover them with, grated cheese, add butter or oil, and serve. (from British Library Manuscripts Additional 32085)
17th Century Recipes:
Sorrel Salad
Recipe described by Frenchman, Albert Jouvin, de Rochefort (c. 1666-8) on his travels in Ireland when he described a salad served up to him in Dromore, Co. Down. His vivid account states that:
‘I remember I eat of a salad made according to the mode of the country, of I know not what herbs; I think there were sorrel and beets chopt together; it represented the form of a fish, the whole without oil or salt, and only a little vinegar made of beer, and a quantity of sugar strewed over it, that it resembled Mount Etna covered with snow, so that it is impossible to be eaten by any one not accustomed to it. I made my host laugh heartily in the presence of a gentleman, a lord of the town, on asking for oil to season this salad, according to the French fashion, and after having dressed it, I persuaded the gentleman to taste it, who was pleased to hear me speak of the state and customs of France.’
To make an Arterchoak [Artichoke] Pie:
‘Take the bottome of six Arterchoaks, being boyled very tender, put them in a dish, and put some vinegar over them, season them with Ginger and Sugar, a little Mace whole, putting them into a Pie, and when you lay them in, lay some marrow, and some Dates sliced in, and a few Raisins of the Sun in the bottome, with good store of butter, so close the Pie, and when it is half baked, take a dish of Sack, being boyled first with Sugar, and a pill of Orange, put it in your pie, and set it in the Oven again, till you use it’
18th Century Recipe:
Colcannon
Originally an Irish dish of boiled potatoes and cabbage or kale mashed together and flavoured with onion, shallots, or leeks and cream or butter. 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 favourite of the upper classes. In Ireland colcannon was associated traditionally with Halloween (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.
19th Century Recipes:
Irish Stew (1874)
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.
Workhouse Soup (1840s)
The soup used in Lismore workhouse is composed of pearl barley, peas, pepper and salt, in the proportion of one pound of peas and one pound of barley to one gallon of water. For dinner each adult gets 30oz soup with 6 oz of bread, as only two meals are given in the day.
Directions for Making Workhouse Soup:
In preparing this soup the peas should be soaked in cold water for some hours, not less than two, before being put into the boiler; and the soup must be made with soft water, as peas will not mix with hard water, unless a lump of soda is put into it. The water should be boiling when the peas are put in; and they must be let boil separately until tender. Do not add the salt until they are boiled, or they will not become soft. They should be stirred occasionally to keep them from the bottom of the boiler. When they are quite soft, stir in the Barley, and let the soup simmer gently for a couple of hours. In the meantime put some pepper into a vessel with a little of the soup, mix them well, and pour them into the boiler- then stir the soup thoroughly and season it with salt.
