Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [40]
The culinary renaissance has taken place, and the Irish are now enjoying the fine cuisine that they have long deserved. The island has always been blessed with a wealth of staples and specialities, with meat, seafood and dairy produce that are the envy of the world. At the twilight of the 20th century, a new wave of cooks began producing what is sometimes promoted as ‘New Irish Cuisine’.
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Visit www.ravensgard.org/prdunham/irishfood.html for a highly readable and complete history of Irish cuisine, with fascinating chapters such as ‘The Most Widely Used Cooking Methods in Pre-Potato Ireland’ and ‘Collecting of Blood for Pudding Making’.
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In truth, the new cuisine is more a confident return to the traditional practice of combining simple cooking techniques with the finest local ingredients. Many of the new chefs merely strive to offer their patrons the sort of meals that have always been taken for granted on well-run Irish farms. Whatever you want to call it, it has aroused the nation’s taste buds, and you’ll find local produce on menus across the country, from Dublin Bay prawns and Connemara salmon to Skeaghanore duck and Kilbrittain lamb.
But gastronomes have more than rediscovered traditions to thank. The Irish diners of today – generally a more affluent and worldly bunch than their forebears – have become more discerning and adventurous. To meet their demands, restaurants are continually springing up on city streets and in old country homes, their menus spruced up with all sorts of international touches. Luckily, excellent food isn’t reserved for urbanites and the rich – small restaurants, delis and cafes the country over have fallen in love with good, fresh Irish produce and it’s easy to find well-cooked, homely food far from the tourist trail.
Of course, you can still find leathery meat, shrivelled fish and overcooked vegetables, if that’s what you’re looking for. But why punish yourself, when hearty fare that will make your palate sing is so readily available?
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STAPLES & SPECIALITIES
Potatoes
It’s a wonder the Irish retain their good humour amid the perpetual potato-baiting they endure. But, despite the stereotyping, and however much we’d like to disprove it, potatoes are still paramount here and you’ll see lots of them on your travels. The mashed potato dishes colcannon and champ (with cabbage and spring onion respectively) are two of the tastiest recipes in the country.
Meat & Seafood
Irish meals are usually meat based, with beef, lamb and pork common options. Seafood, long neglected, is finding a place on the table in Irish homes. It’s widely available in restaurants and is often excellent, especially in the west. Oysters, trout and salmon are delicious, particularly if they’re direct from the sea or a river rather than a fish farm. The famous Dublin Bay prawn isn’t actually a prawn but a lobster. At its best, the Dublin Bay prawn is superlative, but it’s priced accordingly. If you’re going to splurge, do so here – but make sure you choose live Dublin Bay prawns because once these fellas die, they quickly lose their flavour.
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Over 10,000 oysters are consumed each year – accompanied by an equal number of pints of Guinness – at the exuberant Galway Oyster International Festival (www.galwayoysterfest.com; Click here).
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Bread
The most famous Irish bread, and one of the signature tastes of Ireland, is soda bread. Irish flour is soft and doesn’t take well to yeast as a raising agent, so Irish bakers of the 19th century leavened their bread with bicarbonate of soda. Combined with buttermilk, it makes a superbly light-textured and tasty bread, and is often on