Ireland: What to Eat

the appetizer:

Irish cuisine historically featured potatoes, beer, cabbage, beer, kale, beer, stews, heavy breads, and other hearty foods to complement Ireland's northern climate. But cooks in Ireland now fuse traditional cuisine with contemporary cooking styles.

Irish flour is so soft it reacts poorly with yeast, but works well with baking soda. Irish soda bread, so named because it's leavened with baking soda, is another staple at most meals, and every cook has his or her own personal recipe for making it. Originally the bread was baked on cast-iron griddles over open peat fires, but today the loaves are baked in regular ovens.

Ireland's lush soils gave rise to such other fine crops as barley and hops, and combined with Dublin's pure water, led to one of it's most famous products: stout, a thick dark beer introduced by the Guinness brewery in St. James's Gate. Equally as well-known as Guinness stout is Ireland's other fermented grain drink, Irish whiskey. Old Bushmill's and Jameson are the leading brands of Irish whiskey, which is spelled with an 'e' to distinguish it from Scotch whisky. Reportedly, the art of brewing whiskey, the water of life, was developed in the monasteries that once dotted the land. Centuries later, one of the world's most successful liqueurs grew out of mixing Irish whiskey, cream and cocoa together. The result: Bailey's Original Irish Cream Liqueur, usually served on the rocks or splashed into hot coffee.

Roots and Shoots

Potatoes, parsnips, carrots and cabbage—these are the primary vegetables served in Ireland. Onions also play into most dishes. When available, the Irish also cook meals with cauliflower, mushrooms, leeks, broccoli, turnips, peas, chicory, endive and asparagus. Apples are by far the most common fruit, eaten fresh or made into cakes, breads, pies, and fools. Fools are simply puréed fruit layered with rich whipped cream, usually served in glasses, but their simplicity is part of Ireland's moniker. Besides apples, strawberries and rhubarb also appear in puddings, jams, cumbles and tarts.