What is Irish cuisine?

davros

OK, imagine you are going into an "Irish restaurant" in, say, Paris. What would they be serving?

It's surprising to me that we don't have an identifiably Irish cuisine (leaving aside the American perception of corned-beef and cabbage). I wonder if we are beginning to develop one?

It strikes me that people like Darina Allen are starting to define at least a vocabulary of ingredients that can be considered Irish.

Herbs would be very important. Thick, creamy soups are definitely in. Probably plenty of dairy-based dishes. Choice cuts of meat, light on the sauce, if any.

To be acceptable to modern tastes, it would have to ease up on the slabs of meat and heaps of potato.

So what do you think, any chance we will see Irish restaurants abroad in the future?

Saruman

There are Irish dishes, in fact i should think there are plenty of them but they are not held in the same regard as French, Italian etc.. For instance Irish Stew is about the only popular one.. Think of Britain, very little there... you dont fine many British or English dishes.. we are very similar but i know there are plenty.. just no popular enough to be known about.. I have seen books though full of traditional Irish recipies so check easons out.

Washout

how aboutt dishes like boxty and cruibins (spelling)

Terminator

I love Irish food. I think our national dish should be coddle not stew.

Dr. Loon

Originally posted by Terminator
I love Irish food. I think our national dish should be coddle not stew.

Coddle is more a Dubiln dish though no? It was made with all the leftovers (sausages, bacon, potatoes etc...) from the week, or so I was told...


3 onions, chopped
pepper to taste
1 pound sausage
3-4 potatoes, peeled and sliced or quartered
1 pound bacon, cooked and broken into small bits
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
2 cups cold water.

Place a layer of onions in the bottom of a heavy pot and sprinkle with pepper.
Layer the rest of the ingredients, sprinkle each layer with pepper. Make several layers.
Add water.
Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, cover tightly, and barely simmer for 2 to 5 hours or transfer to a 250°F oven.

Terminator

Originally posted by Dr. Loon

Coddle is more a Dubiln dish though no? It was made with all the leftovers (sausages, bacon, potatoes etc...) from the week, or so I was told...

We only use the finest ingredients here in Castle Wolfenstein

Still its a lovely dish - especially on a cold day with a some bread and a big mug of fresh milk

Saruman

http://www.iol.ie/resource/imi/breakfast/irbkrec.html

Some irish cuisine

davros

Originally posted by Saruman
There are Irish dishes, in fact i should think there are plenty of them but they are not held in the same regard as French, Italian etc..

This is my point exactly. We have national dishes based on cheap ingredients and cheap cooking methods. But now that we have an affluent society, and a 'foodie' culture, we should be able to develop something more sophisticated that could be exported.

Coddle and pigs feet are just not going to travel. So my question is not about our past eating habits, but our future ones.

Incidentally, the Thai government has recently announced that they will promote a positive image of Thailand by opening hundreds of Thai restaurants around the world. Very smart, I would say - everybody relates to food.

Terminator

We can't be good at everything

We've got the world's best pubs / drinking culture - let the thai's / italians / chinese claim their respective food crowns.

Dr. Loon

Originally posted by davros


This is my point exactly. We have national dishes based on cheap ingredients and cheap cooking methods. But now that we have an affluent society, and a 'foodie' culture, we should be able to develop something more sophisticated that could be exported.

Coddle and pigs feet are just not going to travel. So my question is not about our past eating habits, but our future ones.

Incidentally, the Thai government has recently announced that they will promote a positive image of Thailand by opening hundreds of Thai restaurants around the world. Very smart, I would say - everybody relates to food.

Very few Western countries eat soully their own food anymore, it's a mix of different cultures and flavours, which I personally think is better than eating spuds and cabbage all the time!?
We still have our Irish stew and coddle and boxty and all that traditional shít, but that's a tourist attraction here, more than anything.

We actually do seem to have alot of famous chefs, who do gourmet stuff, it's not necessarily Irish but stuff like salmon and other fish seems to be one of our famous things, for fresh fish and seafood and all that we're pretty high up on the scale of things I reckon.

Jim Daniels

Beef!!
or speciality foods like cheese..

http://www.foodisland.com/

Saruman

Originally posted by Jim Daniels
Beef!!
or speciality foods like cheese..

http://www.foodisland.com/

Interesting site.. some nice looking traditional Irish recipies there.. not exotic but nice looking!

Clinical Waste

Originally posted by Dr. Loon



Very few Western countries eat soully their own food anymore, it's a mix of different cultures and flavours, which I personally think is better than eating spuds and cabbage all the time!?
We still have our Irish stew and coddle and boxty and all that traditional shít, but that's a tourist attraction here, more than anything.
We actually do seem to have alot of famous chefs, who do gourmet stuff, it's not necessarily Irish but stuff like salmon and other fish seems to be one of our famous things, for fresh fish and seafood and all that we're pretty high up on the scale of things I reckon.

Aye some sort of Irish-Asian or similar fusion. Traditional with newer influences. ie
Green-Chilli-Coddle
(I did thois once, not to bad except for the too much green chilli paste -its gets quite strong cooking away in the oven so use less.)

Cheez

Do they do curry cheeze an chips anywhere else on the planet?

Khynareth

Irish pubs are becoming very fashionable in other European countries. You see them growing everywhere and maintained by people who hardly set a foot in Ireland, but it's fashionable.
Usually, the food they serve in there is fish, chips & Irish stew.
They are not as good as the real stuff you can get over here though (Especially the stew).

Terminator

Originally posted by Clinical Waste


Aye some sort of Irish-Asian or similar fusion. Traditional with newer influences. ie
Green-Chilli-Coddle

*rubs tummy* mmm yummmy

Irish_Ranger_IR

Originally posted by Khynareth
Irish pubs are becoming very fashionable in other European countries. You see them growing everywhere and maintained by people who hardly set a foot in Ireland, but it's fashionable.
Usually, the food they serve in there is fish, chips & Irish stew.
They are not as good as the real stuff you can get over here though (Especially the stew).

Too right, you never get any decient food in thoes pubs, even the beer can be dodge..

barman - What can I get you?
me- Pint of Guinness please !
Barman - Shall I pour that in 2 or 3 with a shamrock on top? or right to the top and then pour off the head, top it up again, pour more off, the pint looks like a pint of muddy water,
me after 10 mins waiting - em.....Thanks..

Barman wiping sweat from brow - thats 18.50 please...
me - oh...did I say Guinness...I ment budwiser :rolleyes:

Me - Whats for lunch?
barman - Irish Stew..

me - will you serve it ?
barman - Yes..
me - emm...your..em...alright mate..I pass on that...thanks anyway...

davros

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
but stuff like salmon and other fish seems to be one of our famous things, for fresh fish and seafood and all that we're pretty high up on the scale of things I reckon.

Considering our island status, I'd say we have done surprisingly little with our fish. Compare with Scandinavia (marinaded herring, gravad lax, fish eggs) or Japan (a thousand kinds of sashimi/sushi).

That's a Dublin point-of-view though. I imagine it's much easier to come by fish in the likes of, say, Kinsale. But I could be wrong.

Dr. Loon

Originally posted by davros


Considering our island status, I'd say we have done surprisingly little with our fish. Compare with Scandinavia (marinaded herring, gravad lax, fish eggs) or Japan (a thousand kinds of sashimi/sushi).

That's a Dublin point-of-view though. I imagine it's much easier to come by fish in the likes of, say, Kinsale. But I could be wrong.

Yeah, spudz is our main thing, but stuff like Dublin Bay oysters and shít are popular, and in the Wesht and shít... we're well know for our fresh fish, but Scandinavian countries relied on fish/seafood when we relied on good oul spudz! So we're doin alright.

amp

A Six Pack and a packet of crisps!

No, no, thank you, I'm here all week.

Saruman

Im sure there are some traditional Irish seafood dishes out there.. look at the Oyster fest in Galway... must be something behind it!

bonkey

Originally posted by davros
Considering our island status, I'd say we have done surprisingly little with our fish. Compare with Scandinavia (marinaded herring, gravad lax, fish eggs) or Japan (a thousand kinds of sashimi/sushi).

Ireland use to do a lot with fish, and still does some unusual stuff you wouldnt think of which is incredibly popular abroad (such as smoked eel, for example).

One of the main reasons that most of our fish culture has died away is very simple - the good ol' RC Church, with its "no meat on Fridays", but allowing fish.

As a result, fish in Ireland became a second-class food for a severely long time, and it is only in recent years that it is beginning to get rid of this stigma.

In short, Ireland had a lot of fish-related cuisine, but we dont see much of it any more.

The other thing to remember is that unlike the Norwegians, we are not ice-locked during much of the winter. Fishing in Ireland was an all-year prospect, and therefore we did not need such large amounts of preservation as the Norwegians developed and still use to this day - such as burying their herbed salmon to make gravad lax, or pickling anything which swam in the sea....

As to the Japanese - well, there is obviously a cultural difference there, as it is not just fish that the Asians were incredibly inventive with, but very creature they prepared. They mastered the art of literally being able to use any part of any creature. Therefore, the variety of their fish-based cuisine cannot be compared to ours.

jc

davros

Originally posted by bonkey

The other thing to remember is that unlike the Norwegians, we are not ice-locked during much of the winter.

I understood that the coast of Norway is ice-free year-round thanks to the Gulf Stream. I'm sure preservation played a role in their fish recipes but surely no more than smoking or salting in Ireland?

As to the Japanese - well, there is obviously a cultural difference there

I have to agree that there were strong cultural and environmental factors at work there that resulted in a completely different cuisine. But I'm not yet convinced that we cannot have an equivalently well-developed food aesthetic based on recognisably Irish traditions.

TacT

well the aul Irish smoked salmon is v.popular indeed, I mean just check out the smoked salmon shop at dublin airport :eek:

(Nolan's wild oak smoked is my fave!)

I do agree that we don't do enough with our fish though! We have some of the richest fishing waters and yet we have such a lack of nice fishy dishy's.

For example I go fishing in France during the summer months and you can guarantee that there will be shellfish/something fishy for starters and I've noticed the waters aren't very richly populated (through snorkel diving and spear fishing)

Then I go snorkel diving/scuba diving over here and I'm surrounded by huge lobsters, shoals of pollack (of which I usually only see a few decent sized on the continent) and a load of sea bass (my fave fish in competition with our salmon)

http://www.irishabroad.com/Culture/Kitchen/recipes.asp

Clinical Waste

Lets see, we have lots of fish and loads of spuds.....yes thats it.....

FISH & CHIPS !