Thinking about which nation closest to us in spirit, you involuntarily remember the Irish. Too similar to our people's habit of going to a friendly company to sit for a while, and then finish everything with a noisy meal. And they also like to drink whiskey with a pint-another black Guinness. Deciding to visit the Emerald Isle, you can certainly appreciate the beauty of Irish cuisine.
When you arrive in Ireland for the first time, do not be surprised if in the diner you will be served with slices of potatoes fried in oil with a fish - a local fast-food option. And certainly one should not evaluate all Irish cuisine in this dish.
A bit of history
The history of the national Irish cuisine begins in ancient times, and it is quite difficult. For example, it was never originally divided into "high" and "simple" cuisine, both rich and poor people in Ireland always ate potatoes, vegetables and corned beef. Residents of coastal villages, this meager list was diluted with fish, usually salmon, cod or mackerel. Even in the XVII century, both fish and meat for storing smoked or salted, and glacial cellars for storing fresh meat and fish near the houses began to appear later. To fill the ice cellar, the Irish harvested pieces of ice in the cold season, after which they filled their refrigerator.
Cooking dishes of Irish cuisine
Many recipes have disappeared with time, but even today in the Irish cuisine there are dishes whose composition and preparation have not changed much, in spite of the past centuries. Among them is the Irish stew. Its original composition is difficult to name, most likely it was all the products that the hostess found in her kitchen. Today, there are many varieties of ragout, and any chef will claim that it is he who cooks according to the present recipe. Despite the difference in the compositions, all these dishes combine one thing: the Irish stew should be nutritious, thick and have a unique aroma of meat and vegetables. Adding a bit of dark Guinness to the almost ready stew, it can be made truly magical. But from sausages, bacon, onions and potatoes is preparing a simpler version called Dublin Coddle.
Initially, the stew was prepared from horse meat, beef, goat meat or meat of mountain rams. Since the domestic sheep in Ireland were bred for the sake of wool, they were too valuable to be allowed to be eaten. Therefore, all modern recipes with lamb and lamb are no more than late variations of the recipe. On a garnish to meat here it is accepted to submit boiled vegetables or a potato. By the way, the consumption of potatoes Ireland and to this day bypasses many countries.
Another Irish coffee card is Irish coffee. This is a relatively young drink. In 1952, bartender Joe Sheridan treated his friend - a journalist from San Francisco, with his signature drink - coffee from whiskey. Upon his return to the US, he told the recipes of the drink to his friend, the owner of the bar Buena Vista. In the shortest time the popularity of the drink exceeded all records. And to this day in "Buena Vista" drank half a million glasses of coffee in Irish per year.
In Moscow, too, you can drink coffee in Irish, but that's how difficult it is to say how much its formula matches the original one. After all, so that the drink does not burn your hands, it should be poured into a special glass of tempered glass that does not heat up properly. In addition, the taste of the drink will depend on what the barman will add to the glass. Most often Irish whiskey is replaced with scotch or bourbon, although with coffee it is best to combine the soft Irish whiskey. But Scotch whiskey is good to drink with black tea.
Like Irish cuisine and lovers of sweet. Local sweets have long been a secret outside of Ireland. Especially it concerns the famous Irish cakes with porter and raisins, potato liver, apple pie and liver with whiskey.
And how without alcohol. ..
The story of the national cuisine of Ireland will not be complete unless it mentions Irish whiskey. There are many versions of his appearance on the islands. So, according to one of them, once the whiskey was prepared in Ireland, the first Christian monasteries, and their ministers received his recipe directly from St. Patrick. Although the evidence that St. Patrick invented this intoxicating drink has not yet been found. Even in the last century in Ireland, worked a lot of viscoscopes, but today their number has decreased to three major producers. Irish people appreciate and love whiskey, using it both in pure form, and in the composition of numerous drinks.
And finally it is worth mentioning the well-known beer "Guinness".According to statistics, 4.5 million pints of Guinness are produced daily for 4 million people. At the same time, there are amateurs who claim that drinking it is useful to everyone, from pregnant women( it is not worth checking) to real Irish horses. And there is no need to doubt this, because the Irish brewers are patronized by none other than St. Patrick himself. So, the day of the saint is also worth celebrating with a mug of dark beer in his hands.