I love Irish food. It's simple, nutritious and tasty, and made from the finest ingredients in the world.
My childhood was happy and healthy, nourished by plenty of potatoes, succulent meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, and my mother's homemade cakes, breads and desserts.
When I moved to America over twenty years ago I was astonished to hear so many disparaging remarks about my national cuisine.
Table of Contents
Irish Food - A Mixed Reputation
I remember watching the Today show one morning. Bryant Gumble was hosting back then. His recent trip to Ireland was a highlight of that particular show. I watched with pride as he praised the beauty of my homeland. My bubble soon burst. He threw his eyes to heaven once he mentioned Irish food.
When Irish American comedian Dennis Leary was being roasted by his friends at Comedy Central, he joked it should have been a boil instead of a roast. His Irish mother and most Irish women have a penchant for boiling nearly every meal.
Irish born actor, Peter O'Toole, said his three favorite Irish foods were all Guinness. Poor Irish food! It often takes a beating here in America.
Our cooking has a reputation for being bland, sauceless and lacking in flavor. This opinion is understandable in a world where exotic spices are over-rated, and food is expected to appeal to the eye more than to the palate.
The old joke tells how the Irish cook's spice drawer holds nothing but salt and pepper.
Irish Food - Simple and Tasty Fare
Irish food may seem dull to some, but for me it is the straightforward simplicity of its ingredients and techniques that put it in a distinctive, satisfying class all of its own.
French cuisine is magnificent, yet not for the everyday cook with little time to fuss and fume over sautee pans and steaming pots.
In years gone by the Irish cook had little more than an open fire and a big black pot for cooking. As a result traditional Irish meals are not elaborate.
Simple and economical, Irish food does not try to mask the true flavor of wholesome, quality ingredients. It is an unpretentious cuisine, whose strength lies in its simplicity.
Many Americans eat out way too often. Sometimes I think the home cook is intimidated by the complexity of many ethnic cuisines. Cooking shows focus on elaborate recipes and visually appealing dishes, rather than assisting the home cook to learn simple, economical family favorites.
Irish Americans have an unjustified, inferiority complex about the traditional recipes of our forefathers. We need to learn to be proud of our cuisine.
To this day it is the rustic food of my childhood that I long for, not the fancy American food I first tasted when I lived in New York.
Irish Food - Glorious Recipes
Anyone who has tasted a Guinness beef stew, or a roast leg of lamb, can testify to the glories of Irish cooking.
At Thanksgiving time Americans plan their great family get-togethers with time-honored dinner menus.
I believe Irish side dishes are perfect to pair with turkey. Why not give an Irish twist to a traditional American Thanksgiving meal.
We'll learn how to cook rutabagas, and roast potatoes.
Other great Irish sides for Thanksgiving include cider glazed carrots and cauliflower cheese.
Remember, the Irish know plenty about cooking turkey. An Irish Christmas dinner usually features roast turkey.
And so I make no apologies for Irish food. I plan to keep cooking as my mother cooked, and her mother and grandmother before her.
Why not check out my free Irish recipe book, which you can save and print at home.
Come back and visit often. Together we can bring Irish American food to a new level of excellence and appreciation.
Slán agus beannacht,
(Goodbye and blessings)
Mairéad -Irish American Mom
Pronunciation - slawn ah-gus ban-ock-th
Mairéad - rhymes with parade
Irish Soups And Stews
- Homemade Vegan Vegetable Stock Cubes
- Easy Cauliflower Leek Irish Soup Recipe
- Deliciously Hearty Beef Barley Stew
- How To Make Irish Style Cream of Celery Soup
Irish Main Dishes
- Delicious And Flavorful Whiskey Pork Chops Recipe
- Guinness Glazed Chicken Tenders
- Easy Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Leftover Turkey and Ham Rissoles
Ann
Good one! Very well written. Hope to be dining on such fare next week!
Let me know what we can bring
-Ann
Irish American Mom
Looking forward to our annual Thanksgiving feast. I'll be brining and cooking the turkey again. I just love this holiday.
Mairead
Kay G.
Dear Mairead,
You can cook me your Irish food ANYTIME! 🙂
It is very much what I hear about English food, but like you, I just don't understand it. Fresh food, cooked simply and perfectly, is just simply perfect! My mother-in-law makes the best roast chicken dinner with gravy, with carrots and lovely fresh cabbage and those wonderful roast potatoes! along with a glass of white wine...it is one of my favorite meals!
This is making me hungry! 🙂
Irish American Mom
Kay - English and Irish food are very similar, and share many of the same recipes. I never can understand why they get such a bad rap. Like you, a roast chicken dinner with roast potatoes and gravy is one of my favorite meals in the world. But whatever fancy food critics may say about the rustic dishes I love, I am just going to keep on cooking them and singing their praises to the world.
Take care,
Mairead
Vince
Part of the problem is that there are two cuisines in Ireland.
Allow me to put it this way. In the past when people went on a Grand Tour they were eating the food well below their position at home. Where in the UK or Ireland would you see a belted earl eating town food. But he couldn't go to the local count either for this would obligate him. Ergo, him eating from the communal pot. All be it the good portions of meat. Further, there IS far more stewing of meat on the continent than on these islands. However, in the past salting beef mutton or pork was the only way to save it. And the only way to rid some of the brine is to boil it. To go back to the earl. He had a household that was nearing that of a small town so killing a steer a week wouldn't waste. This was far nearer how French and Italian communes dealt with things. Anyol'houses, the net result was that chefs were imported in the way of stucco plasterers and this permeated to the middle classes since the chefs and those they trained ended up in restaurants in UK and Irish towns.
The second cuisine was and is very rarely seen. And that is based on fish.
Slán libh
Irish American Mom
Vince - I love your point about how the earls and Irish land owners of consequence lived and ate in years gone by. Last time I was home I visited Newbridge House in Co. Dublin. It is a wonderful display of how a demesne functioned in years gone by, raising cattle, pigs, sheep, goats and fowl for the owner's table and to feed all the servants and workers needed to keep the house functioning.
Thanks again for some great information.
Mairead
Spencer
Only people who do not understand food would speak ill about traditional Irish cooking. It is comfort food at its finest don't apologize for that. By the way love your potato cake recipe made it tonight and it was a big hit.
Irish American Mom
Thanks, Spencer. "Comfort food at its finest" really does sum it up.
So glad to hear you enjoyed my potato cakes - so typical of Irish food, simple and delicious.
Best wishes,
Mairead
Eva Abdullah
I look forward to reading your recipes and improving my Irish cooking skills...I am a proud Irish descendant and ashamed that I don't know how to cook very many authentic Irish foods.
Anything containing potatoes will be of special interest 🙂
Irish American Mom
Eva - We love potatoes in our house too. I have many more recipes to share over the coming weeks, months and years, so stop by whenever you get a chance. I love to share my insights into Irish food, handed down to me by my mom who still lives in Ireland. Thanks so much for checking out my recipes.
All the best,
Mairead
Brian@irelandfavorites
Hi Mairead, The best broiled scallops Ive ever had were at Johnny Foxes. A bowl of lamb stew with a hunk of born bread is tough to beat also, and the potatoes with the different varieties and cooking styles are glorious. The boiling jokes made by American Irish (like me) refers to the boiled New England dinner or boiled corned beef. A legacy of the first wave of immigrants, buying cheap cuts of salted brisket and cooking it the only way possible to make it tender. It's following tradition turns into our American corn beef for St. Paddy"s day. I'm starting to feel like Vince.
Cheers,
Congrats for your IH gig,
Brian.
Brian@irelandfavorites
Brown bread, of course, really should read comment closer.
Irish American Mom
Hi Brian - There was plenty of boiling done in Ireland too. My grandmother used to send me to the creamery to get her "cut of bacon". She boiled bacon for dinner at least twice a week - delicious with cabbage and potatoes. I really enjoy your comments. You always have great insight into Irish American culture and history. Thanks so much for all your comments and support.
All the best,
Mairead
Spencer
I have a question do you have a good coddle recipe? I love it but my wife isn't too big on it.
Irish American Mom
Spencer - I have a recipe for Dublin coddle, but I have not made it in years. My issue with making it in America is that the pork sausages never taste the same as the Irish ones, and the dish always turns out completely different to the coddle I remember from Ireland. If I can find the right bacon and sausages that pass my taste test, I'll give it a try. I'll share the recipe if I am satisfied with my American results.
Mairead
Grammy
Your recipe for Guinness stew has become a favorite in our house...
Irish American Mom
So glad your family likes my Guinness stew - and leftovers are great the day after.
Cheryl Barker
It's hard to beat the favorite foods of our childhood, isn't it, no matter the cuture or country we hail from. Such great memories!
Irish American Mom
So true, Cheryl. I think we all dream of our favorite childhood treats and our mothers' recipes.
Carla
I'm an American who loves to holiday in Ireland. I feel a bit depressed upon each return from Ireland because I know the food here in the US is not up to par with anything I've ever had in Ireland (and that it will be 2 years before such tastiness crosses my lips again). Even restaurants here that tout homemade meals use subpar ingredients and their food tastes nothing like homemade.
Irish American Mom
Carla - It is so nice to hear how much you enjoy Irish food. It has a true homemade taste and quality so hard to find in other parts of the world. It may not be fancy but the simple goodness of the food is hard to beat. It is lovely to hear such positive feedback about your trips to Ireland. It truly is a wonderful place to visit.
Thanks for stopping by and best wishes,
Mairead
Christa
I stumbled across this site in my search for how to cook cabbage. I am about to print out a few of your recipes because I'm stuck in a cooking rut. I have never had an Irish dish so I'm looking forward to trying some of these dishes. I appreciate the recipes because the ingredients are everyday ingredients, some of which I have right now. The only thing that's stopping me is bewilderment as to which recipe to try first. So please, don't EVER apologize for the cuisine of your homeland.
Irish American Mom
Christa - I'm delighted you found my site. I hope you enjoy my recipes and a little taste of Ireland. Best wishes,
Mairéad
Imen
Hi Mairead,
This post spells out EXACTLY why I had to produce Small Green Fields. Irish food is special, real, natural...not overdone and certainly not always BOILED! Thanks for writing this hon. As always, love checking in here...wonderful flip-flop to my life in Ireland. All the Best, Imen xx
Irish American Mom
Imen - Thanks so much for stopping by and for letting us know about your production "Small Green Fields". Wishing you every success with this amazing project. I can't wait to see it. I'll follow along on Twitter to keep posted on your progress. I agree wholeheartedly with you - Irish food is simple, delicious and most definitely under-rated around the world. I hope your fantastic program will help to change that perception.
Best wishes and have a lovely Easter.
Mairéad
Michael Devaney
Your pictures look nice but are not enough to convince me that Irish cooking has changed. My mother was a terrible cook growing up, then she improved, and now she's bad again. Probably a common enough trajectory. I love her but I'm glad she ain't feedin' me anymore!
Irish American Mom
Michael - I think many Irish mothers in years gone by over-cooked everything and loved to boil our dinners. But Irish produce is amongst the best in the world so the basic ingredients are ideal for anyone who knows how to cook. Thanks so much for stopping by and adding to our discussion on Irish food.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Bernadette
Hi, Mairead. your post about Irish cooking brought back memories of visits to my aunt in Donegal in the 60's, I loved helping her to make the daily soda bread, delicious with freshly churned butter, not to mention the freshly caught salmon from the river on the farm and freshly pulled vegetables, fresh eggs and so on. Delicious and all organic when the term was unknown. it was all cooked simply over an open peat fire and full of flavour. There was no need for rich sauces for such fresh flavoursome food. A particular favourite of mine was brougeen,( mashed potatoes mixed with finely diced onion, milk and some salted butter). However, I hated the Caragheen moss milk pudding given to us if we felt unwell! I don't remember corned beef and cabbage, that sounds like an American dish but bacon, cabbage and potatoes is still popular and delicious! I adored the soda bread with lashings of butter, and still do! Irish food is the best, fresh ingredients simply cooked and full of natural flavour! Yum! Now I'm feeling hungry.
Irish American Mom
Hi Bernadette - It sounds like you share the same memories of Irish food - simple but ever so tasty. Corned beef and cabbage is an American phenomenon - Irish immigrants to the US couldn't get bacon, so they replaced it with corned beef.
Thanks so much for checking out this blog post.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
Maureen o Hanlon
My mother used to make the mist beautiful roasts and roast potatoes and Apple tart and all in a bastible over the fire. I can still see putting the Ryan d cinders on the cover, I've never tasted the likes of it, it was so beautiful, I have all the modcons and still can't get the flavour, the goose for Christmas was also done on the bastib
le, her Apple yary had the juicey syrup around the sides, thanks for the memories. mairead
Irish American Mom
Hi Maureen - All the mod cons in the world can't bake bread as good as the old ways. Both of my grandmothers were from Cork and made beautiful bread. My West Cork granny was great at brown bread - she always got a lovely soft crust on her loaf. My north Cork granny was a whiz at raisin soda bread. I haven't tasted anything as good in years. So glad this post brought back lovely memories.
Best wishes,
Mairéad
John
Great article, I'm cooking some of it right now! Best of luck 🙂
Irish American Mom
Glad to hear your doing a little Irish cooking, John.
All the best,
Mairéad