CORK, Ireland –A new culture, a new currency, a new pace of life––these were the obvious changes when I moved here. Right away, I realized the most fundamental adjustment would be our most basic need: food.
During the Christmas dinner my wife and I had with an Irish family, we ate potato soup, mashed potatoes, mashed carrots and potatoes, and roasted potatoes. That was one meal. I urge Spy readers to look up Irish recipes for roasted potatoes. If it calls for goose fat, it’s the real deal.
I flirt with stereotypes when I say that the Irish are as creative with potatoes as Marylanders are with crab. A funny comparison, but true.
My fondest eating experiences from growing up in Earleville, in southern Cecil County, were the seasonal changes. Summer’s fresh tomatoes, and crabs caught by yours truly, steamed in the back yard. The colder months brought game to the table, venison and waterfowl. I eagerly awaited the chance to make my own “deer jerky.”
I haven’t been here in Cork long enough to get familiar with seasonal foods, but best food is the best ingredients, minimally altered. The core of the traditional Irish diet is meat, eggs, and vegetables (and, yes, potatoes and more potatoes).
The Irish breakfast is a meal most folks from home would be comfortable with: fried eggs, rashers (bacon), bread, fresh tomatoes, and “pudding.” “Pudding,” or blood sausage, is an excellent allegory for a cherished (and despised) regional staple from home: scrapple. Whether you should drink a stout with the Irish breakfast is up for debate.
Consider the stout, but pass on the coffee. Americans, accostumed to massive cups of java for ninety-nine cents, are horrified to learn that the cheapest coffee in Cork can be had for three euros (or about $4.50). I love the stuff, and until coming here I had at least one black coffee every morning. But in the British Isles tea is king––it’s so cheap in grocery stores I’m beginning to wonder if it is subsidized by the government. Anyway, I have converted. At least for the time being.
Most prices of foodstuffs are comparable to what you find in the States. Buying things by weight was at first shocking, until I realized that most of the prices are per kilogram. Likewise, the food jargon takes some getting used to.
Asking “Do you have any zucchinis?” earned me some strange looks––I eventually I learned that here they’re called “courgettes.” Peas, interestingly enough, are called “petits pois,” and eggplant is “aubergine.”
And don’t risk looking like a fool asking for “ground” beef, for here it’s known as “minced.”
Occasionally we encounter Maryland cuisine by name. In several places I have seen “Chicken Maryland,” or “Maryland Fried Chicken.” This is breaded and fried — often served with some sort of gravy poured on top of it. I think most Marylanders have never heard of this state dish. I confess that I have never had it.
Nonetheless, “Chicken Maryland” has made a name for itself in Ireland.
Libby says
Ah, to be near the English Market!
Lydia says
Take it from a recent resident of Cork myself, (and a constant piner for returning) stick to Barry’s tea…it’s the local and much better than Lyons or any others you’ll find. The red box.
The best fish and chips is Jackie Lennox’s on Barracks Street. A little bit of an upward climb from the city center but the real deal, and considered by many the best in the whole country.
And lastly, yes, the English Market, if you haven’t discovered it already. An interesting yet delicious treat is the Chester Cake, which you can buy from the bread salemen in the center of the market. The cake consists of all the leftover doughs and batters from their other breads and desserts, which when combined, create a different yet delicious taste each week. Don’t be frightened – its delish.
Kathleen says
I remember discovering Chicken Maryland in London in 1971. In those days it included fried bananas, something I had certainly never heard of in my eleven years in Chestertown! Now I live in Dublin, where I can buy venison in the supermarket around the corner. The label does warn that there may be shot in it.