The humble potato’s introduction to Ireland is pretty murky, even though we now know it as a staple of Irish cuisine. Two theories exist regarding its origin, according to Chef Noel McMeel, from Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland. One is that Sir Walter Raleigh planted Ireland’s first potato in Youghal, County Cork, in the 17th century. But, McMeel tells Smithsonian.com, that’s impossible—Raleigh was already deceased when the planting was supposed to have happened. The other theory sees the potato arriving to Ireland by accident in 1588, crashing onto the western shore aboard a wrecked Spanish armada ship.
However the potato might have come to Ireland, though, by the 1700s it was an integral part of meals for at least a third of Ireland’s population. By the mid-18th century—as lecturer and chef Dr. Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire from the Dublin Institute of Technology, tells Smithsonian.com—colcannon, a side dish of mashed potatoes mixed with garden-grown kale or cabbage, had emerged as a staple food. The ingredients joined ancient and modern Ireland; the ancestral diet in the country was heavy on kale and cabbage, and colcannon combined them with the more modern potato to create something hearty and filling that would keep the workingman satiated for a decent stretch of time.
The dish became such an adored part of Irish cuisine that children’s songs have been written about it. The lyrics vary depending on who’s singing, but Mac Con Iomaire shared this version:
Excerpt from “The Auld Skillet Pot”:
Well, did you ever make colcannon made with lovely pickled cream With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the ‘melting’ flake Of the creamy flavoured butter that our mothers used to make
Oh you did, so you did, so did he and so did I And the more I think about it, sure the nearer I'm to cry Oh weren’t them the happy days when troubles we knew not And our mother made colcannon in the little skillet pot
Colcannon was first referenced in Irish history in a 1735 diary entry of William Bulkely, a traveler from Wales who had the dish on Halloween night in Dublin: “Dined at Cos. Wm. Parry, and also supped there upon a shoulder of mutton roasted and what they call there Coel Callen, which is cabbage boiled, potatoes and parsnips, all this mixed together. They eat well enough, and is a Dish always had in this Kingdom on this night.”
Colcannon is indeed a traditional dish for Halloween, a holiday which has ancient Celtic and Irish origins. The food joins a litany of fortune-telling snacks always served that day. For colcannon in particular, a coin, rag, stick or other item was cooked inside, and whatever “trinket” you found in your potatoes predicted your future. A coin meant wealth in the coming year, a rag meant poverty and a stick meant your spouse was going to beat you, Mac Con Iomaire said. Trickets and interpretations varied by area. Try your hand at some fortune telling of your own this Halloween with one of these two recipes from McMeel and Mac Con Iomaire.
Colcannon Cakes
Recipe provided by Chef Noel McMeel; Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Ingredients
1 pound potatoes, washed 5 tablespoons butter 1/3 pound spring cabbage or curly kale from the garden, finely chopped 1 egg, beaten 3 tablespoons plain flour 1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper 3 tablespoons water
Method
Cook the potatoes for about 25 minutes in boiling salted water, until soft. Peel while they are still warm. Mash and add 1.5 tablespoons butter.
Bring saucepan to a medium heat, add the cabbage with 3 tablespoons of water and remaining butter, cook until tender. Using so little water keeps the vitamins contained, as cabbage is 90 percent water.
Fold the cabbage through the potatoes; bind the mixture together with a beaten egg and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Shape into one-inch round potato cakes, dip in flour and shake off any excess.
Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the cakes until golden. Drain on a paper towel and serve straight away.
Kale Colcannon
Recipe provided by Dr. Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire; Dublin Institute of Technology
Ingredients
2 pounds floury potatoes 1 pound chopped kale 4 scallions 1/2 cup butter 1 cup milk Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Steam or boil the potatoes until tender. Drain well and let them dry out for a few minutes.
Melt half the butter in a pan and sweat the kale for a few minutes.
Boil the milk and the remaining butter. Add in the chopped scallions and the sweated kale, then mix in on top of the potatoes and mash the lot together.
Season with salt and pepper and serve like the song suggests by making a well on top and adding a flake of creamy butter to it and watching it melt.
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Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and editor. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at jenniferbillock.com.
History. An early recipe is found in Hannah Glasse's The Art of Cookery, published in 1747. Her recipe mashed them in a saucepan with milk, salt, and butter.
Mashed potatoes are a staple in almost every Irish household, but the side dish has a long and storied history that has little to do with Ireland. They were first a staple for the Inca Empire, and for the Spaniards who conquered the Incas and remained in Latin America mining silver.
Potatoes are native to the Andes Mountains of South America. We call them Irish potatoes because the potato was first brought back to Europe in the 1500's and developed as a crop there. The Irish immigrants brought the culture of potato to the United States.
Champ became popular in Ireland as a simple yet nutritious food that people could afford during the times of famine and political upheavals. The basic idea behind the champ was a simple and delicious dish that could be easily made using the ingredients that are available in all seasons.
English–Irish Dictionary (de Bhaldraithe): Potato-mash. Potato-mash, brúitín m (prátaí). Mashed potatoes, brúitín m. Mashed potatoes, brúitín m, prátaí brúite.
The humble potato was domesticated in the South American Andes some 8,000 years ago and was only brought to Europe in the mid-1500s, from where it spread west and northwards, back to the Americas, and beyond.
Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year. Potatoes also grew well in the rocky soil. At least two-thirds of the farmers in Ireland grew only potatoes for themselves and their family.
Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.
Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland's population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.
While the potato wasn't native to Ireland, it was able to be cultivated using a raised bed and drainage system. The Irish famine began to take shape in 1845. A fungus, carried on ships from North America to England found their way to Dublin.The fungus caused potato leaves to turn black on the vines and rot.
In 1536, Spanish Conquistadors in Peru discovered the flavors of the potato and transported them to Europe. At first, the vegetable was not widely accepted. Sir Walter Raleigh introduced potatoes to Ireland in 1589, but it took nearly four decades for the potato to spread to the rest of Europe.
What is the difference between Colcannon and Champ? Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk.Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.
The difference is ingredients and preparation method. Champ is smooth mashed potatoes with spring onions finely chopped and combined. Colcannon is similar but the mash is rougher and cabbage is combined with it.
The mashed potato has remained an incredibly popular dish in Ireland for more than 200 years and is still found on most dinner tables throughout the country. Some people have gone as far as to say that mashed potatoes are just "Irish guacamole" because Irish people eat them with everything.
The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. The dance move and mashed potato song were first made famous by James Brown in 1959 and used in his concerts regularly.
The biggest difference is that most people probably add more milk butter and seasoning to their mashed potatoes, since Mary Randolph's 18th-century recipe only called for an oz of butter and a tablespoon of milk. By most standards today that would make for some very healthy, but pretty bland mashed potatoes.
Edward Anton Maria Asselbergs (1927–1996) was a Dutch-Canadian food chemist famous for inventing the modern process of producing instant mashed potato flakes. He was raised in the Netherlands where he received his undergraduate degree, but fled to Canada with his family during the second World War.
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