Try-It Tuesday: Food Edition

Corned beef and Irish Soda Bread

Join us in the Teen Space to try out a new food!

Beef, corned or otherwise, wasn't often eaten in ancient Ireland because the cow was considered a symbol of wealth in the Gaelic religion. While the Irish enjoyed dairy products (which didn't require the slaughtering of the animal), beef was often reserved for royalty. The pig actually was the most eaten meat in Ireland. It wasn't until England's 16th-century conquering of Ireland that the cow turned from an animal of deference to a food commodity. With a taste for beef thanks to the ancient Romans, the English brought in thousands of cattle from the Irish countryside to the tables of English urbanites. But in the 1660s, a series of so-called Cattle Acts enacted by the English Parliament prohibited cattle exports to England and kept Irish beef at home. This drove down cattle prices in Ireland and made the meat more abundant and affordable.

During the famine years, Irish grain was exported to England while Corn and Corn Maize was imported from the US. In this challenging time, Soda Bread was known, but the lack of wheat and bread soda (baking soda) kept it from becoming a staple on Irish tables. Born out of necessity rather than choice, Corn maize became the main source of food during the famine.. The original recipe, dating back to 1836, featured four simple ingredients: Flour, salt, (an acid to interact with the Soda), and Bicarbonate of Soda.

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