5 Foods You Must Try While Visiting Ireland*

As with the two years just gone, when looking to plan your years travel and adventures, you’re probably considering staying close to home. We’re still in a pandemic with changing travel conditions happening almost constantly. Which is why Ireland is probably being given some serious consideration, I know it is in my house. While you won’t expect many different customs or a bit of a culture shock, it still feels like a real treat because it’s such a beautiful country.

You’re probably all used to me saying this, but one of my favourite parts of planning a trip is thinking about all the food I’m going to eat, because lets face it, when you’re in holiday you want to eat out and I can assure you, Ireland has a lot of good food (and drink, obviously) to offer! Before going to might want to check out some must visit restaurants and you can click here to see where some of the best chefs in Ireland are currently working, after all you want to get the best bang for your buck!

If you’re not too sure what to expect from Irish cuisine, here are my top 5 must tries while you’re there;

Guinness

Look, we’re just going to jump right in there even though it’s not food (although I have heard people call it a meal in itself while I spent time as a barmaid), but yes, if you’re in Ireland it’s the law to try Guinness.. well not actually but it should be. Guinness is renowned all over the world as hailing from Ireland. I personally think it’s an acquired taste but I can assure you if you visit Ireland you’ll be asked if you tried it. If you have a stop in Dublin be sure to check out the Guinness Storehouse, you could take a tour or simply visit the exquisite Gravity Bar for a drink and take in the amazing view!

Irish Stew

Autumn and Winter are a great time to visit Ireland because so much of the best faire is hearty, for example, the Irish Stew (this is sometimes made with Guinness, so if you don’t feel brave enough for a pint, you could always have it in your dinner!) The recipe changes depending on what region you’re eating it in, but traditionally it was made with mutton, potatoes, onions and water but these days if you’re eating it at a restaurant you may find it’s made with lamb or beef, with the addition of other vegetables such as carrots and if they don’t use Guinness as mentioned above, they often add red wine to the stock. Don’t worry, it’s well seasoned too and is the best winter warmer you could ask for.

Boxty

When I worked in a restaurant many years ago there was a guy there that went by “Irish” and he used to use the Irish Potato Famine as an excuse so often that he convinced another member of staff that it happened recently and not in the 19th century. But that’s how important a fixture to Ireland potatoes are, and because of that, you’d be doing the country a disservice for not trying Boxty. Boxty is a potato pancake made from mashed potato, grated raw potato (like hash brown innards), buttermilk, flour and salt. They’re a bit of a breakfast staple in Ireland and you usually have them along with bacon, eggs and another Irish favourite, blood pudding.

Irish Soda Bread

A versatile bread which is basically made with four ingredients, bicarbonate of soda (obviously), buttermilk, flour and salt but goodness is it useful. You can eat it alone with butter and jam, or it is often used for dipping into stews and soups. Nowadays restaurants and bakeries put their own twist on the original recipe by adding fruit and spices.

Dublin Coddle

Or sometimes known as Irish Coddle. The Irish are known for being thrifty and this was the sort of dish that originally was created to use up the leftovers at the end of the week. Nowadays you can find it on a lot of traditional pub and comfort restaurant menus, mainly in Dublin. It’s another one of the recipes that changes from family to family but it’s usually potatoes and onions, with either pork, bacon or sausages depending on what needs used up. It’s been noted to be a favourite of Jonathan Swift, the author of Guilliver’s Travels and was also mentioned by James Joyce (so that’s one for you literary heads). It’s widely popular and you can even try making it at home.