A wonderful read, a celebration of Ireland's fine food and the tenacity of those purveyors, who despite the times they live in, consistently work to bring the best food to as many people as possible.
I really enjoyed the history of black pudding in this (and appreciated youse owning up to not having covered Irish food enough - I was so happy to see the pasty getting repped in the chippy guide and thought you were turning a corner then, so I'm glad I held out for this) but also found the whole "black pudding is an aleph" thing really jarring as a Jew. Just pulling the simplest explanation off wikipedia, "Aleph also begins the three words that make up God's mystical name in Exodus, I Am who I Am (in Hebrew, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה), and aleph is an important part of mystical amulets and formulas. [The] aleph, in Jewish mysticism, represents the oneness of God" - connecting that to a thing often made with pigs blood, even if the specific ones you've traced the history of here are made with cow blood, was weird to me.
This is so interesting. I never understood the omnipresence of oxtail soup (tinned and packet) while growing up in Liverpool (Irish parents). Couldn't stand the stuff until I made it properly a couple of years ago, but my mum kept on buying it. I guess my parents must have eaten the real thing growing up. We had black and white pudding every weekend, boiled bacon and cabbage and home baked soda bread and currant loaf. Of course we ungratefully demanded Findus Crispy Pancakes and Angel Delight. Have always based my own soda bread but only recently rediscovered black pudding.
A wonderful read, a celebration of Ireland's fine food and the tenacity of those purveyors, who despite the times they live in, consistently work to bring the best food to as many people as possible.
I really enjoyed the history of black pudding in this (and appreciated youse owning up to not having covered Irish food enough - I was so happy to see the pasty getting repped in the chippy guide and thought you were turning a corner then, so I'm glad I held out for this) but also found the whole "black pudding is an aleph" thing really jarring as a Jew. Just pulling the simplest explanation off wikipedia, "Aleph also begins the three words that make up God's mystical name in Exodus, I Am who I Am (in Hebrew, Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh אהיה אשר אהיה), and aleph is an important part of mystical amulets and formulas. [The] aleph, in Jewish mysticism, represents the oneness of God" - connecting that to a thing often made with pigs blood, even if the specific ones you've traced the history of here are made with cow blood, was weird to me.
This is so interesting. I never understood the omnipresence of oxtail soup (tinned and packet) while growing up in Liverpool (Irish parents). Couldn't stand the stuff until I made it properly a couple of years ago, but my mum kept on buying it. I guess my parents must have eaten the real thing growing up. We had black and white pudding every weekend, boiled bacon and cabbage and home baked soda bread and currant loaf. Of course we ungratefully demanded Findus Crispy Pancakes and Angel Delight. Have always based my own soda bread but only recently rediscovered black pudding.