Yes, despite my married name, I’ve got a lot of Irish in me. I’m thinking about St Patrick’s Day and did a little research on a few things Irish. I’ve posted an article about Irish beer and decided to check out one of my favorite foods. The Potato. Even if you’re not very familiar with Irish history, you’ve probably heard about the importance of potatoes to the Irish. No other European country has a more significant relationship with the potato than the Irish. Calling potatoes important is no understatement. Understanding the history helps us get a complete picture of their culinary and cultural importance even today.
The potato was introduced to Ireland in the late 1500s. It is believed potatoes were brought back to Europe by Spanish conquerors in South America. They were an attractive crop because of their vitamin, mineral, protein and carbohydrate content. They were well suited for the soil, climate and living conditions at the time. Interestingly enough, humans can actually subsist on potatoes and for quite some time in Ireland, the Catholic poor actually did. In fact, during much of this time, peasants who lived on potatoes were believed to be healthier than the rich, whose food staple was bread.
Potatoes had another benefit to the Catholic poor as they provided a large yield, even when grown in small areas. This was crucial because Penal Laws were introduced to Ireland in the 1660s, placing many restrictions on Catholics living there. Things continued to grow worse, and in the 1660s, the law actually prohibited Roman Catholics from buying land or passing on any land they owned to their heirs. The law was eventually repealed but there were still great restrictions. The next century essentially saw those laws back in full swing, placing the Catholic majority in a very difficult position.
Catholics were now at the mercy of Protestant middlemen to rent them some land. They crowded onto small parcels, faced with the challenge of providing themselves with adequate sustenance. Add to that, the large growth of the Irish population and the potato became a crucial element of survival during this period.
Because of the reliance on the potato, the Irish were vulnerable if harvests were poor. That’s exactly what happened in 1740 when cold and wet weather led to the Irish Famine lasting until 1741.
During the Nineteenth century, the rural population of Ireland grew rapidly. The Catholic Church had rules against contraception and preached the value of large families. Additionally, many believed that the larger the family the better they would take care of the older family members. In about 100 years, the population of Ireland more than doubled from about four million to over 8 million. The large families needed large of amounts of food to feed them and the land struggled to support these large families.
Then the unthinkable happened. In 1845, the Great Irish Famine saw potato crops destroyed by a disease called potato blight. During the 7-year famine, an estimated 1 million Irish died of disease or starvation and another 1 million fled the country. Think about it, this is 25% of their population…gone. The primary destination of those emigrants was the United States of America, where 80% of them finally landed. It was devastating, but the country eventually recovered, and the potato continued to be Ireland’s staple crop.
Even today, potatoes are still an important part of the Irish diet. They appear in stews, soups, and bread. They are in other specialty dishes, such as Irish potato cakes called Boxty, and Colcannon, a cabbage and potato dish. If you travel to Ireland today and try some good traditional Irish cuisine, the potato will be an essential ingredient in its hearty meals.
During your visit to Ireland, you will find a huge number of monuments to the Great Famine of the mid-1800s. The potato also has a prominent place in culture as it is included in the names of places, literature and art. After all, it forever devastated the Irish culture and dramatically changed the destination countries as well. Something to think about…twenty-two US Presidents have Irish roots.
#heyiwanttotrythat
