Irish people love to eat potatoes. In fact, the spud originally came to Ireland from the Americas. Perhaps the Irish brought their love of potatoes back to America as they emigrated there over the centuries.
But we are the world's undisputed heavyweight potato-munchin' nation. Ireland boasts precisely 467 different ways of cooking the humble spud. Read on to find out our favourite potato recipes.
The Irish often used the good land to grow things like wheat and corn that they would sell to pay their rent. This left the farmers with a small piece of land to grow their own food. Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year.
For the Irish, the potato was the majority of their diet. The Irish ate potatoes every day, at every meal. The more rural the family, the more they depended on the potato for sustenance.
The top ranked country, China, accounted for 27.0 % of potato consumption in the world. The top 3 countries hold a 46.7 % share while the ten largest countries some 64.6 % in 2020.
Strict Jains do not eat root vegetables, such as potatoes, onions, roots and tubers, as they are considered ananthkay. Ananthkay means one body, but containing infinite lives. A root vegetable, such as potato, though from the looks of it is one article, is said to contain infinite lives in it.
In the US people eat an average of nine kilograms. In Ireland the humble spud remains the number one carbohydrate. In fact the Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance found that potato is a main part of the Irish diet. The potato is eaten by over 93 percent of the adult population regardless of age or gender.
This cuisine is based on fresh vegetables, fish (especially salmon and trout), oysters, mussels and other shellfish, traditional soda bread, the wide range of cheeses that are now being made across the country, and, of course, the potato.
The potato marks Irish history like a big branding iron because, in one sense, it both made and unmade the people of the island. It was the potato, along with our dairy industry, that led to a spike in the population in the 18th and 19th century. Many millions depended on the potato – for breakfast, dinner and tea.
Of all the cultural interpretation I had to do, explaining the role of rice in Irish homes was problematic. “Do Irish people eat rice?” I was asked regularly. “Oh yes, we love it. With sugar and milk.
Besides the focus on oats and dairy (and more dairy), the Irish diet wasn't too different from how we think of it today. They did eat meat, of course, though the reliance on milk meant that beef was a rarity, and most people probably just fried up some bacon during good times, or ate fish they caught themselves.
The Irish had a peculiar way of cooking potatoes 'with and without the bone or the moon' (Wilde 1854:131). This method of cooking the potato pertained to par boiling the potato leaving the core undercooked and was the preferred meal for a labourer with a day's work to do.
After potatoes, carrots are without doubt the best-known and most popular root vegetable of all.
So, it's not a surprise that Irish lamb is known as a delicacy, especially if it comes from Connemara and County Kerry. It's used in hearty Irish stews or served as shanks with potatoes and mint sauce. It's not an everyday dish so enjoy every morsel.
Potato consumption in European countries
High consumption: European countries are among the highest consumers of potatoes in the world, with some countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Poland and Romanino having a particularly high consumption rate.
Full Irish Breakfast
There's typically eggs, sausage, hash browns, beans, and roasted tomatoes. You may also find slices of Irish soda bread. No matter what's served, you know it's going to be hearty!
Indian people consume just one-third of what Irish people do at 761 calories a day, while Belgium was highest at 2,580, according to the survey by Euromonitor International.
33% of adults in Ireland eat the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, according to the latest OECD Health at a Glance 2022 Report.
In rural communities, dinner will generally last for about an hour and will usually be sometime between 12pm and 2pm. In cities, dinner usually starts between 5pm and 7pm and will last for the same amount of time. This will typically be the largest meal of the day.
Irish Stew
To many across the country, Irish stew is the national dish of Ireland. The methods and flavour of an Irish stew vary from person to person and have evolved over the years.
However, the potato was not a native of Ireland. It had been found by Spanish conquistadors in south America in the 1500s was shipped to Europe, and reached Ireland around 1590. For the next 80 years it was grown in small numbers, mainly in Munster, as a garden crop or stand-by.
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. It wasn't until Prussia's King Fredrick planted potatoes during wartime hoping that peasants would start eating them.
Consumers prefer high dry matter varieties with red skin. Rooster is the most popular variety in Ireland today.