The foods of old Ireland Real historical ancient Irish food.

Sceala Clann T.D. Location: Derry roots

Some great research has been carried out in Ireland on real Irish foods. The foods of old Ireland Real historical ancient Irish food.
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The beautiful young woman above is Professor Regina Sexton. A Irish Food and diet historian and expert. Darn, I wish they had such good looking Professors in my day.
Ms Sexton has recreated the diet that old St Patrick would have eaten. None of the baloney green beers and shepherds pie.
The Irish in ancient Ireland would have eaten a healthy diet of wholesome dairy and cereal products, with seasonal nuts and fruits of Ireland.
The real historical ancient Irish diet consisted of a rich mix of dairy, cheeses, cereals, porridge, gruel, eggs, honey, seaweed and fish, according to the food study.
Culinary historian Regina Sexton, of University College Cork, recreated the diet available in fifth-century Ireland.
Various healthy meals such as porridge, gruel, meal pastes and pottage as well as cereal-milk and fruit-nut combinations were also being eaten in ancient Ireland.
Our Irish ancestors would have used a wide range of wild foods, notably watercress and wild garlic to add flavor.
The ancient Irish diet was seasonal and nourishing, according to Ms Sexton and the need to preserve dairy products gave rise to a rich and varied industry that continued to thrive until the arrival of the potato.
The old Irish consumed lots of fresh milk, sour milk, thickened milk, colostrum, curds, flavoured curd mixtures, butter and soft and hard cheeses, Ms Sexton said.
“From May onwards, the diet was very much dominated by dairy produce. It was incredible, such profound skills were developed making all sorts of wonderful creations from milk right up until the time the potato was universally adopted.”

The old Irish foods were far healthier.
Obesity was not a regular problem in ancient Ireland, the fare was seasonal, wholesome and modest by today's often unhealthy standards.
Cereals, most commonly used were oats and barley, less so rye and wheat. These were used in the making of Irish breads. Hen and goose eggs, honey, fish, butter, curds, seaweeds, apples and dairy as well as several varieties of soft and hard Irish cheeses. Sounds good to me.
The rivers of Ireland were well stocked with salmon, trout and eel. The Irish were fond of smoked and cured meats, pork and beef. This was neither a throw-away nor a take-away society and people took good care to preserve and conserve for future use, foods that could not be consumed immediately. Much of this is known, according to Sexton, because with the coming of Christianity, monastic settlements encouraged learning and record keeping and those records have come down to us. Ironically, much of the food from our Irish ancestors diet, are now considered as distinct health foods.
It seems that our ancestors were far healthier and fitter than the Irish of today. Obesity and heart disease are common health problems among the Irish today, world over.

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The foods of old Ireland Real historical ancient Irish food.