The humble potato’s introduction to Ireland is pretty murky, even though we now know it as a staple of Irish cuisine. Two theories exist regarding its origin, according to Chef Noel McMeel, from Lough Erne Resort in Northern Ireland. One is that Sir Walter Raleigh planted Ireland’s first potato in Youghal, County Cork, in the 17th century. But, McMeel tells Smithsonian.com, that’s impossible—Raleigh was already deceased when the planting was supposed to have happened. The other theory sees the potato arriving to Ireland by accident in 1588, crashing onto the western shore aboard a wrecked Spanish armada ship.
However the potato might have come to Ireland, though, by the 1700s it was an integral part of meals for at least a third of Ireland’s population. By the mid-18th century—as lecturer and chef Dr. Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire from the Dublin Institute of Technology, tells Smithsonian.com—colcannon, a side dish of mashed potatoes mixed with garden-grown kale or cabbage, had emerged as a staple food. The ingredients joined ancient and modern Ireland; the ancestral diet in the country was heavy on kale and cabbage, and colcannon combined them with the more modern potato to create something hearty and filling that would keep the workingman satiated for a decent stretch of time.
The dish became such an adored part of Irish cuisine that children’s songs have been written about it. The lyrics vary depending on who’s singing, but Mac Con Iomaire shared this version:
Excerpt from “The Auld Skillet Pot”:
Well, did you ever make colcannon made with lovely pickled cream With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the ‘melting’ flake Of the creamy flavoured butter that our mothers used to make
Oh you did, so you did, so did he and so did I And the more I think about it, sure the nearer I'm to cry Oh weren’t them the happy days when troubles we knew not And our mother made colcannon in the little skillet pot
Colcannon was first referenced in Irish history in a 1735 diary entry of William Bulkely, a traveler from Wales who had the dish on Halloween night in Dublin: “Dined at Cos. Wm. Parry, and also supped there upon a shoulder of mutton roasted and what they call there Coel Callen, which is cabbage boiled, potatoes and parsnips, all this mixed together. They eat well enough, and is a Dish always had in this Kingdom on this night.”
Colcannon is indeed a traditional dish for Halloween, a holiday which has ancient Celtic and Irish origins. The food joins a litany of fortune-telling snacks always served that day. For colcannon in particular, a coin, rag, stick or other item was cooked inside, and whatever “trinket” you found in your potatoes predicted your future. A coin meant wealth in the coming year, a rag meant poverty and a stick meant your spouse was going to beat you, Mac Con Iomaire said. Trickets and interpretations varied by area. Try your hand at some fortune telling of your own this Halloween with one of these two recipes from McMeel and Mac Con Iomaire.
Colcannon Cakes
Recipe provided by Chef Noel McMeel; Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland
Ingredients
1 pound potatoes, washed 5 tablespoons butter 1/3 pound spring cabbage or curly kale from the garden, finely chopped 1 egg, beaten 3 tablespoons plain flour 1 pinch salt and fresh ground black pepper 3 tablespoons water
Cook the potatoes for about 25 minutes in boiling salted water, until soft. Peel while they are still warm. Mash and add 1.5 tablespoons butter.
Bring saucepan to a medium heat, add the cabbage with 3 tablespoons of water and remaining butter, cook until tender. Using so little water keeps the vitamins contained, as cabbage is 90 percent water.
Fold the cabbage through the potatoes; bind the mixture together with a beaten egg and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Shape into one-inch round potato cakes, dip in flour and shake off any excess.
Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry the cakes until golden. Drain on a paper towel and serve straight away.
Kale Colcannon
Recipe provided by Dr. Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire; Dublin Institute of Technology
Ingredients
2 pounds floury potatoes 1 pound chopped kale 4 scallions 1/2 cup butter 1 cup milk Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Steam or boil the potatoes until tender. Drain well and let them dry out for a few minutes.
Melt half the butter in a pan and sweat the kale for a few minutes.
Boil the milk and the remaining butter. Add in the chopped scallions and the sweated kale, then mix in on top of the potatoes and mash the lot together.
Season with salt and pepper and serve like the song suggests by making a well on top and adding a flake of creamy butter to it and watching it melt.
Get the latest Travel & Culture stories in your inbox.
Jennifer Billock||READ MORE
Jennifer Billock is an award-winning writer, bestselling author, and editor. She is currently dreaming of an around-the-world trip with her Boston terrier. Check out her website at jenniferbillock.com.
Mashed potatoes are a staple food in almost every Irish household, but the side dish has a long and storied history that has little to do with Ireland. Where did mashed potatoes originate? Imported from South America in the 16th century, potatoes initially failed to take off in Europe as a delicacy.
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.
Colcannon is a hearty dish that has been eaten on Halloween night for years. Traditionally, a ring was hidden in the dish, and whoever was to find it would be likely to marry in the upcoming year! Colcannon was even paired with a little poem: Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
Ireland's primary potato variety of yore, the Irish Lumper, is a white potato that is more waxy than starchy, and so mashed potatoes made from these varieties fare better as smashed, rather than emulsified, providing ideal conditions for hearty mix-ins.
English–Irish Dictionary (de Bhaldraithe): Potato-mash. Potato-mash, brúitín m (prátaí). Mashed potatoes, brúitín m. Mashed potatoes, brúitín m, prátaí brúite.
Why were potatoes so important to Ireland? The potato plant was hardy, nutritious, calorie-dense, and easy to grow in Irish soil. By the time of the famine, nearly half of Ireland's population relied almost exclusively on potatoes for their diet, and the other half ate potatoes frequently.
Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.
práta » Potato. áirí » Ground manured in previous year; ground from which potatoes have been cropped. anlann » Kitchen, tasty food (e.g. butter, meat, fish) taken with bread or potatoes.
The Irish immigrants also realized that cabbage was a more readily available vegetable in America than in Ireland, where it was traditionally a fall and winter vegetable. So they combined the corned beef with cabbage to create a hearty, filling meal that was reminiscent of their homeland.
Consuming potassium-rich foods like Irish potatoes can help reduce the risk of hypertension and lower the chances of heart disease and stroke. Immune System Support: Irish potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, which is known for its immune-boosting properties.
What is the difference between Colcannon and Champ? Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk.Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.
They ate enormous amounts of potatoes. In the course of their three meals per day, adult males consumed 12 to 14 pounds of potatoes per day!Women and children over the age of 10 ate about 11 pounds of potatoes each day; younger children ate about five pounds of potatoes per day.
Because the tenant farmers of Ireland—then ruled as a colony of Great Britain—relied heavily on the potato as a source of food, the infestation had a catastrophic impact on Ireland and its population.
The results of the study showed clues into the diet during the Irish potato famine that included evidence that potato and milk was virtually the only source of food for a vast proportion of the population in Ireland. It also showed a dominance of corn, as well as evidence of oats and wheat.
Some food historians say the Incas mashed their potatoes, but not in the way we think of them today. The inventor of mash potatos as we know and love them today was Hannah Glasse. Glasse was the Julia Child of her time and was very popular in Britain and its colonies.
The potato chip was invented in Saratoga Lake, NY. Its inventor was George Speck—the son of an African American father and Native American mother. Later he professionally adopted the last name Crum. He was a gifted, although surly, cook working as the chef of the Moon Lake Lodge Resort in 1853.
In the 1800s, the Irish solved their problem of feeding a growing population by planting potatoes. Specifically, they planted the “lumper” potato variety. And since potatoes can be propagated vegetatively, all of these lumpers were clones, genetically identical to one another.
The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a mold known as Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) caused a destructive plant disease that spread rapidly throughout Ireland.
Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176
Phone: +6773780339780
Job: Sales Executive
Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing
Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/b3/a5/b3a52e80-36ac-46bf-a5ef-40b86e5610ac/colcannon-photo.jpg "A Brief History of Ireland’s Fortune-Telling Mashed Potato Dish (Recipe) (1)")
/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/accounts/headshot/JenniferBillock.png "A Brief History of Ireland’s Fortune-Telling Mashed Potato Dish (Recipe) (2)")
