School: Naoimh Ióseiph (roll number 15628)

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1. Food in Olden Times (continued)

   

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   by the coals and allowed to become hot. On its edge also close by the flag was placed the cake which usually ranged from sixteen to twenty inches. The fire was kept regulated continually and when the cakes were baked (which often took an hour and a half) they sometimes attained a golden brown hue. Cakes baked thus were far in advance of those baked in an oven in modern times.
   Potatoe-bread was another popular form of bread which did not become prominent until many years after the Great Famine. Wheaten flour was needed to add to the potatoes, and as this was absolutely unknown in these parts prior to the Famine period, none of this bread was made.
   Next in importance to the oaten-bread came boxty-bread. This bread began to be made throughout the whole district, each year, at the time of digging the potatoes. This was the only food used throughout part of the Winter. The majority of Irish peasants in those days were steeped in poverty, being rack-rented out of existance by merciless heartless landlords. Consequently they were forced to econimise in every possible manner. When making boxxty they used such potatoes as were taking the dry-rot. Another reason for doing this was that these potatoes having somewhat a sweet

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Mark Dwyer

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Assylin, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   Mr Bernard Mc Hugh

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Boyle, Co. Roscommon

   Informant

   Mrs Dwyer

   Gender

   Female

   Age

   62

   Address

   Assylin, Co. Roscommon