School: An Bóthar Buí (B.), Áth Treasna (roll number 16396)

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1. Food in Former Times (continued)

   

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   in the field for the dawn of day when mowing the hay or setting or digging the potatoes. They had no breakfast till about 9 o'clock.
   When mowing the general food, if it were available, was oatmeal raw in new-milk which had first been boiled.
   I can remember the time when bacon had not come into general use. Occasionally a piece of bacon was bought in the shop. At other times there was no meat as a rule.
   It was sometimes the custom to kill an old cow and cure the meat. This was boiled in oatmeal porridge and eaten.
   "Gruel" made from fine Indian meal was used when potatoes were scarce. A fistful of flour was thrown into the gruel before it was fully boiled and mixed up with it. The gruel was eaten with milk (new, sour or thick).
   At times Indian meal was made into bread in the same way as flour, and if flour were available a fistful of it was mixed with the meal.
   Bread was generally baked in an oven, but sometimes a griddle was used.
   Potatoes were usually boiled but sometimes they were roasted in hot cinders (gríosach), and were very palatable when cooked in this way.
   Children as late as 60 years ago carried a roasted

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. táirgí
      1. táirgí bia (~3,601)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   John Galvin

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Teacher

   Address

   An tOileán Breac, Co. Chorcaí