I have high expectations when it comes to farmers’ markets. Before I moved to Ireland I was living in Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin and home to the biggest producer-only farmers’ market in America. With 300 vendors, it completely encircles the huge capitol building and has everything you could possible need or want and […]
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By now you’re probably starting to plan all the different courses of Christmas dinner, but have you thought yet about what you’ll be pouring? Wine will be getting a lot of press in the run-up to the big feast, but what about beer? Did you know that beer is actually a better match with food […]
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What’s hotter than Irish craft beer this year? The Restaurant Association of Ireland launched the first Irish Craft Beer Week in August, the first Apple and Craft Cider Festival took place last month in Tipperary, organised by Slow Food Ireland, and John McKenna said at the launch of the 10th edition of the Irish Food […]
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Every now and then, you buy a bag of apples that smell so … appley. The kind of smell where if you close your eyes and breathe deeply, you can almost imagine yourself transported to the middle of an apple orchard on a crisp, sunny autumn day. This weekend, you can do just that at […]
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Listening to John Hempenstall talk about his cheese is an education. Standing amongst the stainless steel tanks in the factory he designed and built himself at Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese and hearing him explain the delicate balance of enzymes, salt, acid and moisture content, he seems more alchemist than mere cheese maker. You also quickly get […]
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In the 1970s, there were only a few people making farmhouse cheese in Ireland. Today, though, there are around 50 artisan cheesemakers producing 130 different cheeses, so there’s more choice and variety than ever. But with so much choice, it can be hard to know where to start or what to choose, so I met […]
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Did you know that for every €1 spent in the local economy, €1.50 is generated? Or that if every household spent just €4 more per week on Irish goods, over 6,000 jobs would be created? There’s a growing appetite to buy Irish and shop locally, which is even more important at Christmastime, and one of the […]
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Last week I did something that will be illegal soon in Ireland – I bought raw milk. As an American who grew up amidst the huge factory farms of the Midwest, surrounded by miles of cornfields, David Tiernan’s farm seems like something you might read about in a prettily illustrated children’s book. Set in the lush […]
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At the Bloom festival last month, a man walked up to The Boxty Bakers stand, softly singing some lines from the song “Colcannon” to himself: Did you ever take potato cake and boxty to the school Tucked underneath your oxter with your books, your slate and rule And when teacher wasn’t looking sure a great […]
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Strawberry and champagne. Blackcurrant and Irish stout. Gooseberry and elderflower. Connemara Irish whiskey heather marmalade. They might only be the names of jams, but to me it practically sounds like poetry. They’re also just some of the 80+ products made by hand by Crossogue Preserves. Veronica Molloy came to making preserves in a roundabout way. […]
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