Food in Olden Times

transcribed at

Food in Olden Times  [duchas:4578943]

Food in Olden Times
About six years the people used to eat two meals each day in the winter and three in Summer and harvest. 
In the morning potatoes and milk and butter and in the afternoon thickly made porridge called stirabout which consisted of oatmeal and indianmeal. 
This stirabout was often eaten twice daily. 
Our grandfather always worked two or three hours before having breakfast. 
They used milk at every meal generally butter milk. 
The table was always placed on the centre of the floor at meal time and the whole family would sit around and when ever bread was used it was oatmeal bread. 
The bread was made of oatmeal and butter milk and was baked standing up in front of the fire. 
It was made thin and when backed it would be very hard.

Food in Olden Times  [duchas:4578944]

Meat was not eaten often those that could afford a small piece of American bacon twice a week were considered lucky. 
Irish was always used on St Patrick's Day and generally throughout lent. 
The only vegetables used were potatoes, cabbage, and turnips. 
Young families generally ate potatoes and milk the last thing before retiring to bed. 
At certain times potatoes were cooked in different way to suit the occasion but they were always billed and peeled and baked with pepper and salt and onions and plenty of butter for November night. 
It was then called colcannon. No man or woman would taste any food till after twelve o clock on the three black fast days of lent. Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Spy Wednesday and worked the same as if they had eaten their breakfast. 
The whole family young and old

Food in Olden Times  [duchas:4578945]

would talk about Easter and eating the eggs weeks before and when Easter arrived young and old would get plenty of eggs boiled and fried to eat. 
It was about seventy years ago tea first crept into this district only to special houses. 
The vessels used in this district for drinking in this district were wooden ones called noggins. 

Julia Gormley, 
Loughatorick,
Moyglass,
Loughrea, 
Co. Galway.