Saturday, June 01, 2024

Irish Food Slang

A bap is what we would call a bun, as in a hamburger bun. 

A bun is more of a sweet bun, like a sticky bun or a hot cross bun.

Wheaten bread when plain is like our whole wheat bread, but it might have raisins, honey, or treacle (molasses) flavouring it. Sometimes oats in there.

Soda bread is similar to wheaten, but with - you  guessed - more baking soda.

Tiger bread  is a crusty bread with a trick of the crust that makes it patterned and cracked. I couldn't have any, but it looked like fun. 

The waitress said we could get a pound loaf, but I never learned what that was.

After due consideration I concede that Great Britain has it right on the names for crisps and chips as opposed to our potato chips and french fries. But it is even harder to get simply plain versions of the former in Ireland than in America and they are saltier, as most things are. OTOH, chips are usually just plain, though sweet potato fries are sometimes available. Curly fries, truffle fries...I never saw any on a menu. 

It is easier to get just plain coffee or just plain tea, which is nice.

Bacon is thin pork chops, like Canadian back bacon.  Our version is called streaky bacon.

Porridge is oatmeal.  You are more likely to get overnight cooked rolled oats that's a bit creamier, but that's not always the case.

I found I like white pudding, the crispy kind, after all.  The soft grey stuff we'd seen in England did not enchant, but the Irish version of the pork/fat/oat sausage has onion, pepper and some spices in it. Sliced and fried for breakfast.

People will tell you that Irish restaurants are very savvy about having gluten-free items, and this is more than half-true. What is wholly true is that they are savvy about knowing they have to say so. Sometimes this is only "Well you can have a salad," or "You can have it without the bread." Yet I remain grateful, as I was able to have GF fish-and-chips three times in eight days, and it is hard to find in NH, even at seacoast restaurants. There is a fairly consistent practice of having a numbered (or color-block) list of possible allergens at the bottom of the page, with the numbers next to each menu item above. It can get up to over a dozen possibles. Just remember that the numbers tell you what is in the dish, not what is left off.

You can sometimes get GF beer. Peroni's makes one, but I don't know if it is available in the US. I usually just drank cider, which is reliably there at any pub.


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