Taste of Ireland: In Food and in Pictures

Taste of Ireland: In Food and in Pictures by Fitzgibbon, Theodora. Paperback edition. ISBN: 9780330024587.

This charming, nostalgic book (first published in 1968) combines black-and-white photographs of late 19th-century Ireland with authentic recipes rooted in Irelands past. Each spread contains an image from Irish rural and urban life -- from Dublin streets to deepest Donegal -- and a recipe. There are such recognizable dishes as Potato Soup, Irish Soda Bread, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Stew, Colcannon, and Irish Coffee, but there are other recipes, drawn from the archives, that may be unknown to readers, just waiting to be tried and savored. Try Porter Cake, a fruit-filled concoction made with a dose of Guinness; Marshmallow Crackers, a favorite with children; Champ, a traditional potato dish; Potato Cakes, a kind of potato biscuit; Cockle Soup, reminiscent of New England Clam Chowder; and an 18th-century recipe for succulent Wild Duck. There are many more, including historical recipes that may be daunting to the modern cook. One example is "dulse," a kind of seaweed found on the coasts of Ireland that was commonly sold dried, then soaked for 3 hours and "simmered in milk for the same amount of time." Recipes such as this are gems to read, however, and only add to the uniqueness of this book.