School: Coill an tSrotha (roll number 5352)

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1. Food in Olden Times

   

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   In olden time the people ate three meals a day. The breakfast, which was eaten at nine o'clock, consisted of oat-bread or stirabout. People worked for four or five hours before breakfast for which they had a good appetite. At twelve o'clock the dinner, which consisted of boiled potatoes or "bruisy," was eaten.

   If it was potatoes was for the dinner a person drank milk also. The milk which the people drank was not cow's milk but they put oat-meal in a pot and covered the meal with water and they left it so for four days after which time the water was drained off and was drank. This was called "bull's milk" or "sowins." The supper also consisted of stirabout.

   It often happened that corn would be growing in the field in the morning and would be eaten before night fall. First the man went out with a hook and cut the corn which was brought into the house and was thrashed.The corn was then put in an oven which was hung over the fire until the corn was dry.

   Then it was ground with a quern. After this it was wet with boiling water and made in the shape of a cake about quarter inch thick. It was then rested on a bread iron or a flag in front of the fire. In older times the people never reared a bull calf when it was two or three months old it was

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)

   Language

   English

   Informant

   Patrick Mc Loughlin

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   91

   Address

   Meenkeeragh, Co. Leitrim