School: Ballymahon (B.) (roll number 12690)

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1. Bread (continued)

   

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   that they can rise, if there was no cross the cake would burst. Bread used to be baked on a forked stick in front of the fire but this is done in very few houses now. Some people would not make currant cake on a Saturday because they say it would be very unlucky and the cake would be heavy and sodden. On Shrove Tuesday which is also called pan-cake Tuesday, pan-cakes are made in all the houses. On Hallow Eve the people eat barm brack with rings in them. At Christmas the special desert which is eaten at Christmas only is plum pudding. When the plum puddings are being made all the people in the house have to stir the mixture. Here is the story which is told in this district of how plum pudding was first made. About four hundred years ago an old sailing ship sailing from Ireland to Spain was lost for three weeks. By this time the ship was short of food and all that was left for them to eat was suet, raisons, flour, spice and all the other things we put in our plum puddings now. So the cook mixed all together and boiled them and they lived on plum pudding until they were saved three days later. When the ship was rescued the cook and crew were so pleased that they told everyone about the puddings. And as it was at Christmas that the pudding was

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. products
      1. food products (~3,601)
         1. bread (~2,063)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Harry Flood

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Ballymahon, Co. Longford

   Informant

   Andrew Carney

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   62

   Address

   Ballymahon, Co. Longford