Irish Christmas

Preparations for Christmas in Ireland start early, particularly in preparing special food for the festive season. Christmas Puddings and Christmas cakes rich with fruit and nuts and moistened with Guinness (Irish stout) and or brandy are made and stored to mature. Later the cakes are covered in marzipan icing then royal icing and decorated in all manner of ways. Perhaps applying icing with an icing nozzle or simply roughing up the surface with a knife to be the base for a snow scene. Edible silver balls can be used, or plastic figures of snowmen, santas or Christmas trees.


Mincemeat is made using dried fruit and suet. In the olden days it really contained minced meat.These days it can also be bought ready made in supermarkets. This is later used for making mince pies, or larger mince tarts. Traditionally shortcrust pastry is used but these days anything goes, flakey pastry,rough puff pastry or even filo. The pies tend to get eaten at tea times, or after carol singing with brandy butter and /or cream.


Spiced beef is made too. It used to be made at home but these days most butchers have their own secret recipes and you can buy the meat "ready spiced" from them. It takes about three weeks for the beef to absorb the spices before it's cooked. It leaves the meat pink in the centre with an almost black "crust" of spices and a quite unique flavour. It can be served hot or cold and many Irish people in Southern Ireland will eat it at some time over the festive season.