Food Traditions
A wee taste of Ulster-Scots
Celebrity chef Paula McIntyre demonstrates how to prepare a range of dishes that reflect Ulster-Scots food traditions.
Ulster has a range of food traditions that make use of local ingredients that have been available to its people for centuries. A rich history of agriculture and the mild temperate climate produces succulent grass making the region ideal for rearing high quality livestock. Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus cattle and Scottish Blackface sheep are commonplace and reflect close historic links with Scotland.
The fresh clean waters of the Atlantic and many lakes provide a rich source of fish and other seafood.
Most of the ingredients in these recipes are well known but in some cases their names and the names of the dishes in which they are used are uniquely Ulster-Scots. For example the word ‘farl’ is Ulster-Scots for quadrant and describes the form that sodas are traditionally shaped in Ulster.
The title used for this section also introduces a little Ulster-Scots language. ‘Wee’ means small and the word ‘taste’ in the language is used to describe a small amount of something.
