Modern Irish cuisine

The Irish table is rich with fine, fresh, artisan-made products and carefully grown produce. Read on to discover some of the secrets to the flavour and delight of Irish food.

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The classic Ulster Fry

Photo: courtesy of Food NI (Taste of Ulster)

Ulster Fry purists agree that along with generous meat portions – bacon, sausages, black pudding – a halved tomato and two (not one) runny eggs, the Ulster Fry is distinguished from its British and Irish cousins by Ulster's unique and glorious griddle breads of soda and potato bread farls. Add mushrooms if you will, but the essentials must remain. No pancakes. No waffle.

Here are some other key foods on Northern Ireland's table:

The Comber Potato

Grown in sheltered soil around Strangford Lough, County Down, the Comber is a world-class spud with a distinct nutty flavour. It also claims Protected Geographical Indication (PGl), the EU scheme that protects the reputation of regional food. Try it at The Poacher’s Pocket, Lisbane, or the Old Schoolhouse Inn, Comber, County Down.

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Cheese

Handcrafted from the purest of milk, cheese has long been one of Northern Ireland’s highest quality artisan products. And right now, blue cheese is where it’s at. Taste the incredible flavours of Young Buck (a raw milk cheese), Kearney Blue (inspired by the grey stone walls of County Down) and Leggygowan in restaurants such as Salty Dog, County Down; Stix and Stones, Belfast; and Browns, Derry-Londonderry.

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Abernethy butter

Served in some of the world’s best restaurants, Abernethy butter is the real deal. Churned by hand into velvety perfection, this high-grade butter is created with local cream from cows that graze around the lush Lagan Valley in County Antrim. Taste it at restaurants all over Northern Ireland, pick some up at delis, such as Sawers in Belfast.

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Bramley apples

Armagh. The Orchard County. Home of the Bramley Apple, another of Northern Ireland’s superstar PGI status products. Armagh loves its apples – it bakes them in pies, it creates delightful apple juice (P McCann & Sons) and tasty cider (Armagh Cider Company), and it even has a festival dedicated to them – the Apple Blossom Festival in May in Armagh City.

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