Ireland has been populated/inhabited since the stone age. The geography and climate in
Ireland are very unique and cannot be found many places throughout the world. Two
european mountain ranges come together in Ireland. This makes the landscape in northern
Ireland very hilly. One of these mountain ranges is Caledonian which goes from
Scandinavia through Scotland to the north and west of Ireland. The second mountain range
is Armorican which goes from central Europe through Brittany to southern Ireland. Ireland
is most importantly an island therefore they eat a lot of seafood. There is also rivers
throughout Ireland that the people caught salmon, trout, and eels in. From these rivers
being around they also snared pigeons, duck, and grouse. Ireland has a mild climate that
stays the same almost all year round.There is a substantial amount of moisture in the air in
Ireland. Ireland also has very fertile soil. This mild climate, moist air, and fertile soil made
it a very good area to grow products such as wheat, barley, oats, rye and later on when they
were introduced, potatoes. A lot of the land in Ireland is used for agriculture, about 62% to
be exact. Only 10% of the land in Ireland is forested. With the 62% of land used for
agriculture about 80% of that is just grass, as in hay and pastures. The other 20% of this
agricultural land is devoted to rough grazing (11%) and crop production (9%). Beef and
milk take up 56% of agricultural output in Ireland. This has all influenced the cuisine of
ireland by basing their foods on mostly animal product and starches. All of these
geographical and climate personalities of Ireland have drastically affected the cuisine of
the country.
Ireland is most renowned for their potatoes. Potatoes were first introduced to Ireland in the
late 1500’s. Very soon after their introduction potatoes became a mainstay in all Irish
people’s diets. The other mainstay and indigenous food products in Ireland were the ones
mentioned before wheat, barley, oats, and rye. Other mainstay products include carrots and
parsnips. Wild deer, pig and other farm raised animals are also indigenous to Ireland.
Before the potato came to be in Ireland grains like oats, wheat, and barley cooked as
porridge or bread, were the staple of the Irish diet. They would have these with almost
every meal. There are also mainstay drinks that have been present in Ireland for many
years. The most world renowned drink from Ireland is Guinness. Guinness is a dry stout
