Colcannon: Difference between revisions

Colcannon
	A bowl of colcannon
Course	Main course or side dish
Place of origin	Irland
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Mashed potatoes, cabbage
	Media: Colcannon;

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Colcannon (Irish: cál ceannann, meaning 'white-headed cabbage') is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with cabbage. It is a popular dish on Saint Patrick's Day^[1] and on the feast day of St. Brigid.^[2]

Description

Colcannon is most commonly made with only four ingredients: potatoes, butter, milk and cabbage. Irish historian Patrick Weston Joyce defined it as "potatoes mashed with butter and milk, with chopped up cabbage and pot herbs".^[3] It can contain other ingredients such as scallions (spring onions), leeks, laverbread, onions and chives. Some recipes substitute cabbage with kale.^[4] There are many regional variations of this staple dish.^[5] It was a cheap, year-round food.^[6]^[7] It is often eaten with boiled ham, salt pork or Irish bacon. As a side dish it goes well with corned beef and cabbage.^[3]

Colcannon is similar to Champ, a dish made with scallions, butter and milk that traditionally offered to fairies be being placed at the foot of a Hawthorn tree in a spoon.^[4]

Etymology

The origin of the word is unclear. The first syllable "col" likely comes from the Irish "cál," meaning cabbage. The second syllable may derive from "ceann-fhionn," meaning a white head (i.e. "a white head of cabbage."). This usage is also found in the Irish name for a coot, a white-headed bird known as "cearc cheannan" or "white-head hen.".

In Welsh, the name for leek soup is cawl cennin, a phrase combining cawl meaning "soup", "broth" or "gruel", when it is not a reference to the typical Welsh meat and vegetable stew named in full "cawl Cymreig", with "cennin," the plural of "cenhinen," meaning "leeks".^[8]

Song

The song "Colcannon", also called "The Skillet Pot", is a traditional Irish song that has been recorded by numerous artists, including Mary Black.^[9]^[10] It begins:

Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
Did you ever make a hole on top to hold the melting flake
Of the creamy, flavoured butter that your mother used to make?

The chorus:

Yes you did, so you did, so did he and so did I.
And the more I think about it sure the nearer I'm to cry.
Oh, wasn't it the happy days when troubles we had not,
And our mothers made Colcannon in the little skillet pot.

Similar dishes

Clapshot, stovies, and rumbledethumps, from Scotland
Bubble and squeak, from England
Champ, from Ireland
Biksemad, from Denmark
Trinxat, from the Empordà region of Catalonia, northeast Spain, and Andorra
Roupa velha (Portuguese for "old clothes"), from Portugal, often made from leftovers from cozido à Portuguesa
Boerenkool stamppot, from the Netherlands
Stoemp, from Belgium
Hash, from the United States
Hash browns
Potato cake

References

^ Tribune, Beth Dooley Special to the Star. "4 recipes for a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal, and it's not corned beef". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
^ "If you really want to celebrate Brigid, eat colcannon on Wednesday and then make your cross". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b Andrews, Colman (21 December 2012). The Country Cooking of Ireland. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452124056. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ ^a ^b Sheraton, Mimi (13 January 2015). 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 9780761183068. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ "Recipe from An Bord Bia (Irish food board)". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
^ Irwin, Florence (1986). The Cookin' Woman: Irish Country Recipes. Blackstaff. ISBN 0-85640-373-3.
^ Friedland, Susan R. (2009). Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2008. Oxford Symposium. ISBN 9781903018668. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
^ Evans, H. Meurig (1980). Y Geiriadur Mawr. Gwasg Gomer.
^ Allen, Darina (2012). Irish Traditional Cooking. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN 9780717154364.
^ "The Black Family" CD, 1986, Dara Records, DARA CD 023

External links

Media related to Category:Colcannon at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Tribune, Beth Dooley Special to the Star. "4 recipes for a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal, and it's not corned beef". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

[2] "If you really want to celebrate Brigid, eat colcannon on Wednesday and then make your cross". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.

[cook-3] Andrews, Colman (21 December 2012). The Country Cooking of Ireland. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452124056. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

[mimi-4] Sheraton, Mimi (13 January 2015). 1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List. Workman Publishing Company. ISBN 9780761183068. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

[5] "Recipe from An Bord Bia (Irish food board)". Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2011.

[6] Irwin, Florence (1986). The Cookin' Woman: Irish Country Recipes. Blackstaff. ISBN 0-85640-373-3.

[oxford-7] Friedland, Susan R. (2009). Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2008. Oxford Symposium. ISBN 9781903018668. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2019.

[8] Evans, H. Meurig (1980). Y Geiriadur Mawr. Gwasg Gomer.

[darina-9] Allen, Darina (2012). Irish Traditional Cooking. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 152. ISBN 9780717154364.

[10] "The Black Family" CD, 1986, Dara Records, DARA CD 023

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@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | type             =
 | served           = Hot
-| main_ingredient  = [[Mashed potato]]es, [[cabbage]] or [[kale]]
+| main_ingredient  = [[Mashed potato]]es, [[cabbage]]
 | variations       =
 | calories         =
 | other            =
 }}
+'''Colcannon''' ({{Irish place name|cál ceannann|white-headed cabbage}}) is a traditional [[Ireland|Irish]] dish of [[mashed potato]]es with [[cabbage]]. It is a popular dish on [[Saint Patrick's Day]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Beth Dooley Special to the Star |title=4 recipes for a traditional St. Patrick's Day meal, and it's not corned beef |url=https://www.startribune.com/4-recipes-for-a-traditional-st-patricks-day-meal-and-theres-no-corned-beef-in-sight/600350691/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Star Tribune |archive-date=22 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522124236/https://www.startribune.com/4-recipes-for-a-traditional-st-patricks-day-meal-and-theres-no-corned-beef-in-sight/600350691/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and on the feast day of [[St. Brigid]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=If you really want to celebrate Brigid, eat colcannon on Wednesday and then make your cross |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/01/28/if-you-really-want-to-celebrate-brigid-eat-colcannon-on-wednesday-and-then-make-your-cross/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |archive-date=22 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240522124235/https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2024/01/28/if-you-really-want-to-celebrate-brigid-eat-colcannon-on-wednesday-and-then-make-your-cross/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
-'''Colcannon''' ({{Irish place name|cál ceannann|white-headed cabbage}}) is a traditional [[Ireland|Irish]] dish of [[mashed potato]]es with [[cabbage]] or [[kale]].
 ==Description==
-Colcannon is most commonly made with only four ingredients: potatoes, butter, milk and cabbage (or kale). Irish historian [[Patrick Weston Joyce]] defined it as "potatoes mashed with butter and milk, with chopped up cabbage and pot herbs".<ref name=cook>{{cite book |last=Andrews |first=Colman |title=The Country Cooking of Ireland |date=21 December 2012 |isbn=9781452124056 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKBdBblqiX0C&pg=PA219}}</ref> It can contain other ingredients such as [[scallion]]s (spring onions), [[leek]]s, [[laverbread]], [[onion]]s and [[chive]]s. Some recipes substitute cabbage for kale.<ref name=mimi>{{cite book |last=Sheraton |first=Mimi |title=1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List |date=13 January 2015 |isbn=9780761183068 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1f-lAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45}}</ref> There are many regional variations of this staple dish.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bordbia.ie/aboutfood/recipes/potatoes/pages/colcannan.aspx |title=Recipe from An Bord Bia (Irish food board) |access-date=2011-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219151629/http://www.bordbia.ie/aboutfood/recipes/potatoes/pages/colcannan.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was a cheap, year-round food.<ref>{{cite book|last=Irwin |first=Florence |title=The Cookin' Woman: Irish Country Recipes |publisher=Blackstaff |year=1986 |isbn=0-85640-373-3}}</ref><ref name=oxford>{{cite book |last=Friedland |first=Susan R. |title=Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2008 |year=2009 |isbn=9781903018668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sV5tBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT118}}</ref> It is often eaten with boiled [[ham]], [[salt pork]] or [[Back bacon|Irish bacon]]. As a side dish it goes well with [[corned beef and cabbage]].<ref name=cook />
+Colcannon is most commonly made with only four ingredients: potatoes, butter, milk and cabbage. Irish historian [[Patrick Weston Joyce]] defined it as "potatoes mashed with butter and milk, with chopped up cabbage and pot herbs".<ref name=cook>{{cite book |last=Andrews |first=Colman |title=The Country Cooking of Ireland |date=21 December 2012 |publisher=Chronicle Books |isbn=9781452124056 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKBdBblqiX0C&pg=PA219 |access-date=31 August 2019}}</ref> It can contain other ingredients such as [[scallion]]s (spring onions), [[leek]]s, [[laverbread]], [[onion]]s and [[chive]]s. Some recipes substitute cabbage with kale.<ref name=mimi>{{cite book |last=Sheraton |first=Mimi |title=1,000 Foods To Eat Before You Die: A Food Lover's Life List |date=13 January 2015 |publisher=Workman Publishing Company |isbn=9780761183068 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1f-lAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45 |access-date=31 August 2019}}</ref> There are many regional variations of this staple dish.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bordbia.ie/aboutfood/recipes/potatoes/pages/colcannan.aspx |title=Recipe from An Bord Bia (Irish food board) |access-date=2011-05-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219151629/http://www.bordbia.ie/aboutfood/recipes/potatoes/pages/colcannan.aspx |archive-date=2014-02-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was a cheap, year-round food.<ref>{{cite book|last=Irwin |first=Florence |title=The Cookin' Woman: Irish Country Recipes |publisher=Blackstaff |year=1986 |isbn=0-85640-373-3}}</ref><ref name=oxford>{{cite book |last=Friedland |first=Susan R. |title=Vegetables: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 2008 |year=2009 |publisher=Oxford Symposium |isbn=9781903018668 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sV5tBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT118 |access-date=31 August 2019 |archive-date=28 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230828113400/https://books.google.com/books?id=sV5tBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT118 |url-status=live }}</ref> It is often eaten with boiled [[ham]], [[salt pork]] or [[Back bacon|Irish bacon]]. As a side dish it goes well with [[corned beef and cabbage]].<ref name=cook />
-An Irish [[Halloween]] tradition is to serve colcannon with a ring and a thimble hidden in the dish. Prizes of small coins such as threepenny or sixpenny bits were also concealed inside the dish.<ref name="darina">{{cite book | title=Irish Traditional Cooking | publisher=Gill and Macmillan | author=Allen, Darina | year=2012| location=Dublin | page=152 | isbn=9780717154364}}</ref> Other items could include a stick indicating an unhappy marriage, and a rag denoting a life of poverty.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Allen|first=Darina|date=2020-10-28|title=Eat, drink, and be scary this Halloween|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/food/arid-40065581.html|access-date=2020-10-29|website=Irish Examiner|language=en}}</ref> The dish [[Champ (food)|champ]] is similar but made with [[scallion]]s, butter, and milk.<ref name=mimi /> It was traditional to offer a portion of champ to the fairies by placing a dish of colcannon with a spoon at the foot of a [[Crataegus monogyna|hawthorn]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mahon|first=Bríd|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39935389|title=Land of milk and honey : the story of traditional Irish food and drink|publisher=Mercier Press|year=1998|isbn=1-85635-210-2|location=Dublin|pages=138–140|oclc=39935389}}</ref>
+Colcannon is similar to [[Champ (food)|Champ]], a dish made with [[scallion]]s, butter and milk that traditionally offered to fairies be being placed at the foot of a [[Crataegus monogyna|Hawthorn tree]] in a spoon.<ref name="mimi" />
 == Etymology ==
-The origin of the word is unclear. The first syllable 'col' is likely to be derived from the Irish 'cál' meaning cabbage. The second syllable may derive from 'ceann-fhionn' meaning a white head (i.e. 'a white head of cabbage') – this usage is also found in the Irish name for a [[coot]], a white-headed bird known as 'cearc cheannan', or 'white-head hen'. In Welsh the name for leek soup is [[cawl cennin]], a phrase combining [[cawl]] meaning "soup", "broth" or "gruel", when it is not a reference to the typical Welsh meat and vegetable stew named in full 'cawl Cymreig', with 'cennin', the plural of 'cenhinen', meaning "leeks".<ref>{{cite book|last=Evans |first=H. Meurig |title=Y Geiriadur Mawr |publisher=Gwasg Gomer |year=1980}}</ref>.  It is unlikely that this Welsh phrase is the source for the Irish word, because of the differences in pronunciation affecting the vowels, and the great divergence in sense, "mashed potato and cabbage" versus "leek broth".
+The origin of the word is unclear. The first syllable "col" likely comes from the Irish "cál," meaning cabbage. The second syllable may derive from "ceann-fhionn," meaning a white head (i.e. "a white head of cabbage."). This usage is also found in the Irish name for a [[Eurasian coot|coot]], a white-headed bird known as "cearc cheannan" or "white-head hen.".
+In Welsh, the name for leek soup is [[cawl cennin]], a phrase combining [[cawl]] meaning "soup", "broth" or "gruel", when it is not a reference to the typical Welsh meat and vegetable stew named in full "cawl Cymreig", with "cennin," the plural of "cenhinen," meaning "leeks".<ref>{{cite book|last=Evans |first=H. Meurig |title=Y Geiriadur Mawr |publisher=Gwasg Gomer |year=1980}}</ref>
 == Song ==
-The song "Colcannon", also called "The Skillet Pot", is a traditional Irish song that has been recorded by numerous artists, including [[Mary Black]].<ref name="darina"/><ref>"The Black Family" CD, 1986, Dara Records, DARA CD 023</ref> It begins:
+The song "Colcannon", also called "The Skillet Pot", is a traditional Irish song that has been recorded by numerous artists, including [[Mary Black]].<ref name="darina">{{cite book |author=Allen, Darina |title=Irish Traditional Cooking |publisher=Gill and Macmillan |year=2012 |isbn=9780717154364 |location=Dublin |page=152}}</ref><ref>"The Black Family" CD, 1986, Dara Records, DARA CD 023</ref> It begins:
 <blockquote><poem>Did you ever eat Colcannon, made from lovely pickled cream?
 With the greens and scallions mingled like a picture in a dream.
@@ Line 43: / Line 44: @@
 ==Similar dishes==
 {{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
-* [[Clapshot]], [[Stovies]], and [[Rumbledethumps]], from [[Scottish cuisine|Scotland]]
+* [[Clapshot]], [[stovies]], and [[rumbledethumps]], from [[Scottish cuisine|Scotland]]
 * [[Bubble and squeak]], from [[English cuisine|England]]
 * [[Champ (food)|Champ]], from [[Irish cuisine|Ireland]]
@@ Line 49: / Line 50: @@
 * [[Trinxat]], from the [[Empordà]] region of [[Catalonia]], northeast [[Spain]], and [[Andorra]]
 * ''Roupa velha'' (Portuguese for "old clothes"), from [[Portugal]], often made from leftovers from ''[[cozido]] à Portuguesa''
-* [[Boerenkool stamppot]], from the [[Dutch cuisine|Netherlands]]
+* [[stamppot|Boerenkool stamppot]], from the [[Dutch cuisine|Netherlands]]
 * [[Stoemp]], from [[Belgium]]
 * [[Hash (food)|Hash]], from the [[United States]]
@@ Line 71: / Line 72: @@
 ==External links==
 {{Commons category-inline|Category:Colcannon}}
-{{Wiktionary|Colcannon}}
+{{Wiktionary|colcannon}}
 {{Irish cuisine}}
 {{Potato dishes}}
+{{Ireland topics}}
-[[Category:Irish cuisine]]
-[[Category:Potato dishes]]
-[[Category:Halloween food]]
-[[Category:Irish words and phrases]]
 [[Category:Brassica oleracea dishes]]
 [[Category:Cabbage dishes]]
-[[Category:Vegetarian cuisine]]
+[[Category:Halloween food]]
+[[Category:Irish cuisine]]
+[[Category:Irish words and phrases]]
 [[Category:National dishes]]
+[[Category:Potato dishes]]
+[[Category:Vegetarian cuisine]]
+[[Category:Irish-American cuisine]]

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