A national emergency
Over the weekend, pork products from all over Ireland were recalled.
"Jayzis, hows yer wan supposhedta make me fry widout da rashers now?" implored Paddy O'Shea.
Seriously though, Ireland without bacon is like... well, it's almost like Ireland without beer, let's put it that way. Good call on the recall for health & safety, but there were - and probably still are - some very unhappy people who've gone without their rashers (of bacon) and sausages and pudding (black and white) for their traditional Sunday fry-up.
Of course, it doesn't stop there. Bacon is an integral part of life here. It comes with or on or in almost everything. And speaking as a bacon-lover, I'm pretty happy about that. For all the jibes about the rubbish Irish food (and I make many, because I am not that impressed overall), the ubiquity of bacon is a high point for me.
(For the record, I also love brown soda bread and Guinness, and am quite partial to Bulmers, but I'd like to try it on a truly warm day to be sure, and there have been no such days so far.)
Of course, David is probably laughing himself silly about it. He, the handful of vegetarians and vegans we've met, and the tiny Jewish and Muslim communities are probably all going about their business, unaffected and slightly smug, while the rest of us feel... slightly bereft somehow.
But it's ok, the food safety people have got extra staff on to sort it out, so we should be able to buy local pork products again very soon. In the meantime, apparently imported stuff (hello Lidl & Aldi!) is fine.
It was a close call. Thank goodness it wasn't beer, or rioting (even worse - sober rioting) - may have taken place.
"Jayzis, hows yer wan supposhedta make me fry widout da rashers now?" implored Paddy O'Shea.
Seriously though, Ireland without bacon is like... well, it's almost like Ireland without beer, let's put it that way. Good call on the recall for health & safety, but there were - and probably still are - some very unhappy people who've gone without their rashers (of bacon) and sausages and pudding (black and white) for their traditional Sunday fry-up.
Of course, it doesn't stop there. Bacon is an integral part of life here. It comes with or on or in almost everything. And speaking as a bacon-lover, I'm pretty happy about that. For all the jibes about the rubbish Irish food (and I make many, because I am not that impressed overall), the ubiquity of bacon is a high point for me.
(For the record, I also love brown soda bread and Guinness, and am quite partial to Bulmers, but I'd like to try it on a truly warm day to be sure, and there have been no such days so far.)
Of course, David is probably laughing himself silly about it. He, the handful of vegetarians and vegans we've met, and the tiny Jewish and Muslim communities are probably all going about their business, unaffected and slightly smug, while the rest of us feel... slightly bereft somehow.
But it's ok, the food safety people have got extra staff on to sort it out, so we should be able to buy local pork products again very soon. In the meantime, apparently imported stuff (hello Lidl & Aldi!) is fine.
It was a close call. Thank goodness it wasn't beer, or rioting (even worse - sober rioting) - may have taken place.
Labels: Dublin, Food + drink, Laura
Three words: porcine endogenous virus. Say goodbye to world of pork!