March 7, 2024

馃崁馃崬 Our Irish Soda Bread Keeps One Eye on the Past and One in the Future 馃崬馃崁

Take a walk down memory lane with us and explore the evolution of St. Patrick鈥檚 Day   St. Patrick鈥檚 Day is about to roll around yet again, so we thought we鈥檇 talk to you a little about Irish Soda Bread and what St. Patrick鈥檚 Day is all about!

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Now, we all know that everyone is Irish on St. Patrick鈥檚 Day, but March 17th is more than an excuse to have a day of fun and drinking (can you believe it?). The roots of St. Patrick鈥檚 Day come from none other than…you guessed it, St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Now, you may wonder why March 17th was chosen to celebrate him, and its because St. Patrick鈥檚 death was said to be on March 17th in the year 461, around the 10th century the people of Ireland began to honor his life annually on that day.

Currently we know St. Patrick鈥檚 Day to be an over-the-top celebration with parades, plenty of Guinness and Jameson, and green galore, but if you can believe, in the 10th century people were not dying rivers green and wearing leprechaun costumes… shocking, we know. The tradition began as the Feast of St. Patrick or, in Gaelic: L脿 Fh茅ile P谩rdraig, and to us would鈥檝e seemed more like a relatively quaint religious ceremony than a mass celebration spanning across countries.

Over time St. Partick鈥檚 Day evolved into not only a celebratory tribute to Patron St. Patrick, but a celebration of Irish culture and pride (that explains the whiskey and beer), and where does the green come from? We would say it is likely emulating Ireland鈥檚 beautiful landscape, after all it is known as the Emerald Isle.

Now, to keep yourself from turning green on the 17th we would like to make a friendly suggestion…don鈥檛 just drink like the Irish, eat like them too! The Irish are known for their corned beef and cabbage, beef stew and potatoes, blood pudding (if you don鈥檛 know what it is, google at your own risk), and the best for last, Irish Soda Bread, which may just be the perfect remedy to soak up everything in your stomach.

Europastry鈥檚 Irish Soda Bread is made with California grown raisins, and clean ingredients with a hint of sweetness and dense yet soft texture, and combines tradition with innovation, which is what we do best. Our recipe stems from the traditional Irish techniques that came about in 1830 when baking soda was first introduced to Ireland. The simple and cost-effective ingredients were favored because of the struggle Ireland was facing and would continue to face for some time, shortly after this period of financial struggle in the 1830鈥檚, Ireland鈥檚 main crop, potatoes, would fail and cause what we know as the Irish Potato Famine. With that said, Soda Bread helped a lot of Irish people in times of struggle.

So, with this history in mind, we decided to honor Irish history and tradition by remaining true to the traditional recipe that helped many Irish people through hard times. So, this St. Patrick鈥檚 Day we encourage you to have all the fun (safely), but also remember where these traditions come from, because at Europastry we believe that honoring the past can help bring us into the future. Whether you have it with jam and tea, some Irish coffee, or use it to soak up Guinness, our Irish Soda Bread will make everyone an honorary Irishman this St. Patrick鈥檚 Day.

And as they say in Ireland…Sl谩inte!

 

P.S.

Here are some ways to enjoy our Irish Soda Bread:

  1. Enjoy warm with a quality Irish Butter (yes, Irish butter makes a difference)
  2. Spread with jam and enjoy with tea or coffee
  3. Eat on the side of beef stew or corned beef and cabbage