Globecord - Irish Snacks - More Elusive than a Pot of Gold

On a recent sojourn to the Emerald Island, I got to experience many things. From touring the 5000 year-old dwellings of the first inhabitants, to the small fishing villages nestled in rocky coves and even the wonderful pubs of Dublin, I got a wee taste of Irish culture. However, as regular readers of Globecord will already know, one of the aspects of the human condition we are most interested in documenting and discussing are the tasty snack foods that we eat every day. And my friends, although there is tasty food and delicious beer to be had aplenty, I am sad to report that as a snack food culture, the Irish are way behind.

Right now, you may be asking yourself what kind of creature is that bag of corn chips above. Well my friends, it’s not the elusive Irish Sasquatch (although, I was keeping an eye out for him or for something smaller and decidedly more Leprechauny for my friends in Globecord Taxonomy – they do good work!), but rather he is just some comical corporate logo used to feed kids unhealthy deep fried treats. Further research indicates that this purple monster is 3.5 metres high, weighs 90 stone and has a chest circumference of a staggering 1 meter! His favourite drink is ginger beer and his food of choice is jelly con carne. Jelly con carne? Now that’s just gross. And although I must admit the jumbo-sized packaging and significant price actually prevented me from purchasing some Mighty Munch, wikipedia says that each chip is actually formed as a monster paw! Now had I known this at the time I would have of course bought some, but it doesn’t really matter as it turns out Mighty Munch is actually made in the United Kingdom and therefore aren’t really Irish at all. Bah!

Druids Cider

That British-corn-chips-masquerading-as-Irish business left a bad taste in my mouth so I took a trip to nearest dépanneur and searched for something more celtic. A quick look and I found the Irishist drink imaginable, a 500 mL can of Druids Celtic Cider which I eagerly purchased. Now this is a product I could get behind. The can is green (very Irish) and covered with celtic symbols (also very Irish) and pictures of apples (useful for illiterate alcoholics). I cracked it open and took a swig and found it to be quite a refreshing drink! The taste was good, very light without any nasty aftertaste and for only 1.80 Euro!. And 6% alcohol to boot! I was delighted… until I read the can closer. The damn cider is made in Birmingham! Yes, another “Irish” treat that is actually British. My search for the Irish experience was foiled again.

McCoy’s Chips

At the same time as the cider purchase, I also picked up a package of McCoy’s Thai Sweet Chicken potato chip (or crisps as they are locally referred to). Now these were a taste treat. The chip itself was a little thicker than I prefer (perhaps 2-3 mm) but I think this worked for the chip – you felt that every chip had weight and you were doing some serious snacking. It's how I imagine Godzilla would feel whilst snacking upon Sudbury’s Big Nickel. Bad imagery aside, the weight of chip would make eating more than the small package overly taxing to the mouth and digestive system. In any case, what really worked for this chip was the taste; it actually tasted like chicken! Ok, chicken with some Thai spices. This was not expected as my previous experiences with poultry flavour salty snacks have been disappointing at best. I clearly remember the unchicken-like nature of the BBQ Chicken chips offered by now-defunct Hostess. But McCoy has a product that does a good job of tricking your taste buds into thinking there is a dead chicken in your mouth. Very tasty, but as I soon found out by reading the package, also very British. Sigh.

So, although I have failed to review true “Irish” snack foods, I have presented you with a few of the tasty treats I encountered during my short stay in Eire. And although they are not fully Irish, these products are enjoyed by Irish people which has got to count for something. And if not, at least you’ll know what to try next time you are in the United Kingdom. Now excuse me while I try to forget my failure by pouring myself a glass of something truly Irish, the very tasty Knappogue Castle Whiskey I brought back with me.