The History of Bog Butter

An extract from Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire and Dorothy Cashman's new book 'Irish Food History: A Companion' out on the 2nd of September.

Enlightening, entertaining and often surprising, Irish Food History: A Companion takes you on an unforgettable and expert journey through Ireland’s culinary past.

And now, in a special reveal on the Eason blog, we invited the editors of this collection to introduce an exclusive extract to the book:

Cows and their dairy foodstuffs: milk, butter and curds, have been central to Irish life, its wealth, culture and diet, for over four thousand years. And Irish bogs have preserved multiple artefacts from bodies, walls, books, and trackways, to butter.

‘A History of Bog Butter in Ireland’ discusses these amazing finds of bog butter, their contexts, radiocarbon dates, and the various containers in which they were deposited. Reasons for burying butter in bogs may be many and varied, but remain speculative, ranging from preservation, and flavouring, to votive offerings. Presenting the most comprehensive analysis of bog butter in Ireland to date, this chapter links our continued passion for butter with that of our early ancestors.

READ AN EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT FROM ‘IRISH FOOD HISTORY: A COMPANION’ HERE