Hallowe'en Tradition & Irish Food Colcannon
Savoy Cabbage Irish Recipe and the 31st of October in Ireland
Sep 19, 2008
In A Little History of Irish Food (Gill and Macmillan, 1998), Ireland’s leading food historian Regina Sexton tells of two Hallowe’en (or Halloween) traditions in Ireland involved the Irish recipe Colcannon.
Colcannon recipes generally bring together in a bowl the two main ingredients of Savoy cabbage and floury potatoes with some spring onions (or scallions), cream and seasoning.Colcannon is traditionally served in a bowl with a well of butter in its middle. Each spoonful of colcannon is dipped into the melted butter before eating.
The Story of Spoonfuls of Colcannon and Stockings
Regina Sexton tells the story of unmarried women putting the first and last spoons of Colcannon into one of their stockings and handing these up on a door on 31st of October, Hallowe’en (or Halloween), then “The first man through the door is taken to be their future husband”.
The Story of Picking Cabbage, Making Colcannon and Marriage
A second story of tradition on the 31st of October in Ireland, Hallowe’en (or Halloween), told by Regina Sexton in A Little History of Irish Food (Gill and Macmillan, 1998), involves the process of making Colcannon and finding a ring.
Cabbages and potatoes, the main ingredients of Colcannon, are common vegetables to grow in home gardens in Ireland. The story of Hallowe’en (or Halloween) tradition and making Colcannon starts with the selection of a cabbage by a blindfolded unmarried woman from a local cabbage patch. After the participant in the traditional event has lifted a cabbage “They then examine the nature of the root of the cabbage plant and its characteristics, long, short, hairy, ... qualities … of their future husbands” writes food historian Regina Sexton.
The chosen cabbage is prepared with potatoes in a traditional Colcannon Irish home recipe, into which a ring is hidden. The Colcannon is placed among the invited crowd who, in Sexton’s words “consume it feverishly in an effort to procure the ring”. The Hallowe’en (or Halloween) belief is that the person who finds the ring will be the next person in the gathering to marry.
Continuing the Colcannon and Hallowe’en Tradition in Ireland
Dublin-based editor and book publicist, Eveleen Coyle in her Irish Potato Cookbook (Gill & Macmillan, 1997) confirms the association of Colcannon with 31st of October, Hallowe’en (or Halloween). Coyle writes “Colcannon is traditionally a Hallowe’en dish. In our house, as children, coins were sometimes wrapped in tin foil and mixed in - probably not very hygienic and wouldn’t be allowed these days, but good fun. Colcannon is good at any time of the year”.
A review of the variations in Colcannon recipes from Irish chefs, cooks and food writers shows that Colcannon recipes use fresh Savoy cabbage in the autumn and winter or white cabbage when available in the springtime in Ireland.
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