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While eating corned beef and cabbage is associated with St Patrick's Day, people around the world have been eating corned beef for centuries. Corned beef and cabbage was one of my favourite foods as a child, and that was before I knew anything about St Patrick's Day. How then did the eating of corned beef and cabbage come to be associated with St Patrick's Day?

St Patrick's Day essentially began as a religious feast Day in Ireland. Catholics would attend church services in honour of the Patron Saint, Patrick, in the morning and have a feast for the rest of the day. One of the foods eaten at St Patrick's Day celebration and other celebrations in Ireland is cabbage and potatoes with ham or bacon joint.

If we go back to 17th century Ireland we find a corned beef industry that flourished up until the 19th century. It was during this period that Ireland became the largest exporter of corned beef, specifically Cork Island. Corned beef from Ireland was sent all over the world and was the mainstay of the British Army during wartime in the Napoleon era.

Even though Ireland has a well documented history in the production of corned beef , its association with corned beef and cabbage is an entirely different matter. Beef was seen as a delicacy among the Irish, a food fit for kings. The cheaper alternative, bacon or ham, with cabbage and potatoes was a more common used for celebrations.

The corned beef and cabbage tradition was started by the Irish Americans in the mid 1800s. As the story goes, Irish immigrants could not find bacon joint when they came to America and substituted Jewish corned beef for the bacon as it had a similar texture. The corned beef traditionally used in Canada and US are generally cured brisket or the canned corned beef.

A feast of corned beef and cabbage has come to be associated with St Patrick's Day among Irish Americans. There was some controversy surrounding the consumption of corned beef during the Celebration of St Patrick's Day. This occurred because St Patrick's Day usually falls during lent. When the holiday falls on a Friday, Bishops have been known to give dispensations to allow the eating of corned beef on St Patrick's Day.

So we know that the tradition of eating corned beef and cabbage on St Patrick's Day is essentially an Irish American tradition. However, I must say that corned and cabbage is undeniably Irish. As I alluded to earlier, Ireland practically invented the corned beef, with a sort of monopoly on its production and export, for many years. And while in Ireland, they may not have eaten that exact combination on St Patrick's Day specifically, one has to assume, that the king of corned beef, Ireland, would have indulged, to some extent, in this fare.

The ingredients used for corned beef and cabbage recipes today are similar with some variations. It all depends on one's taste. Some people like canned corned beef, others use brisket, fresh or corned. One thing that is always present is the cabbage. Other vegetables are also used in addition to the cabbage like carrots, turnips and potatoes. Add your herbs and other seasonings and simmer for a few hours. The cabbage is usually added during the last hour of cooking.

This St Patrick's Day I will be having corned beef and cabbage. When I do, along with many others who will be enjoying this traditional fare on St Pat's Day, I will remember the Irish immigrants who came to America so many years ago, and brought with them the practice of a feast, adapting a traditional recipe to their new environment.

Learn more about this author, Joan Schroeder.
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