Irish Boxty (2024)

FAQs

What does boxty mean in Irish? ›

'Boxty' originates in the 1700s and may get its name from the Irish 'arán bocht tí', meaning 'poor house bread', due to its humble ingredients, making it a staple in Irish households where potatoes were relied upon to survive. It is a simple potato pancake using mashed and/or grated potatoes.

The most noticeable difference between boxty and other fried potato dishes is its smooth, fine-grained consistency. An old Irish rhyme is: "Boxty on the griddle; boxty on the pan. If you can't make boxty, you'll never get a man!" As the interest in Irish cuisine has increased, so the popularity of boxty has risen.

'What makes boxty different to other potato breads is you grate the raw potato and extract the moisture out of it and add that back into it with some mash…if it's all mash, it's not boxty, definitely not.

Boxty originated in Ireland sometime in the late 18th century, primarily in the northern counties of Cavan and Donegal. Now they're eaten all over Ireland, usually alongside meat or stew.

Spuds. We can't talk about Irish slang without mentioning potatoes! “Spuds” is another word for potatoes.

Irish Stew is a thick, hearty dish of mutton, potatoes, and onions and undisputedly the national dish of Ireland. Within the dish are many of the ingredients synonymous with the island, potatoes being one of the most recognized.

The Irish often used the good land to grow things like wheat and corn that they would sell to pay their rent. This left the farmers with a small piece of land to grow their own food. Potatoes took up very little space and were very nutritious. One acre of potatoes could feed a family of four for a year.

You may see the plural of “boxty” as “boxties.” Harvey's recipe also spells the plural as “boxty.”

Grains, either as bread or porridge, were the other mainstay of the pre-potato Irish diet, and the most common was the humble oat, usually made into oatcakes and griddled (ovens hadn't really taken off yet).

What is the best potato in Ireland? ›

Roosters. Rooster potatoes are the most popular variety in Ireland due to its all-round cooking characteristics.

Boxty is different from other potato pancakes or latkes, and you'll see that once you bite into one and notice the crispy hash brown-like outside and soft, dough-like inside.

Coddle (sometimes Dublin coddle; Irish: cadal) is an Irish dish which is often made to use up leftovers. It most commonly consists of layers of roughly sliced pork sausages and rashers (thinly sliced, somewhat-fatty back bacon) with chunky potatoes, sliced onion, salt, pepper, and herbs.

Boxty is a traditional Irish potato dish and dates back to the days of the Irish famine, where is was know as a peasant food and knows as “Aran bocht tí” or “Bacstaí” or poorhouse bread.

Basically, enzymes meet oxygen and the potatoes discolor. The chemical reaction occurs with fruit, typically turning brown when cut or exposed to air. A few tips… use sharp potato peelers (when is the last time you replaced yours?) and sharp knives, as dull blades bruise the potatoes.

English–Irish Dictionary (de Bhaldraithe): Potato-mash. Potato-mash, brúitín m (prátaí). Mashed potatoes, brúitín m. Mashed potatoes, brúitín m, prátaí brúite.

The Irish language is very descriptive the common word for potato in Irish is práta (pl. prátaí), hence the origin of Praties for Potatoes, There are literally 50 Irish words and descriptive phrases relating to the potato.