Regional Differences and Classic Dishes

From these building blocks of the classic Irish kitchen, what riches have flowed! Ireland is a small place (about the size of Maine). It doesn’t have the range in produce of a country the size of France, where you’ll find goose fat and winey richness in Quercy and the Périgord; zesty, herband-olive-oil Mediterranean flavors in Provence; and butterfat, apple cider, and tender tarts in Normandy. Instead, Ireland’s regions came up with dramatically different regional styles for similar ingredients, from the boxty (a sort of crepe) of Ulster in the north, to the caraway-studded buttery potato cakes of Munster in the South, to the meaty stews of Leinster, and the moist hearth-baked breads of Connaught (this is where, occasionally, you may find corned beef).