Peat in Ireland for cooking, heating

Much manual labor was involved to get peat from a bog to the hearth. Slabs (like long bricks) were/are sliced off the bank by a special tool, then dried, turned, and dried until all surfaces were hardened and able to burn. Cooking over peat is shown in the picture An Irish farm kitchen with its open grate for peat. [1906]

Many taped talks and links to info.

Peat Mill - 80 tons of peat per day

Peat was cut into blocks and burned on kitchen hearths for centuries in Ireland, Scotland and other countries.  But in the mid 1800's large machines were designed to compress the peat into blocks for a wide variety of uses...to produce gas; use in steam engines; make gunpowder, paper, pavement and roofing tiles... A far cry from gathering peat near the home for cooking and heat.

Scotland

Scotch Whisky and Haggis (ofcourse), sowans, peat - harvested and used for cooking and now to flavor Whisky - are in upcoming and taped talks. One intriguing talk is on the potato famine in Scotland, when there was a revolt... over oatmeal. Another talk is on the Margaret Dods cookbook (which I have used and enjoyed) and its Sir Walter Scott connection. Future taped talks will be added to this post.

Baking over a fire in a "pot oven" or "cottage oven"

An interesting one minute film clip from 1950s or 60s Wales, shows a pot oven baking bread hung over a peat (turf) fire with coals. Chunks of burning peat are placed on the flat lid to bake. There is no lip along edge of the lid (so differs from dutch oven top). Excerpts mentioning Ireland and Scotland. Film clip below.

Loft over the hearth in 1846 Ireland

During the Irish Famine, or The Great Hunger of 1845-49, this image of a loft, oddly built over the hearth fire in a County Kerry tenent's cabin was in The Pictorial Times, London.
So what was on the loft?

Cranberries on the English moors, 1814

'The Cranberry Girl' picks cranberries on the moors of Regency Yorkshire.  Though smaller, the cranberries tasted better than those imported from America and Russia...

People's Collection of Wales & Welsh Cakes

The National Library of Wales's A People's Story of Wales is a wonderful collection of film clips, oral histories, books, photos, recipes and more.
Welsh Cakes on griddle over fire.

British foodways virtual talks

There are many upcoming talks on British foodways and tapes of talks: Queen Victoria, Stir-up Sunday Christmas Pudding (Nov 22), Colonial sugar trade, Scottish food and many more. Once I find the tapes of talks after they are given, this post (and other topic posts) will only keep the talks with tapes.

King George III toasting muffins, satire by James Gillray in 1791.

Sweet potato storage in 1843 Virginia

Special sweet potato houses or cellars were constructed to be ventilated, heated or smoked to dry out the potatoes. On loft over fire. Cooked on coals.

Victory Gardens, Plants, Farms and Barns talks

May and June 20 talks UPDATE. There were over 25 talks in April on Victory Gardens WWII (War Gardens WW1), Medieval & Colonial gardens, 2 on White House gardens, Indeginous food & plants and more. There are also many taped talks from the past year on gardens, seeds, sugar beets, Manoomin (Wild Rice), farms and a few on livestock and stone walls.

Calendar of virtual food history talks

The Calendar, my Covid service project, will continue in a limited way, since I must cut back on the long hours I have spent on it the last four years.
There have been over 4,500 (in 2023) virtual food history talks, demos and tours by museums, historical associations, small businesses, groups, and others.