Long hailed "the" Irish dish here in the United States, especially on St. Patrick's Day, Corned Beef is not as straight forward of an Irish dish at all. In Ireland, cows were used for milk and work and were not sources of meat except on special occasions by the wealthy. During this time, beef was salted to preserve it with sea ash - burnt seaweed, not actual salt. Ireland's beef production did not begin until England invaded and introduced the notion of beef as meat and potatoes that became an affordable Irish staple. The beef produced in Ireland became part of the triangular trade. The oppressed majority of Ireland still could not afford meat and relied on the potato. It wasn't until Irish immigrants fleeing the famine came to America, that the concept of Irish Corned Beef was conceived. While still poor, Irish immigrants were at least able to afford meat here in the United States versus their families back in Ireland under British oppression. Unable to buy Irish Bacon that they were used to in the mother country, immigrants began to pair their cabbage with Jewish Corned Beef. Often living among Jewish immigrants in city slums, facing the same prejudices and sharing many cultural aspects, Irish immigrants bought their meat from kosher butchers. Thus, the Irish Corned Beef we are accustomed to is not really as Irish as it is hailed to be.
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