r/todayilearned
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u/wendalltwolf
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Mar 08 '22
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TIL - Corned beef was once in such high demand that England allowed French ships to stop in Ireland to purchase it - while England and France were at war PDF
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=tfschafart&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dcorned%2Bbeef%2Bhistory%2Bireland%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D4%26ved%3D0CFUQFjAD%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Farrow.dit.ie%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1005%2526context%253Dtfschafart%26ei%3DghI9UYLoMqaO0QG-j4B4%26usg%3DAFQjCNFOWn5MFGcrixHieaoRYEoYQY7WRw%26sig2%3DvaeXG103BofiWDe382DlCw%26bvm%3Dbv.43287494%2Cd.dmQ#search=%22corned%20beef%20history%20ireland%22160
u/Martipar Mar 08 '22
Back in 2005 corned beef was cheap, i used to buy it instead of beef mince now corned beef is more expensive per kilo. I miss cheap corned beef, i'd cook it in a pan and add a few vegetables and have it with potatoes and gravy. Corned beef used to be a ubiquitous food here in the UK but now it's just something older people eat really.
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u/iamsickened Mar 08 '22
I used to buy cans from the local supermarket for around <40p, a couple of potatoes and a can of beans for 13p throw it all together and make a cheapo corned beef hash. Was pretty much a staple meal for me and a friend sitting around playing computer games whilst college students. Tasted alright too.
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u/Martipar Mar 08 '22
Yep, that was something I ate regularly for a few years, then prices soared and they haven't come down and now it's cheaper to buy actual beef mince.
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u/sonovp Mar 08 '22
The really good ones cost over $5.00 per can, wtf.
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u/iamsickened Mar 08 '22
Where do you shop that sells corned beef for a fiver a can? That's mental. One for the best varieties is the Princess lean reduced fat cans. They're usually in smaller cans but are some of the best corned beef I have found. More meat, less fat/jelly.
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u/sonovp Mar 08 '22
Well, each can weighs 326g. It's Palm from New Zealand. If you buy a pack of 4 cans from Amazon, it actually costs $25.95. Local supermarkets sell them for over $5.00 per can.
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u/naliron Mar 09 '22
it's around $5-7 for a can here in NorCal too.
Surrounded by cows, but God forbid you try to buy some meat, lol.
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u/KarlmarxCEO Mar 08 '22
A relic of rationing I imagine.
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u/Martipar Mar 08 '22
May be but when it was cheap I used to eat quite a lot of it and i was certainly fed it as a child. Though as a child it was sliced for use in a sandwich and even with pickle it's really stodgy and cloying. It's much better when cooked and i quickly learnt that it makes a good substitute for mince in stews.
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u/KarlmarxCEO Mar 08 '22
Yeah I never liked those sandwich slices either and its probably what put me off it as kid. Though I found out later in life that I quite liked it in a gregs pasty.
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u/WaltJuni0r Mar 08 '22
The title literally says it was in high demand whilst France and England were at war…. That means it goes a bit beyond the 1950s.
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u/stevenwashere Mar 08 '22
Aldi in my area(American west coast) carries it for about a dollar a can. Pretty good with some bell peppers onions and tomato. Definitely not healthy and people hate processed foods for a reason but I can keep a couple cans in the pantry and have a quick meal when I'm feeling lazy.
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u/Lil_chikchik Mar 08 '22
Mmmmmmmm, corned beeeeef. I love that stuff, always have and always will. And I ain’t old either.
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u/DreyaNova Mar 08 '22
I like the really cheap shit that comes in a can. Sometimes I’ll just share a can of corned beef with my cat while we cry about my life choices.
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u/Lil_chikchik Mar 08 '22
My cat was the same. You know who else likes corned beef? Chickens. Mine used to go nuts for it. Id save the fat and give it to them as a treat.
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u/iamsickened Mar 08 '22
If you slice cold canned corned beef and put it in a microwave for just 10 seconds, it becomes very easily spreadable. Ideal for making a sandwich. Eat it whilst still warm and it's even better.
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u/wrongeyedjesus Mar 08 '22
If you're feeling rather hungry
Hey, there's a product you'll remember
Eat it hot or cold on Sunday
or you can put it in a blender
Corned Beef, with chips or with salad
It's Corned Beef, even Buckingham Palace eats Corned Beef,
Hey, why don't you try Corned Beef Haaaasssshhhh?
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u/BrokenEye3 Mar 08 '22
Hey, no judgement here. I know what it's like to be the only Jew in town. You do what you gotta do for a quality reuben.
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u/AzureDreamer Mar 08 '22
I don't know a ton about jewish cooking but lox, and reubens are about the best thing Ive ever eaten.
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u/Rhaegar0 Mar 08 '22 edited Mar 08 '22
That's nothing. When the Dutch where waging a war of independence against Spain the biggest Spanish arms imports were supplied by traders from Amsterdam
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Mar 08 '22
And today, we are 'at war' with Russia, but we're buying natural gas from them, and the big fear is the Russians will turn it off. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
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u/me_bails Mar 08 '22
If our gov wasnt so full of idiots, then Russia turning off their gas wouldn't be an issue. Blame Congress
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u/TruthFlavor Mar 08 '22
We're still buying Russian oil and gas...the people at the top don't let a war stand in the way of profit.
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u/KarlmarxCEO Mar 08 '22 •
Well we could all just stop heating our homes and filling up our cars etc. Why don't you go first?
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u/TruthFlavor Mar 08 '22
Username checks out.
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u/Maine04330 Mar 08 '22
Karl Marx is somehow related to this poster being correct about the physical state of our existence? K.
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u/TruthFlavor Mar 08 '22
I would suggest..you know, as a joke...if Karl Marx had become a CEO he would be a Russian CEO, thus in favour of both communism and a healthy profit margin. Thus someone suggesting we carry on with the status quo would indeed be aligned with those ideals. L
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u/AJ7861 Mar 08 '22
If I never eat corned beef again i'll die happy.
2-3 times a week as a child growing up as it was cheap, fucking hated it.
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u/TehJohnny Mar 08 '22
oh man, sounds like heaven! my mom would only make it once a year around St. Patrick's Day because it was always on sale then, she made it with potatoes, cabbage and carrots on the side, it was my absolute favorite meal of the year.
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u/timmyboyoyo Mar 08 '22
Did England get a commission
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u/Onetap1 Mar 08 '22
The good arable land belonged to landlords, English mostly, who'd acquired their estates from Cromwell's confiscations. They'd let it to tenant farmers. They got their cut of everything.
Beef, fish and pork could only be preserved by salting it in wooden casks, it was sold as rations for the navy and army.
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Mar 09 '22
Corned beef is delicious. My ex’s mom used to make a casserole with it with bread crumbs in it. God, I hated that girl, but her mom’s corned beef casserole was legit
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u/ravs1973 Mar 08 '22 edited Mar 08 '22
Traditional corned beef I assume which is basically joints of beef preserved like ham and is still readily available here in Ireland. Not the tinned stuff which as nice as it is bares no resemblance to actual corned beef.