I am a natural born Irishman from Cork. Please tell me the connection between corned beef and Paddie's Day?
In North America corned beef dishes are associated with traditional Irish cuisine. However there is considerable debate about the association of corned beef with Ireland. Mark Kurlansky in his book Salt states that the Irish produced a salted beef around the Middle Ages that was the "forerunner of what today is known as Irish corned beef"
In the seventeenth century the English named the Irish salted beef, corned beef.
Some say it was not until the wave of 18th century Irish immigration to the United States that much of the ethnic Irish first began to consume corned beef dishes seen today......
In the U.S. and Canada, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's Day. Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America.
In Ireland, the closest traditional dish is bacon and cabbage (more akin to Canadian style bacon or ham). Corned beef and cabbage became popular in the U.S. after Irish immigrants in the northeast used corned beef instead of pork in the dish. This substitution was likely due to the low cost of corned beef in the U.S.
Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish American immigrants in the late 19th century. A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and parts of Atlantic Canada.
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