Ireland+Culture

Culture

Major Language- The most common language spoken in Ireland is English but in 1922 when Ireland became a Free State the government wanted to reenforce the native language Irish. In school they teach children Irish but there are only a few places that use Irish on a regular basis.

Major religion- 92% of the Irish population is Roman Catholic. The Roman Catholic church is the largest, most well known church, with over one billion members. The other 8% of religions are Methodist, Muslim, and Jehovah's Witness.

Recipes- **Gooseberry Crumble** This dish is an easily prepared and economical dessert, especially at the time of year when gooseberries are plentiful. The basic method can be used for other fillings, such as rhubarb, apple or apple and blackberry.

8oz/ 250g/ 2 cups self-raising flour4oz/ 125g/ 1/2 cup soft brown sugar4oz/ 125g/ 1/2 cup butter2lb/ 1kg/ 10 cups gooseberries  6oz/ 200g/ 1 cup caster sugar

Using your fingertips, rub butter lightly into the flour in a large bowl. When the texture resembles fine breadcrumbs, mix in the brown sugar. Top and tail the berries and cover with the crumble mixture in an oven-proof dish, pressing the surface down lightly. Bake for 45 minutes in the centre of a pre-heated oven at gas mark 4/ 180°C/ 350°F. Serve hot with cream.

**Lemon and Vanilla Curd Cake** Curds were once an important part of the Irish diet, and were also useful for paying the rent. Recipes for this delicately flavoured cheesecake are found in several eighteenth century"receipt" books.

 175g/ 6oz sweet shortcrust pastry **Filling** 40g/ 11/2oz butter 50g/2oz vanilla flavoured sugar (or caster sugar plus essence) 2 egg yolks 1tbsp (heaped) plain flour rind and juice of 1/2 lemon 225g/ 8oz cottage cheese **Topping** 1tbsp flour 1tbsp sugar 1tbsp butter, melted <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1 egg, beaten <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">caster sugar to dust

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Preheat oven to gas mark 4/ 180°C/ 350°F, warm a baking sheet and grease a loose-bottomed flan tin. Roll out the shortcrust pastry until thin, then line the flan tin with the dough, trimming off any excess. Chill pastry case in the fridge. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, then beat in the egg yolks, flour, lemon rind, lemon juice and sieved cottage cheese. Mix well, then spoon into the pastry case. Mix topping ingredients together and spread on top of the curd filling. Place the flan tin on the warmed baking sheet and bake for approximately 1 hour or until the top is lightly browned and slightly firm. Dust with caster sugar and serve cool but not chilled.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Bibliograghy- <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">From the Appletree Press title: [|//A Little Irish Cookbook//]. http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/recipes/cooking/goosebry.shtm Irelandseye.com and contributors http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/recipes/baking/curdcake.shtm