Traditional Tipperary Pancake Recipe

May Meeting Of Thurles GIY

Thurles “Grow It Yourself,” (GIY) will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 8th next, here at the Cabragh Wetlands Centre, Thurles, beginning sharp at 7.30pm.

Kay Hanrahan from Thurles Farmers Market will be there to give a talk and demonstration on the topic; “Wheatgrass and Live food.”

As always new comers and old GIY members are welcome to wander in, with Tea/Coffee available to all at the end of the meeting, not to mention the usual one to one gardening advice and friendly chat.

Keep in mind that vegetables can be grown on most soils (light, medium or heavy) provided they are well drained, so no excuses please.

While Spring may have gotten off to a slow start, remember also there is a huge amount of satisfaction to be experienced from growing at least some part of the food you eat and a well organised garden or an allotment is a huge asset to any family.

Who knows, maybe your vegetable growing, this year, will rapidly develop into the most absorbing of hobbies.

Mid West’s Economic Recovery In The Spotlight

The economic recovery of the Mid-West Region, will be the main focus of the 18th Annual Mid West Regional Authority (MWRA) Conference, details of which were announced recently. (Note: Latter region consists of the areas of counties Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary, including Limerick city.)

Alan Kelly TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism & Sport will officially open the Conference at the Horse & Jockey Hotel, County Tipperary, on Friday, 1st March 2013.

“Economic Recovery – Progress in The Regions,” will feature presentations from business, Government and Local Government leaders on the current state of the Irish economy and how Regions such as the Mid West can play a leading role in its eventual recovery.

Speakers will include Tara McCarthy, Director, Food & Beverages, Bord Bia ( “The role of the agri-food industry in Ireland’s economic recovery.” ), Michael Vaughan, President, Irish Hotels Federation ( “The importance of the Tourism Industry to economic recovery in the Regions.” ), Conor Ryan, CEO, Arrabawn Co-Op ( “The role of the Co-Operative Model in economic recovery.” ), and Niall Cussen, Senior Adviser, Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government ( “The role of Government in Regional Economic Recovery.” ).

Cllr. Gerard Darcy, Cathaoirleach of the Mid-West Regional Authority, explained that the upcoming conference will enable key policy makers and implementation bodies at a local, regional and national level to share their expertise on the progress being made regarding regional economic recovery and how balanced regional economic development can be achieved in the future.

“The event will be attended by industry officials and members of local authorities, public and private sector agencies, semi-state and civil society organisations and research institutions involved in the promotion of business and development in Ireland. It provides a wonderful opportunity for those involved or interested in the economic development of North Tipperary, Limerick and Clare to hear from representatives of the some of the key sectors involved in the Region’s economic development,” he added.

Registration: See Brochure HERE. Fee charged is €100.00 per participant, (Latter includes Official Opening Reception, Conference Papers, Teas, Coffees, & Lunch.)

Registration for the upcoming MWRA Conference takes place on the evening of Thursday, 28th February next.

Details: Further details can be obtained from the Mid-West Regional Authority on Tel: (067) 33197; Email: info@mwra.ie, Web: www.mwra.ie.

Fethard Company Investigate Possible Horse Meat Contamination

Another Irish owned Tipperary based food company, today, becomes the latest casualty accused of involvement in current horse meat investigations.

Oak Farm Foods stand accused of producing the Cottage Pies which last week were withdrawn from British school kitchens by Lancashire County Council. Oak Farm Foods is a UK division of Dawn Fresh Foods, a convenience food company located here in Fethard, Co Tipperary.

Lancashire County Council stated last week that it had withdrawn cottage pies from some 47 school kitchens, after provisional sample testing proved positive for traces of horse DNA.

Oak Farm Foods have produced Soups, Sauces & Ready Meals, for the last 25 year and a full internal investigation is now under way, within the company.

Dawn Fresh Foods is also aligned to the Queally Group which include QK Cold Stores situated in Naas, Co Kildare and which on Friday last informed Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney’s office, that it believed it had located horse DNA in consignments of frozen beef trimmings imported from Poland.

Meanwhile the ABP Food Group based at Nenagh, Co Tipperary, now insist that its Tipperary plant was not the source of horse meat content, found in the “Chosen By You” 350g Greencore Beef Bolognese Sauce, manufactured for the British supermarket chain ‘Asda.’

Horse DNA In Nenagh Supplied Beef Bolognese Sauce

Greencore shares fell 9.5% in London today, following the withdrawal of its “Chosen By You,” 500g Beef Bolognese Sauce by the British supermarket & online grocery chain Asda, due to the presence of equine DNA.

Greencore Foods have admitted that it was the possible supplier of Bolognese Sauce which contained horse meat.

Asda state that the suspect sauce contained meat that was supplied to Greencore under contract by the ABP Food Group’s Nenagh plant here in Co Tipperary, an approved supplier. This now brings Larry Goodman’s ABP group once more under the spotlight, with Silvercrest Foods in Monaghan remaining closed, as investigations there continue.

Greencore state that it is waiting for test results to quantify how much equine DNA was present in the sauce. Three other Greencore products 600g Beef Broth Soup, 500g Meat Feast Pasta Sauce, & 400g Chilli Con Carne Soup, are also understood to have also been withdrawn by the same grocery chain, but only as a precautionary measure to protect its customers.

Greencore’s Chief Executive, Mr Patrick Coveney, brother of Agriculture Minister Mr Simon Coveney, said the company was waiting for the results of further quantitative tests & were complying fully with both suppliers and FSA testers, in their attempt to get to the bottom of this beef contamination & restore customer confidence.

Meanwhile authorities in Britain and France are attempting to trace the carcasses of six horses containing the drug Phenylbutazone, (also known as “bute,”) all of which were slaughtered at a UK abattoir and may have entered the human food chain in France, where horse meat is commonly consumed.

The Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has also stated that a cold stores in Naas, Co Kildare has informed his department this week that consignments of frozen beef trimmings imported from Poland, had tested, in part, positive for horse DNA. However the implicated company have confirmed that none of this consignment had, as yet, reached the consumer market place.

Traditional Tipperary Pancake Recipe

Today is officially Shrove Tuesday, ‘Shrove,’ being the past tense of the English verb ‘Shrive,’ meaning the day before Ash Wednesday & on which Christians obtain absolution for personal sin, prior to the start of the solemn observance of Lent.

The period called Lent is traditionally described as lasting for forty days, in commemoration of the forty days which, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent fasting in the desert. Lent this year begins on Wednesday, February 13th and ends on Saturday, March 30th.

Of course Shrove Tuesday is also known as Pancake Day, because it is the day Irish people traditionally eat pancakes. Pancake recipes in the past were observed as a way of using up any unused stocks of milk, butter and eggs which were often forbidden as part of Lenten abstinence.

The French term ‘Mardi Gras,’ which we associate more with a Carnival season, means ‘Fat Tuesday,’ referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods, before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season.

Required Ingredients For Pancake Batter

225g or 8 oz of plain flour.
A pinch of salt.
2 large, fresh eggs.
600ml or 2½ cupfuls of milk.
2 tsp of melted butter.

Sieve the measured flour into a large bowl & then stir in the salt. Lightly beat together the eggs, the 2 tsp of butter & half the milk. Pour same into a prepared well in the centre of your flour and whisk until smooth and lump free. This completed, now add the remaining milk to this batter and continue to stir. Leave the batter to rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Next heat your frying pan and lightly grease the base of same with extra melted butter for cooking. Pour a thin layer of your batter over the base of the pan. Cook until the edges start to curl slightly back, then depending on your culinary skills, either toss the pancake, or use a palette knife to loosen it around the edges and to flip your pancake over.
Cook the pancake briefly on this flipped new side, then slide it from the pan unto to a waiting plate, placing a sheet of kitchen paper on top & between each pancake. Continue to cook your remaining batter in similar fashion.

Pancakes were traditionally eaten, spread with honey or with syrup, nowadays we are more inclined to sprinkle with sugar and add perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice. Your pancakes however can be filled with just about anything, e.g. Jam, chocolate spread, crispy streaky rashers, scrambled eggs & smoked salmon, canned cherry pie filling, fried sliced bananas, ice cream, cream cheese ……. whatever you fancy.