A Taste of Ireland (2)

 Pub Culture

You have probably noticed (fijado ) that there seems to be an Irish bar in every town in the world. But these are often poor imitations of a real Irish pub. Pub culture is a very important part of society and in rural communities the village pub is the centre of all social life. Men (and many women) drink pints (pinta 0,57 litros) of stout (only tourists ask for half a pint!).

Make sure you buy a “round”(ronda) for everyone in your group!

A Glass of Whiskey

An Irish pub is the perfect place to try (probar ) one of its excellent whiskies. Many whisky connoisseurs prefer it to Scottish whisky because of its smooth (suave) taste. The Irish have had a lot of time to perfect their distilling; they have produced whisky for more than a thousand years. For something special, try a glass of 12-year-old Jameson’s or Bushmill’s.

Oysters and Guinness

 With its long coastline, it is not surprising that Ireland has excellent fish and seafood.(marisco) Salmon, trout, prawns,(gambas ) mussels (mejillones) and oysters are some of its specialities. In fact ( de hecho ) there is a festival dedicated exclusively to oysters. The Galway International Oyster Festival is more than fifty years old and attracts visitors from different countries (see www.galwayoysterfest.com). You can eat oysters with champagne, but an authentic combination is to accompany them with a pint of Guinness!

Barmbrack

 The Irish love cakes, and one of their favourites is Barmbrack. It is made with dried (secos ) fruit soaked (puesto en en remojo ) overnight  in tea. Originally it was a cake that was eaten at Halloween and contained a pea,(guisante ) a piece of cloth, a stick (un palo) and a ring.(X) The person who received a piece with the ring would be married before a year had passed! Now it is served all year with butter and lots of tea. Maybe  you will still find a ring in your slice!