Food News: county flavours

The all-important All-Ireland weekend has finally arrived and the question on everyone’s lips is after 70 years will Mayo being the Sam Maguire cup home?

Artisan butchers Kelly’s of Newport are not only wearing their county colours, they are now giving locals the opportunity to set themselves up for the day and enjoy green and red pudding for breakfast. Previously the innovative butchers produced green and red sausages for All Ireland finals but they are confident that this year, the puddings will make a difference.

Pictured are Sean Kelly’s grandchildren Darragh, Isabelle and Daniel. Kelly’s is an authentic family butcher’s shop located in Newport, Co Mayo. Their award-winning puddings and sausages are available all over the country and through their website www.kellysbutchers.com.

Keeping with the All-Ireland theme, Heinz [Seriously] Good Mayonnaise ran a competition this summer looking for the best county ingredients for the ultimate All-Ireland sandwich. It was all about celebrating the flavours from each of the 32 counties with hundreds of people voting for their local producers.

Chosen by David Adams, head of Heinz Ireland and Dee Laffan, food writer and presenter, the final recipe has been released ahead of the All-Ireland final.

Speaking about the sandwich, Dee Laffan said: “This list of winning ingredients represents the fact that we have amazing producers and farmers across the entire island of Ireland. It makes you realise what’s available on your own doorstep, but also that supporting Irish is supporting local.”

David Adams added: “Our final recipe represents all of the wonderful local produce Ireland has to offer and is the perfect inspiration for a half-time treat to make at home ahead of this Saturday’s final. We’ve designed our sandwich in layers – one fish, one meat and one cheese – with it all held in place by four different types of bread and lashings of our Heinz [Seriously] Good Mayonnaise. A bit like an ultimate club sandwich.”

The full list is below:

1 St. Tola Divine, a spreadable version of the award-winning goat’s cheese, representing Clare.

2 Gubbeen Farmhouse Cheese, representing Cork.

3 Sourdough bread from Emilie’s Bakehouse, representing Kerry.

4 Irish butter from Glenstal Foods, representing Co Limerick.

5 Mature Cheese and Red Onion crisps from O’Donnells Crisps, representing Tipperary.

6 Blaa from Walsh’s Bakehouse, representing Waterford

7 Cheddar from Coolattin Cheddar, representing Carlow.

8 Cucumbers from Welgro Produce, representing Dublin.

9 Chilli jam from Gibney’s Preserves, representing Kildare.

10 Smoked trout pâté from Goatsbridge Trout Farm, representing Kilkenny.

11 Microgreens from Edmundburry Greens, representing Laois.

12 Honey roast ham from Herterich Artisan Meats, representing Longford.

13 Sourdough bread from The Home Bakery, representing Louth.

14 Organic lettuce from Meade Farm, representing Meath.

15 Shaved New York-style pastrami from Carrolls of Tullamore, representing Offaly.

16 Turkey slices from Green Farm Fine Foods, representing Westmeath.

17 Tomatoes from Wexford Tomatoes, representing Wexford.

18 Salami from Guastalla, representing Wicklow.

19 Smoke roasted organic salmon from North Coast Smokehouse, representing Antrim.

20 Onion jam from Burren Balsamics, representing Armagh.

21 Drumlin garlic cheese from Corleggy Cheeses, representing Cavan.

22 Crispy onions from Scotts Crispy Onions, representing Londonderry.

23 Wild Irish tuna from Shines Seafood, representing Donegal.

24 Black garlic butter from Abernethy Butter, representing Down

25 Fresh free range eggs from Cavanagh Eggs, representing Fermanagh.

26 Mushrooms from Monaghan Mushrooms, representing Monaghan.

27 Bresola from Ispini Charcuterie, representing Tyrone

28 Salad leaves from An Garraí Glas, representing Galway.

29 Boxty from McNiffe’s Bakery, representing Leitrim.

30 Sea salt from Achill Island Sea Salt, representing Mayo.

31 Sundried tomatoes from Ballagh Farm Shop, representing Roscommon.

32 Hummus from Sweet Beat, representing Sligo.

A major transatlantic project is underway to study how weather conditions and climate affect the taste of whiskey matured 7,000km apart.

Boann Distillery in Co Meath has teamed up with Talnua, a family-run operation in Colorado, US, in a move which saw both simultaneously fill a total of 14 casks due to mature in 2026. They are using exactly the same recipe, containing ingredients from their respective localities.

The unique initiative will examine how the Irish and American climates will influence the finished, single pot still whiskey once it is botted in five years’ time.

“This is much more about experimentation than a commercial enterprise,” said Peter Cooney, co-founder of Boann, whose World’s Best mashbill recipe is being used by both distilleries.

“We are sharing exactly the same recipe and types of barrel. But Colorado has a dry climate in a high-altitude, desert environment with low humidity, as opposed to our more stable mild, wet climate.

“The maturation conditions will be very different so we want to see exactly how that will influence the flavours.”

During the Boann-Talnua project earlier this month, the Meath distillery filled six 200-litre casks at their plant outside Drogheda, but to account for evaporative differences, Talnua filled eight, meaning around 2,800 litres will be available by the autumn of 2026.

By then, whiskey enthusiasts will be able to buy two 375ml bottles – one each of the American and Irish-distilled, paired together in one pack.

Tasting sessions in the US and in Ireland are also planned after maturation.

We’re interested to see the results.