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Food history: corned beef and cabbage

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Erin Nudi

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This article was revamped and updated on March 2, 2020.

In honor of you-know-what holiday coming up, we’re investigating the history of corned beef and cabbage. Some claim that corned beef and cabbage is not Irish, but I disagree.

While it’s true that the Ireland Irish are adverse to the delectable  dish, the Irish Americans who emigrated here are responsible for popularizing this savory meal – and, they single-handedly changed the meaning of St. Patrick’s Day forever.

What is Corned Beef & Why Does It Pair So Well With Cabbage?

Corned beef is beef that has been cured or pickled in brine, with a great salty taste to it. The term “corned” actually refers to covering the meat with large bits of rock-salt, similar in size to kernels of corn.

Cabbage is simply an inexpensive and plain vegetable. When cooked together in the same pot as corned beef, though, the unique seasonings of the corned beef flavors the cabbage in an oddly wonderful way, making these two food items an unlikely but hugely successful pairing.

The Irish are known for their potatoes, which they enjoyed with cabbage, but they paired the vegetables with not corned beef at first but a different type of meat.

Potatoes, Cabbage & Bacon Joints – Oh My!

As alluded to before, it is the Irish Americans who gave corned beef and cabbage the jump start it needed to become the standard St. Patrick’s Day meal – this transformation occurred during the late 1700s, early 1800s.

Back in Ireland at the time, however, beef – let alone corned beef – was not a well received or celebrated food item. Beef was not only rare and quite expensive, but cows were primarily utilized for their milk and subsequent dairy products, not for their meat. Meat came from pigs. Furthermore, in Gaelic Ireland, cows were considered a symbol of wealth. They were too sacred to be killed for food except under dire circumstances.

Instead, the Irish enjoyed their potatoes and cabbage with a bacon joint. (A bacon joint is basically boiled bacon that resembles ham.) In 1762, Irish immigrants arrived at New York City with their precious potatoes in tow, although they were unable to recreate the bacon joints that they previously enjoyed with their vegetables.

How the Jewish Played a Significant Role in the Corned Beef & Cabbage Craze

At the same time in the city, Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe were settling in neighborhoods near the Irish. As Smithsonian Magazine points out, the two cultures had a lot in common, including the persecution they both endured driving them to come to America in the first place.

The Jewish were selling a corned beef brisket at delis, made from the kosher part of the cow; brining was a technique of the Eastern Europeans. The Irish found the reasonably priced corned beef to be similar to their beloved bacon joints; they also did not have the same access to pigs that they did in Ireland. Corned beef held further appeal in that it can be stored for long periods of time, making it ideal to buy in bulk.

The combination of the Irish’s love for boiled meat with cabbage and potatoes came together in a perfect marriage with the Jewish’s preference for salty, kosher beef. This comfort food reminded Irish immigrants of their homeland. (I assume the good aspects of that life, not the whole oppression thing that made them flee.)

St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland & the US Today

St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is a major holiday revolving around family and faith. Until 1970, it was illegal for pubs to stay open in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day. Traditionally, the Irish ate pork or lamb for their holiday meal.

Although the Irish in Ireland still don’t typically eat corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day, thanks to the New York City Irish immigrants of the early 19th century, pretty much everyone else is happy to partake.

If you’re shaking your head because you’re not convinced corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day is *really* Irish – just know that St. Patrick himself wasn’t Irish.

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