20 weird local foods everyone should try at least once in Belfast
If you've tried #15 you're truly from NI 🤣
What can I say, we're a nation that loves our grub!
Northern Ireland has a rich history in producing top quality food and drink, thanks to its bountiful agricultural land and nurturing climate.
In recent years, a foodie trend has started to emerge, and even more so over lockdown!
Our weekends are now spent checking out the latest coffee shop or food truck, just moving from one venue to the next. It's fantastic to see local businesses using local produce, especially when we can grow so much here in Northern Ireland.
There are some interesting snacks and drinks that make sense to us locals, but seem wild to others. Even the names seem a little bizarre 🤣
Check out our top traditional dishes and drinks we can't resist:
Fifteens
These sticky rounds, kissed with coconut and bejewelled with glistening cherries and chunks of yielding marshmallow, are a traditional favourite.
Made from 15 each of digestive biscuits, marshmallows, and glacé cherries, they are bound together with condensed milk and rolled in desiccated coconut resulting in a tooth-achingly sweet treat, which may not be for the calorie conscious.
Ulster Fry
Traditionally eaten every day by those farming the land, the Northern Irish experience is not complete without an Ulster Fry. Bacon, sausage, egg, tomato, vegetable roll and, of course, the obligatory soda bread and potato bread completes this belly-busting breakfast.
Jammy Joey
For those that don't know...get to know! This is a bakery staple across NI, it's a sweet madeira bun covered in raspberry jam, then sprinkled with desiccated coconut and fresh cream.
Dulse
Originally harvested by fishermen to supplement their income when fishing was poor, Dulse is one of Northern Ireland's most traditional foods. The dried seaweed snack is making a comeback, thanks to the popularity of natural foods and its proven benefits to skin and hair.
Boxty
Hailing from County Fermanagh, Boxty is potato cake made with a mix of cooked mashed and grated raw potato, boiled for hours before being sliced and fried.
Yellow Man
Similar to honeycomb, but with the consistency of rock, this chewy sweet is often found at traditional markets and is often associated with the Ould Lammas Fair in Ballycastle.
Potato Bread
We just love potatoes so much, we feel the need to put them in bread. And it's AMAZING! This dense mix is made with potatoes, flour and buttermilk. It's cooked on a griddle and is a key component of the Ulster Fry.
Mackle’s Ice Cream
You can't beat a Mackle's! They've got so many incredible ice cream flavours, mouth-watering milkshakes and cookies. Their choice of toppings and extra sauces will have your head spinning 🤣
Nutty Krust
There's something so special about a fresh Nutty Krust loaf, with lashings of butter! The secret to this unique bread, is that it's baked on the sole of the oven 🤯
Pastie Bap
A local favourite for a Friday treat - a battered pastie wrapped in a floury bap with lots of cheese and tomato sauce.
Maine Soft Drinks
Families throughout Northern Ireland have fond memories of the 'Maine Man' coming to the door with weekly orders of their favourite drinks such as American Cream Soda, Pineappleade and Brown Lemonade in glass returnable bottles.
Dale Farm Favourites
Dale Farm still offers the most varied range of ice cream essentials, from the classic Pear Picking Porky to the chilly Choc Pop. But sometimes, you just can't beat a simple Vanilla Cup, complete with wooden spoon!
Champ
Northern Ireland is rightly proud of this locally grown vegetable and there's no better way to enjoy it than mashed with milk, butter and chopped scallions (spring onions).
Wheaten Bread
After a cold winter's day, there's nothing like a fresh wheaten loaf straight out of the oven! Originally made with wheat flour, its colouring comes from the addition of molasses and is a brown version of soda bread. Popular toppings include, plenty of butter, cheddar cheese, raspberry jam or even a poached egg.
Comber Potatoes
A bowl of freshly steamed Comber spuds, with proper Irish butter is also known as 'the taste of summer!'
Portavogie Prawns
Portavogie is one of the best places in the world for shellfish. Ordering a pint of Portavogie prawns is a local delicacy.
Belfast Bap
The breakfast of champions! Just think of the Ulster Fry, then throw it all in a monster bap 🤣
If this looks a little too greasy, why not try it the old fashioned way, with just butter, cheddar cheese and red onion!
Irish Stew
While we can agree this dish contains meat and vegetables, each family has their own traditions, with the recipe being adapted over generations to suit taste and budget.
Whether it is Northern Irish beef steak, cut into chunks or minced, or pieces of tender lamb, slow cooked with onions and carrots, parsnip or turnip, with floury potatoes, there is nothing as restorative on a cold day.
Sukie Juice
Apple and Blackcurrant, Strawberry, and Orange juice that transports you back to your childhood school lunches!
Tayto Sandwich
Butter, bread, Tayto cheese & onion flavoured crisps! Don't question it...just eat it 😍
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