Pantry Favourites
Irish artisan food is among the best in the world, blending our traditional craft heritage with produce from our green and fertile land. Here are our pick of some of the tastiest, from small local producers to newly global brands.
1>> Wild Irish Seaweeds Seaweed Seasoning Pack €24.95, visit wildirishseaweeds.com
Wild Irish Seaweeds has been harvesting wild organic seaweed from the west of Ireland for over 100 years. All of their seaweed comes from the nutrient-rich waters of the Atlantic Ocean off of Co Clare.
2>> Bramley Apple Infused Balsamic Vinegar €10.80, visit burrenbalsamics.com
Burren Balsamics was founded in 2014 with the aim of producing top-quality vinegar - fusing local flavours with superior quality Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. Their vinegar works in savoury or sweet dishes: drizzled over cheese, added to marinades andcasseroles and even in cocktails.
3>> Nobó Irish Salted Caramel €7, visit nobo.ie
Nobó is an Irish food business, started in 2012 with a borrowed ice cream machine and a bag full of avocados. Their aim is to create delicious dairy-free products with simple, natural ingredients.
4>> Five Farms Irish Cream €34.95, visit obrienswine.ie
Five Farms is crafted from single batches of fresh cream that are combined with premium Irish whiskey within 48 hours of collection. e cream is sourced entirely from five family-owned farms in County Cork, run by families that have a deep connection to the land and a passion for their craft.
5>> Bluebell Falls Goats Cheese Log Honey with Garlic and Thyme €12, visit bluebellfalls.com
Bluebell Falls is a traditional artisan family business, producing goat's cheese to the highest quality standards, run by Victor and Breda O'Sullivan. The goats graze freely on their farm in Cork and enjoy the lush grass and wild shrubs, providing great tasting cheese.
6>> Abernethy Chipotle Chilli &Smoked Paprika Butter €2.65, visit abernethybutter.com
Allison and Will Abernethy inherited their butter making skills from previous family generations and in 2005 decided to turn their hobby into a business. Their butter is hand- churned in Northern Ireland and stocked in shops all over the UK and Ireland.
7>> Mileeven Pure Honey Raw And Unblended €3.89, visit supervalu.ie
Mileeven is run by Eilis Gough and her daughter, Sarah, in Kilkenny. Mileeven is one of the leading honey companies in Ireland and they are known for their 100 per cent pure, raw honey. e range has increased to include Manuka honey, organic honey, honeycomb, lavender honey and more.
8>> Shines Wild Irish Tuna In Olive Oil €7, visit shinesseafood.ie
Shines Wild Irish Tuna is a family business based in Killybegs, Donegal. John and Marianne Shine began sourcing Wild Albacore Tuna in Ireland when they owned their own fish shop before expanding and working with local fishermen to fish sustainably using traditional methods.
9>> Wexford Home Preserves No Added Sugar Blackcurrant Jam €3.30, visit wexfordpreserves.ie
Wexford Home Preserves is an artisan maker of multiple award winning jams, marmalades, savoury preserves and speciality preserves. Based in New Ross, every product is handmade in small batches using the traditional open pot boiling method and locally sourced ingredients are used as well.
10>> Kinsale Bay Food Co Seafood Chowder €4.29, visit tesco.ie
The Kinsale Bay Food Company in Little Island, Co Cork, was founded on the core principles of producing Gluten Free chilled convenience food with the quality of taste, using high quality ingredients.
11>> New Kid Coffee Seasonal Blend (Ground for French Press) €9.95, visit newkidcoffee.com
Hailing from Donegal, New Kid Coffee takes coffee seriously. Bringing ‘speciality coffee’ to the Irish market, they only use current crop beans which means the raw materials that are used are as fresh as possible.
12>> Distillery Exclusive Limited Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin Sardinian Citrus Edition €39.95 (was €49.95), visit thesheddistillery.com
Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin is made at The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim. PJ Rigney, the man behind the gin, uses local ingredients like meadowsweet and chosen botanicals from Asia, to produce a delicious and unexpected tasting gin.
13>> Clinton Crisps €2.25, visit evergreen.ie
Clintons Crisps uses their own home-grown potatoes from their family farm in Skerries. Each potato is hand-picked and handcooked in small batches in their signature Irish rapeseed oil to give it an extra crunch. Clinton Crisps are gluten-free and MSG too.
14>> Bean and Goose Sour Cherry Orchard Dark Chocolate Bar €5.50, visit beanandgoose.ie
Sisters Karen and Natalie Keane are the founders of Bean and Goose, based in Wexford. Their aim is to produce amazing tasting chocolate, using sustainable, raw and Irish ingredients to tell their story.
15>> Joan & Bob’s Indian Apple Chutney €5, visit ardkeen.com
Joan & Bob’s Juicy Jams is a range of handmade preserves from the husband and wife duo, Joan and Bob. The pair have a combined passion for preserving, skills they learned from their mothers. They handpick and hand make each preserve in small batches to deliver great flavoured jam.
16>> Craft Cocktails Strawberry Daiquiri (serves 7) €35, visit craftcocktails.ie
Craft Cocktails are a range of premium, colourful bottled cocktails, hand-mixed by an award-winning bartending team in Dublin 7. 'Made By Bartenders, Not by Pretenders' is their motto. e cocktails are made with only natural ingredients and premium spirits.
17>> Black Castle Irish Craft Soda Berry Bramble Sting €2.60, visit craftfoodtraders.ie
Black Castle has developed a range of sparkling, non-alcoholic drinks created just for adults. They use natural ingredients and interesting flavour combinations to create a drink that is not too sweet and perfectly refreshing, hand made in Wicklow.
18>> O’Neill’s Dry Cure Bacon €3.99, visit ardkeen.com
O’Neill’s Bacon is dry cured by hand in Wexford using traditional methods (with no water or phosphates), and a secret family recipe with natural sea salt. O’Neill’s began selling at farmers markets before expanding their product range and now, they stock O’Neill’s bacon and sausages all over Ireland.
19>> Skelligs Chocolate Orange Brittle €6.50, visitskelligschocolate.com
Skelligs Chocolate first opened in Kerry in 1996 with a small factory with two rooms - one for making chocolate and one for packaging. Now, they welcome visitors from all over the world to their state of the art production facility and are stocked in well-known retailers nationwide.
20>> Jo’s Absolute Nutrition Mocha Hot Chocolate Stirrer €3.50, visit absolutenutrition.ie
Absolute Nutrition is on a mission to create the best possible snacks and treats without compromising on taste or quality. Jo’s Absolute Nutrition has a minimal processing philosophy and their product’s packaging is fully recyclable and reusable too.