Food Storage

Martin Monahan 21^st July 2017 Deerpark Social Services Centre, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway

Food Storage

Interviewer: Clare Doyle (CD)

Interviewee: Martin Monahan (MM)

CD: Any when you were very small, did you have a fridge for putting food into to keep it cold?

MM: No, we never had a fridge

CD: And what would you do with milk?

MM: We used to put it in the dairy, the dairy they used to call it, a small, little room

CD: Right

MM: And they used to call it the dairy, there where they used to store the milk. They put the milk into the basins, and leave it there and then when you wanted it, a dropeen of milk, the cream will float on to the top of the milk

CD: So, you could get the nice stuff off the top?

MM: You blow it, if you want to get milk, you blow the cream off it

CD: Right

MM: And then the milk in to the, the…

CD: You could put the milk then in to your tea or whatever you wanted?

MM: Into the jug

CD: Ah, right

MM: And then you have it for your tea

CD: And would the dairy be cold?

MM: It would be cold

CD: It would be colder than the rest of the house?

MM: It would

CD: You could hang your meat and things in there too, could you?

MM: The meat should also be put in a chestnut box. That’s what they used to call it. A wooden box, they used to call it the chest…they used to get it from the shop

CD: And what would be in the box, would it be empty or would there be salt in it?

MM: No, it was empty, then we put in the pig, the stuff, meat into it, but salted it first and leave it in to the chest and seal it then for a while and then when you want to eat it, you open it up and take out the piece of meat, cut it up and serve it then

CD: And everything would still taste fresh?

MM: It would