“The aromas from the kitchens of our childhood remain when many other things are forgotten”: Food Memories in Introductions to Irish Cookbooks

Abstract

Situated within the fields of culinary history, memory studies, narrative studies and food studies, this research based upon a qualitative content analysis of the selected introductions to Irish cookbooks aims to outline the significance of food memories in culinary discourses. The analysed food memories, as I argue in the text, can be viewed as representations both of individual and collective accounts. They constitute a part of intangible culinary heritage as they construct the shared image of national cuisine, in this case Irish native cuisine. Furthermore, food memories can provide an alternative view on the history of everyday life and therefore can be treated as microhistories and micronarratives.