Champ (''brúitín'' in
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
) is an
Irish dish of
mashed potatoes
Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...
with
scallions
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
,
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
, and
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
.
Description
Champ is made by combining
mashed potato
Mashed potato or mashed potatoes (American and Canadian English), colloquially known as mash (British English), is a dish made by mashing boiled or steamed potatoes, usually with added milk, butter, salt and pepper. It is generally served as a ...
es and chopped
scallions
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
with
butter
Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...
,
milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
and optionally,
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
and
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
.
It was sometimes made with
stinging nettle
''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. ...
rather than scallions. In some areas the dish is also called "poundies".
Champ is similar to another Irish dish,
colcannon, which uses
kale or
cabbage in place of scallions. Champ is popular in
Ulster
Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
whilst colcannon is more so in the other three provinces of Ireland. It was customary to make champ with the first new potatoes harvested.
The word champ has also been adopted into the popular
Hiberno-English
Hiberno-English (from Latin '' Hibernia'': "Ireland"), and in ga, Béarla na hÉireann. or Irish English, also formerly Anglo-Irish, is the set of English dialects native to the island of Ireland (including both the Republic of Ireland ...
phrases, to be "as thick as champ", meaning to be ill-tempered or sullen, or stupid.
Samhain
The dish is associated with
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
, and would be served on that night. In many parts of Ireland, it was tradition to offer a portion of champ to the fairies by placing a dish of champ with a spoon at the foot of a
hawthorn.
Similar dishes
See also
*
List of Irish dishes
*
List of onion dishes
This list consists of notable dishes and foods in which onion is used as a primary ingredient. Onions are widely used in cooking. They are very versatile and can be baked, boiled, braised, grilled, fried, roasted, sautéed or eaten raw.
Onion ...
*
List of potato dishes
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop. It is the world's fourth-largest food crop, following rice, wheat and corn. The annual diet of an average global citizen in the first decade of the 21st century included about of potato. The potato was fir ...
*
Irish cuisine
Irish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with the island of Ireland. It has evolved from centuries of social and political change and the mixing of different cultures, predominantly with those from nearby ...
*
Northern Irish cuisine
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Champ (Food)
Cuisine of Northern Ireland
Irish cuisine
Potato dishes
Scallion dishes