'Scary Derry' or the 'City of Bones' is ranked #1 out of twenty worldwide destinations as the best place to celebrate the creepy festival of Halloween, and the Banks of the Foyle's family friendly Halloween Carnival and all its shenanigans has to be experienced at least once!
you can find out more about 'Scary Derry' HERE!
Cast your vote for Derry as the world's #1 Halloween Hotspot HERE!
Halloween, celebrated each year on 31st October, is the ancient pagan festival of 'Samhain' or end of summer, a period falling between the autumn equinox and winter solstice when the souls of the dead are said to rise and walk the earth once more visiting the homes of their living relatives.
Traditionally on the night, an Irish home and anyone in it, including any dogs and cats! were blessed with holy water and mirrors were covered with sheets so the wandering souls of the dear departed could not cross back over to the realm of the living........creepy stuff or what!
At this time of year the Irish barmbrack, roughly translated from Gaelic as 'speckled loaf', appears on the shelves of bakeries and supermarkets across the country, and of course there is a history behind the eating of 'barmbrack' or 'tea brack'.
Barmbrack or tea brack, as it is also commonly known, usually in the southern counties, is a sweetened yeast dough with sultanas and raisins, occasionally cherries are added too depending on the family recipe, into which a ring, a silver coin, a piece of cloth, a button and a thimble have been placed, this was to tell your fortune!
On Halloween night everyone in the house got a slice of the barmbrack. Should you find the ring, you would marry within the year, finding the coin foretold of great wealth and good luck, the downside of this was that finding either could also mean a trip to the dentist if you bit down to hard and chipped a tooth! the thimble symbolised spinsterhood, the button bachelorhood and the cloth, poverty or bad luck.
You can still find a lucky ring in today's shop bought barmbracks.
you can find my recipe for 'Barmbrack' here!
Barmbrack or Tea Brack is not to be confused with 'TEA BREAD', which is a different kettle of fish altogether as it actually has tea in it......Tea Brack or barmbrack you eat for your tea or while drinking tea......and we Irish do love our tea!Tea bread is similar to a fruit cake but is even tastier!
It is made by soaking the fruit in tea, some of which is added to the actual 'loaf'. It is usually made with just sultanas and raisins but as I am partial to cherries I cannot bring myself to leave them out!
It is also different from barmbrack in that it has some spice added be it cinnamon, nutmeg or mixed spice, and it is always made in a loaf tin for ease of slicing. It is also softer in texture and less dense than a fruit cake. As for which tea you use to soak the fruit in is entirely up to you! some say it should be a good Earl Grey but I use equal quantities of good old Irish Barry's tea and lemon green tea.
Tea bread has a totally unique flavour compared to a standard fruit cake or Christmas cake, and even though it is made with quite a lot of sugar the cooking temperature is higher and cooking time less.
Although common in Ireland tea bread has it's origins in Britain and every area seems to have some version of their own e.g. 'Bara Brith' is common in Wales.
Across the Irish sea, tea bread is enjoyed primarily at afternoon tea or 'high tea' where it can be found served with 'lemon cheese', more commonly known as lemon curd, and in Yorkshire served with Wensleydale cheese.
you can find my recipe for 'Spiced Tea Bread' here!
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