Valentine’s Day recipes online typically contain chocolate, or provide two perfect portions for a romantic dinner.
Why scones?
Long ago, St Valentine day 14th February was celebrated with the exchange of cards between sweethearts. On that night the parents invited their daughter’s suitor to the house where sweet cakes were made ready for his reception. Love scones these were called. They were made from flour, eggs, sugar and caraway seed. The practise of sending Valentine’s cards and customs connected with the Feastday has died out locally.
Maureen Mountaine, Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath (NFCS 0732:548)
I have not been able to find mention of “love scones” anywhere else, or even any kind of similar practice in Ireland. The closest thing was “sweet plumbuns” called Valentine’s buns given to children by their godparents in Peterborough and other villages in northern England in the 19th century. However, it’s a wonderful excuse to make scones (and if you fancy clotted cream with it, you can make your own!).
Valentine’s Day in Ireland
Another sun and there shall be a great day for Young Ireland. …’twill be one of serious and exciting expectancy, which shall dye many a pale cheek crimson, and cause many a gentle heart to palpitate, and many a bright eye to grow far bright still, for ’tis a day sacred to love,—love, that mysterious power which fires the cold heart, and soothes the fierce one…the only tyrant we seek not to dethrone.
Limerick and Clare Examiner, 13 Feb 1847
Valentine’s Day is not particularly significant in the broad view of Irish history. However, there are still a few connections that pop up in the press every February.
In 1836, a Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street, Dublin was sent a relic of St. Valentine by Pope Gregory XVI. The small gold-plated casket was delivered in honor of Father John Spratt, who had given a well-received sermon in Rome that granted him recognition from the Catholic community. The relic, which is said to be part of the body and a vial of blood, supposedly came from the cemetery of St. Hippolytus, and is carried to the church altar in an annual procession every February 14th since the 1960s. There is also a Blessings of the Rings for those about to marry. The Whitefriar Street Church is located on what is today known as Aungier Street by St. Stephen’s Green.
Michael Collins receives thousands of Valentines day cards, which are placed on his grave in Glasnevin. They were first noticed in 2010, and notes, flowers and gifts continue to accumulate 100 years after his death.
There is another February-based tradition regarding love that will be familiar to anyone who saw 2010’s Leap Year. Legend says that St. Brigid, frustrated with how long it took men to propose, complained to St. Patrick, who offered that women would be allowed to pop the question once every seven years. St. Brigid got him to compromise to once every four years, and so Bachelor’s Day became a thing. February 29th gives them a chance to cement their Valentine once and for all every Leap Year. There is absolutely no historical or factual basis for the story, since that agreement would have taken place in the 5th century (maybe) and the first mention is in the 18th century, but there was legal precedent in medieval Scotland.
“..the last memories of Valentine’s Day here are of horrible vulgar jokes among the people addicted to such.”
Freeman’s Journal, 14 Feb 1922
A tradition that took place throughout the country was the sending of valentine cards, especially comic ones. The cards themselves seemed to really take hold in the first half of the 19th century. In 1828, “three and thirty thousand Valentines” passed through the Dublin Penny Post office between February 14th and 15th, double that of the year before.
On the morning of St. Valentine’s day, the town was alarmed by a rumour that Mr. William Mason, the respectable Deputy Post-master, had been found suffocated in his office, and that the catastrophe had been occasioned by the bursting of the letter-box, over loaded with Valentines ! ! ! We rejoice to say that the worst part of this intelligence proved unfounded. The letter-box did, we understand, give way, but Mr. Mason, tough a little man, being possessed of much bodily strength, struggled through the avalanche, and escaped with a few bruises.
Kerry Evening Post, 19 Feb 1840
“I am really angry after last Valentine’s Day. I received only seven Valentines. I was knitting a cover for an ottoman, after painting in water colors the profile of a gentleman who looked at me several times when I attended chapel. Now, just think of only seven Valentines, and not one from him!…Indeed I shall go to the opposite gallery, and tell our servant Kitty to tell your news-boy to whisper to Betsy, their house-maid, that I sent him a Valentine, and that I hoped he would not find it out….That gentleman who looks at me during Mass-time, must direct his glances elsewhere, if I don’t receive a Valentine from him before the Octave of St. Valentine is out.” – Letter to the Editor of the Waterford News, 16, Feb 1849
In 1856, the Civil Service Gazette via the Londonderry Standard reported that 800,000 valentines passed through the post office, with most coming from England and Scotland, as Ireland’s numbers were on the decline. However, shops in Kilkenny were overflowing with satirical cards in 1861: “The practical joking which is the main feature of the day – the love of fun and caricature – is quite of modern date.”
From 1876 to 1877, the post office in Derry saw a marked increase in valentines, with “The number of “mocks” and good valentines is about alike, half and half, so that if our young friend feels pouted at the overdrawn caricature of himself he has received, he is consoled by the counteracting thought that his handsome lady acquaintance is delighted, and in the “thirteenth heaven,” at the beauty of the workmanship, and the sweetness of her verse, on “her valentine.”” 1880 seemed to be the peak year for sending Valentines through the post in Ireland, but had declined by 1885.
In Ireland St. Valentine’s Day is made the occasion of a great deal of practical joking. The ‘valentine season,’ as it is called, begins about the 10th of February, and lasts until the end of the month, but of course the 14th is the ‘ra’al day.’ Sentimental lovers exchange beautifully illuminated valentines, bearing, as a rule, the initials of the sender ingeniously hidden amongst the mysterious folds of the fantastic missive. It is looked upon quite as a matter of course, that if the maiden sends a valentine to a bachelor, he in return sends her another. This he can do up to the end of the month. At times either or both parties attempt an acrostic on the name, which generally claims the virtue of originality, if nothing else.” Portadown News, 9 Feb 1884
It seems that the acrostics were met with some difficulty, as self-starting poets would sell valentines with common names. However, since women were often described in these poems in terms of their physical aspects, such as “My Mary with the golden hair,” this wasn’t always met with success.
They seem to have retained some popularity throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as there were numerous mentions of cards being sent amongst friends and love interests in the National Folklore Collection.
On Valentine’s Day (14th Feb) people used to send Valentine cards, which were about the size of a post card. There were coloured bows of ribbons attached to the corners and little rhymes written under them such as:- If of me you often think Send me back my bow of pink If to me you would be true Send me back my bow of blue If you are another girl’s fellow Send me back my bow of yellow. If to me you would be wed Send me back my bow of red If with me you wouldn’t be seen Send me back my bow of green The sender used to write her name in the middle of the card.
Louie Matthews, Skylea, Co. Louth (NFCS 0680:094)
There were a few other pieces of folklore related to Valentine’s Day. One, that is also known worldwide due to Chaucer, was the belief that this is when birds chose their mates. Another that originated in rural England in the 1700s was to pin five bay leaves on one’s pillow in order to dream of their beloved. Eating a hard-boiled egg filled with salt and going to bed without speaking were also observed.
In order to identify one’s valentine, the Tyrone Constitution in 1881 recommended only eating the top crust of a baker’s loaf “at least three days old, and middle fifth of a batch, whatever that may mean” on Feb 12 and 13. To drink, “an infusion of eleven sloe leaves, seven heart’s ease leaves, and five forget-me-nots. Where to be found in February I cannot say, nor can I tell whether the decoction is even safe to drink.”
On Candlemas Day a good goose will lay;
But on Valentine’s Day any goose will lay
Old saying
The most important question for me, which is “what did the majority of people actually eat???” on Valentine’s Day, is one I have not been able to find the answer to, besides a 100-year old seed cake recipe recommended by a “Mrs. Dalgairn” in the Belfast Telegraph in 1933. I suspect it wasn’t anything that special or out of the ordinary, but the “love scones” were so intriguing.
Scones
“Local Food in Tourism: An investigation into food offerings at Irish visitor attractions—Are we telling the right story?”, a paper about the perception of popular dishes in Ireland, was indicative of the importance of a good scone to the economy: “Ten out of the eleven participants mentioned home baked goods, in particular homemade scones, and they all commented that tourists associated homemade with local food.” Clearly, Avoca does not make the only great scone in Ireland! Seamus Heaney often mentioned his aunt’s scone-making, and in A Trifle, A Coddle, A Fry, it is stated “the tradition of fresh home-baked breads and scones served with butter, jams and marmalades form a staple of Irish cuisine.” The authors go further:
“Scones are the backbone of afternoon tea in Ireland. They feature at teatime in nearly every novel that has a teatime in it, from Elizabeth Bowen to George Birmingham, from Somerville and Ross to the scrumptious teas in the garden described in Lady Augusta Gregory’s Journals. They are best served warm, as Seán O’Casey remembers, so that the butter melts as you spread it. Don’t forget the homemade jam.”
What is a scone? Scones are leavened baked goods, usually slightly sweet, that are widely eaten in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Today, scones are a form of quick bread. The main components of the modern oven-baked scone are flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, butter, milk, and eggs.
Scones were originally oat-based, and about the size of a large, round loaf of bread like a bannock. They were cut into four to six farls, or wedges, and baked on a griddle. This is deserving of its own post, so I won’t elaborate on oat or oatmeal scones just yet. There is also a history of yeast cakes baked in a similar fashion in Wales, albeit smaller. The history of scones is hard to trace. The first print reference to scones is cited as a Scottish poet in 1513. The etymology is also unclear, and there seem to be three possibilities floated. “Sgonn,” which is Gaelic for a “shapeless mass” or “large mouthful,” “schoonbrot,” Dutch for fine white bread, or “sconbrot,” German for fine or beautiful bread. Scone is pronounced “skahn” in Scotland and northern England, and “Skoan” in the Republic, southern England, the United States and Canada.
According to popular history, scones were trending around 1840 when Anna Russell, the duchess of Bedford, called for “light food” during her afternoon tea, and was delighted with her meal. Afternoon tea, which takes place around 4 PM, is now a long-standing English ritual. Scones are an integral part of “cream tea,” a speciality of Cornwall and Devon (as seen in Dorothy Macardle’s The Uninvited).
Irish and more traditional scones can be differentiated from other scones in a few ways. The recipe is similar to soda bread and sultanas or currants are usually the only addition. They also contain less butter and sugar than their American counterparts. Theresa FitzGibbon’s recipe for scones, from Margaret Saunders, born in 1875 in Carrick-on-Suir, contains only four ingredients: buttermilk, flour, ammonium biarcbonate powder and salt. She notes that it was always used before baking powder, and was more effective.
Richer scones can have other dried fruits, nuts or even bits of chocolate. In Ulster, soda scones or soda farls are savory rather than sweet, and potato scones are part of the Ulster fry.
Maura Laverty provides a simple recipe for potato scones in Feasting Galore Irish-Style:
Ingredients: 2 cups mashed potatoes, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup (1/4 pound) butter, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons baking powder
Method: Sift flour with baking powder and salt, rub in butter. Incorporate with mashed potato, adding no liquid. Roll out 1/2-inch thick on floured board. cut in rounds and bake on a greased griddle, allowing 10 minutes to each side. Or bake 20-25 minutes in a moderate (400°) oven. Split, butter, and serve hot.
American scones tend to accompany savory dishes as well, and contain more butter. Besides clotted cream and jam, scones can be eaten with butter, lemon curd, preserves, or honey.
Some tips for making scones:
- Bake immediately after mixing to avoid dense scones
- Using chilled butter, and especially combining it with a grater, also ensures they will be lighter
- Having a light touch (as with soda bread) is essential – the less kneading, the better
- Brush the tops with egg or milk before putting in the oven
- Scones are great for freezing
- If using baking soda – use buttermilk or sour milk
- If using baking powder – use whole milk or sweet milk
Scone Recipe
Feel free to add about 1/2 cup fruit or any other mix in you like. To make these vegan, use plant-based butter and milk and flax eggs (1 tbs flax seed + 2 tbs water = 1 egg). For clotted cream, you can make it at home – just allow 24 hours.
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, preferably frozen
1 cup milk (whole, or a combination)
2 eggs
optional: turbinado sugar
METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 475°F/245°C/gas mark 9. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. Grate cold butter into the mixture, then rub in until it resembles bread crumbs.
4. Whisk together eggs and milk, then add most to dry ingredients**. After dough comes together, knead lightly and pat down.
5. Cut into circles, gently using all the dough.
6. Place on baking sheet, brush with remaining milk and egg, and top with turbinado sugar if desired.
7. Bake for 15-18 minutes until puffy and golden.
cleite agus cnámh 