Trinidad and Tobago Cuisine Codexery

Corned beef

Salt-cured beef with ancient roots and global military use.

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Nitrates and nitrites reduce the risk of botulism during curing but can react with amines to form cancer-causing compounds.[1] Salt-curing meat for preservation is the likely origin of corned beef, though its exact beginnings are not known.[2]

Key facts and history

Industrial production of corned beef began in the British Isles during the British Agricultural Revolution.[3] Despite being a major producer, most native Irish tenant farmers consumed relatively little meat, including corned beef, due to high costs and export demands.[4] Tinned corned beef was a standard military ration from the 17th through early 20th centuries, including World War I and World War II.[5] The term "corn" in corned beef can denote either the large salt crystals used in curing or the potassium nitrate grains (saltpeter) historically employed for preservation.[2]

Ancient societies in Europe and the Middle East left evidence of salt-cured beef preparation.[2] A 12th-century Irish poem, The Vision of MacConglinne, provides the earliest known reference to salted or corned beef in Ireland.[2] Ireland was a key supplier of corned beef to the British Empire; in 1668, Cork city alone accounted for half of Ireland's total annual beef exports.[6]

What the cited sources add

A Newfoundland and Labrador tourism website describes "salt beef" as the key ingredient of the traditional Jiggs' Dinner, with the beef cured and packaged locally at Terra Nova Foods.[7] Another Filipino recipe site lists Delimondo Ranch Style Corned Beef as an ingredient for a corned beef and potato dish.[8]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: US Dept of Agriculture, "Clostridium botulinum"; Xie, "N-nitrosamines in processed meats: Exposure, formation and mitigation strategies", Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, September 2023; Ewbank, "The Mystery of New England's Gray Corned Beef", Atlas Obscura, March 14, 2018 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McGee, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and lore of the Kitchen", Simon and Schuster, 2004; "Corn, n.1", Oxford English Dictionary, 2010; McGee, "On Food and Cooking: The Science and lore of the Kitchen", Simon and Schuster, 2004; Norris, "A Textbook of Inorganic Chemistry for Colleges", McGraw-Hill, 1921, p. 528; Theiss, "Every Day Foods That Injure Health", Pearson's Magazine, January 1911, p. 249; Hessler, "Essentials of Chemistry", Benj. H. Sanborn & Co., 1902, p. 158; McMahon, "An Irish Food Story: 100 foods that made us", Nine Bean R en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cook, "Sailing on The Ship: Re-enactment and the Quest for Popular History", History Workshop Journal, 2004, p. 247–255; Mandelblatt, "A Transatlantic Commodity: Irish Salt Beef in the French Atlantic World", History Workshop Journal, 2007, p. 18–47; Mandelblatt, "A Transatlantic Commodity: Irish Salt Beef in the French Atlantic World", History Workshop Journal, 2007, p. 18–47; Mac Con Iomaire, "Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History", Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, 2011, p. 27–43; Mandelblatt, "A Transatlantic Commodity: Irish en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mac Con Iomaire, "Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History", Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, 2011, p. 27–43 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cook, "Sailing on The Ship: Re-enactment and the Quest for Popular History", History Workshop Journal, 2004, p. 247–255 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Corned beef" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mandelblatt, "A Transatlantic Commodity: Irish Salt Beef in the French Atlantic World", History Workshop Journal, 2007, p. 18–47; Mac Con Iomaire, "Irish Corned Beef: A Culinary History", Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, 2011, p. 27–43; Mandelblatt, "A Transatlantic Commodity: Irish Salt Beef in the French Atlantic World", History Workshop Journal, 2007, p. 18–47 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. "Jiggs’ Dinner for Beginners - Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada", www.newfoundlandlabrador.com. facts only, no text reused. newfoundlandlabrador.com
  8. "Corned Beef with Potato", Casa Baluarte Filipino Recipes. facts only, no text reused. casabaluartefilipinorecipes.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Corned beef (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

Related entries

Named in this entry

Clostridium botulinum

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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