{"id":10924,"date":"2018-11-30T12:44:44","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T12:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=10924"},"modified":"2018-12-06T09:13:04","modified_gmt":"2018-12-06T09:13:04","slug":"the-ingredients-for-mulled-wine-in-irish-comhabhair-scailtin-fiona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/the-ingredients-for-mulled-wine-in-irish-comhabhair-scailtin-fiona\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ingredients for Mulled Wine in Irish (comh\u00e1bhair scailt\u00edn f\u00edona i nGaeilge)"},"content":{"rendered":"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Green_Cardamom.JPG; KVDP at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons; t\u00e9acs Gaeilge le R\u00f3isl\u00edn, 2018<\/em><\/p><\/div>“Scailt\u00edn f\u00edona<\/strong>” (mulled wine) is a phrase we introduced in the most recent blog post (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 So what exactly are the typical ingredients for “mulled” wine, and why is it called “mulled” anyway?<\/p>\n

Here are six of the gn\u00e1thphr\u00edomhchomh\u00e1bhair<\/strong> (ordinary primary ingredients — sorry for the sesquipedalianism of the word, well, not really sorry — I love it!).\u00a0 Can you figure out what they are?\u00a0 Freagra\u00ed th\u00edos<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

slis\u00edn\u00ed or\u00e1iste<\/strong><\/p>\n

maide cain\u00e9il<\/strong><\/p>\n

faighneoga cardamaim<\/strong><\/p>\n

s\u00edolta r\u00e9alt-ain\u00edse<\/strong><\/p>\n

cl\u00f3ibh<\/strong><\/p>\n

and the one ingredient you can’t see: si\u00facra (n\u00f3 mil n\u00f3 sior\u00f3ip mhailpe)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Oh, and of course, f\u00edon<\/strong> (wine), perhaps “p\u00f3rtfh\u00edon<\/strong>” (port wine).<\/p>\n

Na freagra\u00ed<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

slis\u00edn\u00ed or\u00e1iste<\/strong>, orange slices.\u00a0 The word “slice” is actually quite fascinating in Irish, since there are at least five more possibilities including slis, slisne, sceall, p\u00edosa, and stiall.\u00a0 But further discussion of these will have to wait to be \u00e1bhar blag eile (the subject for another blog)<\/p>\n

maide cain\u00e9il<\/strong>, a stick of cinnamon, from cain\u00e9al, cinnamon.\u00a0 Here, “cain\u00e9al” changes to “cain\u00e9il,” since we’re really saying “stick of cinnamon.”\u00a0 Actually, the Irish for the noun “stick” is actually quite interesting also, since there are at least four more possibilities (bata, cip\u00edn, craobh\u00f3g, g\u00e9ag\u00e1n), not including a few phrases which include “a stick” in English but not in Irish (like “cam\u00e1n, a camogie or hurling stick, or “cos” or “g\u00e9ag” for a stick of rhubarb)<\/p>\n

faighneoga cardamaim<\/strong>, cardamom pods.\u00a0 A single one would be “faighneog chardamaim.”<\/p>\n

s\u00edolta r\u00e9alt-ain\u00edse<\/strong>, star-anise seeds, lit. seeds of star-anise, “r\u00e9alt-” meaning “star” here<\/p>\n

cl\u00f3ibh<\/strong>, cloves (the singular is “cl\u00f3bh).\u00a0 Note, though, that a “clove of garlic” uses a totally different word, “ionga gairleoige,” with “ionga” normally meaning fingernail, talon, claw, etc.\u00a0 Not that “clove” as a spice is even close to “clove” as a piece of garlic!<\/p>\n

si\u00facra, n\u00f3 mil n\u00f3 sior\u00f3ip mhailpe<\/strong>, sugar, honey, or maple syrup.\u00a0 The basic word for “maple” is “mailp.”\u00a0 It becomes “mailpe” for “of maple” (as in “crann mailpe”) and it becomes “mhailpe” after “syrup” since “sior\u00f3ip” is a feminine noun.\u00a0 Similarly we have “sior\u00f3ip sheacl\u00e1ide” and “sior\u00f3ip chasachta,” both showing the lenition of the second noun (the “s” of “seacl\u00e1ide” changing to “sh” and “c” of “casachta” changing to “ch”)<\/p>\n

As for why “mulled wine” is called “mulled wine,” that’s an interesting question.\u00a0 And it’s also interesting that the Irish phrase, “scailt\u00edn f\u00edona<\/strong>” isn’t based on a verb that means “to mull,” but rather on a noun that means a hot alcoholic drink.\u00a0 It seems logical to assume that “scailt\u00edn<\/strong>” is based on the verb “scalladh<\/strong>” (to scald, scalding, also to burn, injure, sterilize, etc.), but I haven’t actually found verification of this connection.\u00a0 I wouldn’t think that mulled wine would be served “scalding hot,” more like pleasantly warm, but I’m not completely sure.\u00a0 Eolas ag \u00e9inne<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

The Verb “to mull” – in Irish and in English (re: beverages)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The closest I find in Irish for a verb “to mull” a beverage is the phrase “scailt\u00edn a dh\u00e9anamh den fh\u00edon.<\/strong>”\u00a0 Literally, that’s “to make a hot drink\/scalteen of the wine” (or whatever other beverage is involved, such as “scailt\u00edn fuisce<\/strong>“).<\/p>\n

As for the culinary term “mull” itself (in English), there are a few theories but nothing definitive, afaik. \u00a0It may be connected to the Dutch word “mol<\/em>” (described as a sweet white beer — but what is a “white beer”?) or the Flemish word “molle<\/em>” (a kind of beer), and certainly these two languages are reasonably close to English, so a borrowing wouldn’t be surprising.\u00a0 Somehow the Dutch “mol<\/em>” and the Flemish “molle<\/em>” are supposed to be connected to a Germanic verb meaning “to soften.”\u00a0 Hmm, it does just make me wonder — Irish has “maolaigh<\/strong>,” which can mean “soften” (or flatten, depress, make bald or blunt, become bald or blunt, moderate, modify, etc.).\u00a0 \u00a0And this verb has pan-Celtic connections (maol<\/em> also in Scottish Gaelic, meayl<\/em> in Manx, moel<\/em> in Welsh,\u00a0 mool<\/em> in Cornish, moal<\/em> in Breton — anyone know the Gaulish?).\u00a0 I don’t usually leap to linguistic conclusions but I do wonder if there’s an ancient Continental connection behind all of this, although nothing I’ve read so far gives any hint of a Celtic-Germanic link.\u00a0 Were there Gaulish-speaking Celts in the areas now known as the Netherlands and Belgium?\u00a0 Food for thought, at least to mull over.<\/p>\n

There was an interesting article on the verb “to mull” in both of its senses (to think over\/ponder and to heat sweetened spiced wine) in the New York Times on 19 May 1996 (nasc th\u00edos<\/strong>).\u00a0 It mostly deals with the first sense, but addresses mulling wine briefly.<\/p>\n

And now for the Paul McCartney connection — or, errmm, not really.\u00a0 But “Mull of Kintyre” is a beautiful song, and this Scottish “mull” refers to a bare (rounded, bald, blunt) i.e. treeless rock at the end of the Kintyre peninsula.\u00a0 The actual Gaelic place name is “Maol Chinn T\u00ecre<\/em>, the same “maol<\/strong>” as we just discussed.\u00a0 Surely a fine place to enjoy some mulled wine, or perhaps, more appropriately, one of the locally-produced Campbeltown single malt whiskies (uisce beatha aon bhraiche<\/strong>).\u00a0 And a discussion of that, and the process of “driogadh<\/strong>” (distilling) could surely be \u00e1bhar do bhlag eile ar\u00eds<\/strong>.\u00a0 And reasonably seasonal, chomh maith<\/strong>.\u00a0 F\u00e9ilti\u00fail, ar a laghad<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u00a0Till then, sl\u00e1inte agus sl\u00e1n go f\u00f3ill (go “<\/strong>Skol<\/em>“?) — R\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/strong><\/p>\n

P.S. As for the other three foods mentioned in the graphic that use cardamom, they are cura\u00ed<\/strong> (curry — no surprises there), the Norwegian Julekake<\/em> (Christmas bread), and the Swedish kardemummabulla<\/em>r (cardamom rolls).\u00a0 \u00a0Blasta, blasta, blasta<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Naisc<\/strong><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u2018Tis the Season for \u2026 Festive Drinks (\u2018Deochanna F\u00e9ilti\u00fala\u2019 in Irish) like \u2018Mulled Wine\u2019 or \u2018Hot Buttered Rum\u2019<\/a>\u00a0Posted by\u00a0r\u00f3isl\u00edn<\/a>\u00a0on Nov 23, 2018 in\u00a0Irish Language<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2) https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1996\/05\/19\/magazine\/on-language-mulling-over-mull.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

(le R\u00f3isl\u00edn) “Scailt\u00edn f\u00edona” (mulled wine) is a phrase we introduced in the most recent blog post (nasc th\u00edos).\u00a0 So what exactly are the typical ingredients for “mulled” wine, and why is it called “mulled” anyway? Here are six of the gn\u00e1thphr\u00edomhchomh\u00e1bhair (ordinary primary ingredients — sorry for the sesquipedalianism of the word, well, not…<\/p>\n

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