Halloween: Barmbrack

Barmbrack, originally uploaded by podchef.

Photo: Halloween Barmbrack - buttered and ready to be devoured.

The Barmbrack, a type of yeasted bread with added sultanas and raisins, usually sold in flattened rounds, it is often served toasted with butter along with a cup of tea in the afternoon. The Halloween Barmbrack, the center of an Irish Halloween custom, traditionally contained various objects such as a pea, a stick, a piece of cloth, a small coin, and a ring. Each of these meant something related to fortune or to the person whose slice had it. If a person received the slice containing the pea, that person would not marry that year. The stick (to beat one's wife with) meant an unhappy or troublesome marriage. The a piece of cloth is an indication of bad luck or poverty, and the coin, as anyone can tell, indicated that person would get a fortune or become rich, and the ring indicated wedding in the same year.