Bread sauce - is it just a Proddy thing?

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

Long version - my DM (Prod) has always served bread sauce with Christmas dinner when I was a child. Sometimes we would go to Dad's side of the family (Catholic) for Christmas dinner and I can't remember clearly whether we had bread sauce then or not, but I think we did. Certainly when they came to us there weren't any comments about Mum serving bread sauce, but perhaps they were being polite.

This morning DH was shopping in Dunnes and there was no bread sauce, I wanted fresh but would have accepted packet mix, but nothing at all. He asked a couple of employees but they had never heard of it, however they weren't Irish so it could just be something that they're not aware of.

DH (Asian, so thinks a sauce made from bread is weird and unnecessary) was on a video chat with his friend when I walked into the room and he told me that he couldn't find it. His friend (Irish Catholic) had no idea what bread sauce was either, he's the one that suggested it's a Proddy thing. When I thought about it I realised that I had only ever bought fresh bread sauce from M&S, so imported into Ireland, but I still feel like I've seen packet bread sauce around in other places too.

So, which is it?
a) Everyone knows and uses bread sauce
b) It's just for Protestants
c) Condiments don't have a religious affiliation
d) Only a slattern would buy it instead of making it herself.

[halcyondays]

e) not that popular in NI, more of an English thing

[Lordamighty]

I once went to Mass on Christmas Day with DH & the priest based his sermon on bread sauce with Christmas dinner.

[LemonBreeland]

I've never had bread sauce, and frankly don't understand the idea of it at all. But this has tickled me, and like a pp reminded my of the traybakes thing.

[Trinpy]

I'm from a Catholic family and we always had bread sauce growing up. The packet mix is grim but homemade is my favourite part of Chrismas dinner! Waitrose do an okish shop bought one btw.

My DH comes from a Catholic European country and bread sauce is a traditional cheap meal in poorer areas there (any time of the year, not specifically for Christmas).

[NuniaBeeswax]

Protestant here (Scottish though) and I've never even seen bread sauce irl never mind eaten it.

[52andblue]

C & D.
English (Kent) child of (very) lapsed Catholics and we always had Bread Sauce at Christmas. Fish on a Friday too.

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

I'm in RoI, I'm not sure if that makes a difference to the universality or otherwise of bread sauce. I'm quite surprised that Dunnes didn't have it at all as the ones local to us are larger than average and carry a wide range of groceries. Which might suggest option e) that my DH can't find anything unless it throws itself off the shelf and into his trolley.

[everydaysablessing]

C & D - think it's just a family thing, like most Christmas ways of doing things.

[FreeButtonBee]

B. Nevert heard of it til I spent Christmas in England (NI catholic born and bread)

[Phyzzy]

My grandmother always made it (CofE) so protestant. Possibly it's a Northern thing as they were from the NE?
Vile stuff, if you were really unlucky you got the cloves.

[52andblue]

@Lordamighty

I once went to Mass on Christmas Day with DH & the priest based his sermon on bread sauce with Christmas dinner.

Oh I WISH i'd been there, sounds FAB :)

[TheQueef]

English RC always had it.
Always assumed it was some Catholic self flagellation.
Tis orrible.

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

@Lordamighty

I once went to Mass on Christmas Day with DH & the priest based his sermon on bread sauce with Christmas dinner.

Was the priest for or against it, or did he consider it to be an ecumenical matter?

[CherryPavlova]

No, lifelong Papist. Always had it. Stuff of dreams if made properly.

[WhatKatyDidNxt]

Haha interesting theory . My mums family are mad on it (English Protestants). Ex husbands family (Irish catholics) didn’t understand pigs in blankets which confuses me massively. Who doesn’t love pigs in blankets?!

[janetmendoza]

Nominal catholics with bread sauce here. But more the Italian than the Irish type.

[BlackAmericanoNoSugar]

@Phyzzy

My grandmother always made it (CofE) so protestant. Possibly it's a Northern thing as they were from the NE?
Vile stuff, if you were really unlucky you got the cloves.

My Mum always stuck the cloves into the onion which was cut into halves. Take out the onion at the end and the cloves go with it.

[curiouslypacific]

My mum is half Irish Catholic half Scottish Presbyterian and always made bread sauce with a proper roast.

I had no idea you could actually buy it in a packet, it was always made from scratch when I was young. Never really saw the point of it, but given dinner was always late, it was handy to snack on the leftover bread crusts while dinner was cooking.

[EBearhug]

English CofE, and we always had bread sauce at Christmas and with roast chicken any time in the year. Good bread sauce is fabulous; but it can be very bland if made by lesser cooks and that is not so good. I have a stale loaf end all ready to become sauce.

Red cabbage is wrong at any time in any cooked dish. It's fine raw in salad. Actually, it's probably fine just as cooked cabbage, but it's always served with spices and stuff, so no one has ever found out.

[LaurieSchafferIsAllBitterNow]

I love it, and DM (very CofE) would often do it with chicken when we were young....mind you that was in the days when a roast chicken was a proper roast!

is it not technically just for Game birds??

I am really looking forward to a turkey sandwich with bread sauce between the slices of breast meat, and some gravy on one bit of bread and some cranberry on the other and maybe a cold roastie on the side! ...that's probably Boxing Day breakfast tbh

[2bazookas]

a) and d)

[Costacoffeeplease]

Love it, brought up catholic in Scotland but it Irish descent

[TheFormerPorpentinaScamander]

The only person I know who makes bread sauce is my (2nd generation) Irish Catholic step dad. everyone else thinks its vile

[bellinisurge]

Down with that sort of thing.

[MiddlesexGirl]

D. It's delicious but only if D or very good quality ready made - packet sauce is bleugh!