Roz Crowley puts a range of hot cross buns to the taste test

Nowadays Hot Cross Buns are traditionally eaten in Ireland on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday. This practice would have been frowned on in the past when these were black fast days and the people would scarcely have had enough to eat, not to mention spicy fruit filled buns.

ON Good Friday, a traditional day of penitence, when Catholics ate fish and no sweet treats, hot cross buns were intended to be some kind of sacrifice.