Foods in Season: December, 1861

Coming to the end of the year, it's time to see what Beeton's Book of Household Management has to say about foods available in December:

Fish- Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, dace, eels, gudgeons, haddocks, herrings, lobsters, oysters, perch, pike, shrimps, skate, sprats, soles, tench, thornback, turbot, whitling.

Meat- Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, venison.

Poultry- Capons, chickens, fowls, geese, pigeons, pullets, rabbits, teal, turkeys, widgeon, wild ducks.

Game- Hares, partridges, pheasant, snipes, woodcocks.

Vegetables- Broccoli, cabbages, carrots, celery, leeks, late cucumbers, onions, potatoes,  Scotch kale, turnips, winter spinach.

Fruit- Apples, chestnuts, filberts, grapes, medlars, oranges, pears, walnuts, dried fruits, such as almonds and raisins, dates, figs, &c.,--crystallized preserves.

Overall, most categories have either expanded or held consistent (in number if not exact content) from November to December. Fish gained barbel, dace, herrings, lobsters, perch, shrimps, skate, sprats, and thornback. Pork has returned to the meat list, with house lamb replacing veal. Capons have returned to the poultry list, while larks have moved out of season. Game is unchanged, beyond venison moving into the meat category. Broccoli, leeks, parsnips, Scotch kale, turnips, and winter spinach replaced beetroot, lettuces, salading, spinach, sprouts, and 'kitchen herbs' (very neat--six old vegetables out and six new in). In the fruit category, bullaces have gone out of season, but medlars, oranges, and various dried and crystalized fruit have come in.

Looking back/ahead to January, options are actually going to grow as the season progresses. Fish will gain the addition of crayfish, flounders, and lampreys and no removals. The meat category will contract slightly with the loss of chickens and the various ducks, though some of those might simply be counted in the "wild-fowl" which will join the game list, along with grouse. Beetroot, chervil, cresses, forced cucumber, endive, lettuces, savoys and 'various herbs' will be added to the vegetable list, with only the loss of Scotch kale. And finally, the fruit category will gain (dried) French and Spanish plums and prunes.

I hope you've also found this an interesting exercise to look at ingredients available throughout the year. I mostly found the vegetable category to line up with my own garden (except for the cucumbers and tomatoes), and appreciated the chance to reflect on how things like fruit and meat go in and out of season. Though I try to keep such things in mind when planning historic menus, I find these sorts of reminders helpful, as most of my lived experience of food availability has been colored by cold-storage and international shipping.