Foods in Season: February 1861

Late this month, but I finally have some historic cooking to do, and decided to once again consult with Beeton's Book of Household Management about ingredients considered to be in season for February.

Fish- Barbel, brill, carp, cod may be bought, but is not so good as in January, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whiting.

Meat- Beef, house lamb, mutton, pork, veal

Poultry- Capons, chickens, ducklings, fowls, tame and wild pigeons, pullets with eggs, turkeys, wild-fowl, though now not in full season.

Game- Grouse, hares, partridges, pheasants, snipe, wild-fowl, woodcock

Vegetables-Beetroot, broccoli (purple and white), Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrots, celery, chervil, cresses, cucumbers (forced), endive, kidney-beans, lettuces, parsnips, potatoes, savoys, spinach, turnips,-various herbs

Fruit- Apples (golden and Dutch pippins), grapes, medlars, nuts, oranges, pear (Bon Chrétien), walnuts, dried fruits (foreign), such as almonds and raisins; French and Spanish plums; prunes, figs, dates, crystallized preserves.

I was interested to note that the only different in fish suggestions between January and February is the cod being "not so good," while venison falls off the meat list moving into February and wild fowls are added into the game category. Poultry sees the most more changes, as wild pigeons, wild fowls, and chickens are now "in season" and rabbit is out; I plan to bother my friendly neighborhood chicken-raisers with questions about this. I had expected the vegetable category to slightly expand over January to March as spring approaches and the fruit list to contract over that time as winter storing varieties run out; the main difference seems to be that the February lists gives more specific varieties of broccoli, apples, and pears.