Michaelmas Goose with Apples and Prunes
Although Michaelmas is celebrated on 29 September in most of the country, it is celebrated on 4 October in Suffolk and 11 October in Norfolk. However when the calendar was reformed in 1752, “Old Michaelmas Day” was moved to 10 October. It heralds the day the Devil spits on blackberries and makes them unfit to eat! Or maybe it is just that by then frosts and the maggot flies have got to them?
With harvest over Michaelmas marked the turn of the seasons and time for the farmers to pay their debts, often presenting their landlords with a goose. Goose Fairs are associated with Michaelmas when it is probably the best time of year to eat goose. Having feasted on the winnowings in the wheat fields goose is particularly tasty at this time when it has not yet put on the fat it requires to take it through the winter. I am sure that those who have cooked goose at Christmas know just how fatty it can be. I doubt it would do anything for Government obesity targets.