SAVOUR & SIP
Local food historian Dr Sue Bailey shares some harvest traditions and learns more about East Anglia’s bounty of produce CAMBRIDGE ON A PLATE HARVEST TIME
L ook up one night this month, meaning autumn. This traditional end to the year’s growing cycle is no longer marked by a riotous meal with excessive feasting, dancing and drinking. Such harvest celebrations date back to pagan times, and now Christian traditions hold harvest thanksgiving on the nearest Sunday to the full moon – the one closest to the autumn equinox in late September. One reason that these ale-quaffing, merry-making excesses by farmworkers disappeared was due to mid-Victorian vicars, who tamed the custom into a sedate but decorative church festival. Exuberant see the glowing moon like a russet apple hanging in the sky, and say the Old English word ‘hærfest’,
campaign to keep this celebration a key part of our communities, with its British Food Fortnight initiative. Having been established 22 years ago to celebrate and promote food diversity, this year’s British Food Fortnight runs from 16 September to 1 October. Teachers, caterers, universities, chefs, NHS trusts, care homes, shops and markets are all involved, with tastings, seasonal dishes and local business support raising awareness of seasonal, healthy British ingredients. I spoke to local author Jenny Jefferies, who has written For the Love of the Land and For the Love of the Sea – a series of popular recipe books dedicated to independent food producers and their talents. “All over the world, farmers work from dawn until dusk, as and when the weather allows, to try and bring in a good harvest,” she explains. “Last month, we cut barley and wheat at Fuller’s Hill Farm, Little Gransden, which will end up being made into beer, bread and cereals. So, next time you’re at your local pub, or eating your
displays of wheat sheaves, swags of hops, corn dollies and local produce decorated churches for this thanksgiving service and replaced the feasting. Technological progress has detached us from appreciating food seasons and the harvest. Historically, the only methods available to preserve foods for otherwise barren winters were drying, smoking, jam making, salting and pickling. Long food production chains, processing, canning and freezing, with food grown and flown in from around the world, has resulted in seasonality becoming less relevant. Harvest thanksgiving used to be almost as important a part of our national calendar as Christmas and Easter. That’s no longer the case, but today, the independent organisation Love British Food runs a
Harvest is a time to celebrate the abundance we’ve worked for
26 SEPTEMBER 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
Powered by FlippingBook