# Besides Turkey (and Thanksgiving Fixins) What Foods Are Only/Usually Eaten Seasonally? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [November 23, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456 "2022-11-23T20:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/81 "2022-12-07T19:37:42Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I only eat a bowl of snow with maple syrup poured over it in winter. It’s really best with powder. That sounds a lot better than yellow snow my cousin gave me to eat in winter as a child. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/82 "2022-12-07T20:23:07Z")
I thought snow ice cream went out of fashion in the '60s because of all the radioactive isotopes floating around in the atmosphere. 🤨 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/83 "2022-12-07T20:29:54Z")
It’s Sugar on Snow up here, and it’s still a thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/84 "2022-12-07T22:36:19Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > > [@Lumpy](#): > > > > I actually sprung for goose this year for Christmas > > This American has never eaten goose, nor do I know anyone who has\*. In goose-eating Christian cultures (I’m guessing UK and the rest of Europe, at a minimum), is it only eaten around Christmas? It’s a pricey enough specialty item (due to more limited demand) that I presume most people only get it for special occasions. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/85 "2022-12-08T00:58:13Z")
I was able to buy a Christmas goose for not too much at a market in Moscow around 25 years ago. I forget exactly how much I paid for it, but I can tell you the ones in Canada cost a lot more. The one I bought here in 2017 set me back $90 CAD. One thing about geese that I like is the huge volume of fat you get by roasting them. Be sure you save it for things like frying potatoes. It’s true liquid gold! 🥰 ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/86 "2022-12-11T19:03:01Z")
LFor something unique to a season, over here it must be [Christmas Pudding](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_christmas_38771). I don’t know of anyone eating it at any other time. For other foods traditional to, but not exclusively, a specific season, I’d have said hot cross buns for Easter, but these days they’re in supermarkets all year round. And there are pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (and sometimes with [pancake races](https://metro.co.uk/2018/02/13/pancake-race-rules-origins-shrove-tuesday-tradition-7308649/)). Some people still make simnel cakes, but they’re not a widely commercialised thing in the way Christmas puddings are. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2022, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/87 "2022-12-11T19:32:26Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > must be [Christmas Pudding](https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_christmas_38771). That’s almost the same as fruitcake in the US, which is almost the same, and is exclusive to Christmas ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/88 "2022-12-12T06:00:35Z")
Not really. There are a lot of common ingredients, but Christmas pudding is a steamed suet pudding including things like treacle, molasses and alcohol, traditionally flamed in brandy as it is served, with custard and/or cream and/or rum or brandy butter. There is sometimes a coin or token hidden in there, for luck (like [the French “roi des fêves” tradition](https://www.frenchasyoulikeit.com/galette-des-rois-a-sweet-french-tradition/)). Christmas cake is a standard baked fruitcake (we have it with outer layers of marzipan and icing and whatever fanciful decorations you feel like). ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/89 "2022-12-15T17:15:15Z")
There are too many to list for India, I’ll try to list for a few states and their festivals / occasions and pick one food that I find interesting 1. Northern State of India : _Gond ke laddu._ → Post Partum for Women and Winter festivals like Diwali → Frankincense mixed with dried fruits / nuts and made into a ball. This goes back thousands of years and the gum in frankincense is believed to heal internal injuries. Many Indians also believe that Casper (one of the wise men) took frankincense for Mother Mary when she gave birth to Jesus for the same reason. 2. Southern State - Tamilnadu specifically → Pongal (festival) celebrated at the end of the Winter Solstice / Harvest festival. Rice Pudding made using rice, milk and molasses. 3. Eastern State - West Bengal specifically → Poush Sankranti (Different name for the same festival as Pongal) . Crepes made with fillings made of coconut and palm syrup. Palm syrup is made just like maple syrup from a species of palm tree by placing cuts on the trunk just like maple trees. 4. Wester State - Rajasthan specifically → Festival of Rakshabandhan when a Sister ties a thread on her brother’s wrist as a symbol of reinforcing their love to each other → Ghevar , a disc shaped sweet cake made of flour, sugar and ghee (clarified butter). It has toppings of dried fruits and nuts. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/90 "2022-12-15T17:32:20Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Many Indians also believe that Casper (one of the wise men) took frankincense for Mother Mary when she gave birth to Jesus for the same reason. Oh, cool. I bet that’s true! Or rather, I don’t believe that wise men gave gifts to the baby Jesus at all, but I bet the origin of the story is tied to the belief that frankincense is good for postpartum mothers. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/91 "2022-12-15T18:07:02Z")
Yeah, many also believe that Casper was from India, Melchior was from Persia (Zoroastrians lived in Persia before Islamic invasion. Freddie Mercury was born a Zoroastrian and many successful Industrialists from India are Zoroastrian). Balthazar, the third black Magi was from Africa. Bottomline : there was quite a diversity of humans at the first Christmas. Now I understand that many branches of Christianity believe that the “Wise men” are fictional, and I mean no offense to them. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/92 "2022-12-15T21:19:56Z")
Nitpick: Caspar ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/93 "2022-12-15T21:43:05Z")
Unless you’re talking about the friendly ghost, which is Casper. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/94 "2022-12-16T10:27:49Z")
In the UK traditionally we only had Hot Cross Buns around Easter, but in the last few years they’ve been around all year. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/95 "2022-12-16T11:09:20Z")
I still only eat them at Easter though, seems wrong otherwise. Has anyone mentioned Simnel cake? My Mum still makes it, but I’m just not very keen on marzipan. > **[Easter simnel cake](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easter-simnel-cake)** > > Bake this classic Easter simnel cake. Top with 11 balls of marzipan – said to represent 11 of Jesus’s disciples, leaving off Judas – or with spring flowers ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2022, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456/96 "2022-12-16T11:12:40Z")
> [@Zyada](#): > > That’s almost the same as fruitcake in the US, which is almost the same, and is exclusive to Christmas Similar ingredients but not quite the same, Christmas pud is softer, wetter - you steam it and eat it hot, served with hot custard, cream or brandy butter. You also set it alight with flaming brandy or rum. We have fruitcake too, and eat it at various special occasions - Christmas, weddings, christenings, easter… presumably because the ingredients make it expensive hence saved for ‘best’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/besides-turkey-and-thanksgiving-fixins-what-foods-are-only-usually-eaten-seasonally/975456.md?page=4)