Native breed produce at Christmas

Rare Breeds Survival Trust Chief Executive Christopher Price says celebrate British native breeds

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The UK’s native livestock breeds have been integral to our nation's winter celebrations from the earliest days of human community: there is evidence of beef and pork as the centrepiece of feasts to celebrate midwinter in Neolithic times.

Early records show that beef and pork, along with venison, were central to Christmas celebrations in 14th Century monasteries while in the Mediaeval castles, extravagant Christmas feasts were laid out featuring local meats as well as exotic dishes from further afield such as peacocks. The Tudor period saw royals and the nobility enjoy a range of different meats at Christmas, including beef, pork, chicken, goose, as well as badger and swan. This is the period when turkeys began to be considered a Christmas delicacy. By the Georgian period, the wealthy feasted on beef and mutton at Christmas. The main choice of bird was goose, but turkey was starting to become more popular. Christmas feasts were similar in the Victorian era, with the addition of hams. By the 1930s, turkey had overtaken goose as most popular Christmas centrepiece.