Skåne's Geese

I live on a peninsula on Sweden's southwest tip, the tiny stretch of land jutting out into the Baltic. Here in the southern most province of Skåne, we like our geese. In fact they are the symbol of our county, and more geese can be found on Skåne's grazing land than in any other place in Sweden.

Each evening, just before the sun disappears and while the sky is still dimly lit with a strange golden-blue light, you see the geese flying in perfect formation across the sky. But not before you hear them - their loud, barking voices will most certainly wake the children if your windows are not shut tight.

And on the 10th November we will present ourselves with a gastronomic goose feast celebrating the eve of Saint Martin's Day. At this point I must point out, that as with most festivals, the Swedes have a habit of celebrating on the eve of a special day, rather than the day itself. Don't ask me why, they simply believe it's the right thing to do and cannot offer me a satisfactory explanation. It's the same with Christmas.

Christmas celebrations and the Christmas feast itself all take place on the 24th December in the evening. By the time the children are tucked up in bed, Santa has already knocked at our front door and presented the gifts of the day to be opened.
It remains to be seen how many years my children will buy into the idea that, in our household, bedtime on the 24th is our "Night Before Christmas" and Santa pays us yet another visit - this time down the chimney while we are sleeping. We must be the only Swedish family opening our stockings the next morning and throwing out the reindeer's leftovers. But it's my tradition and one I will not give up so easily for my adopted country and this nonsense about celebrating on the "eve" of everything.

Back to St. Martin. The celebration originates in France, the patron saint's burial place. November is always a good time for sampling the new vintage, and so a celebratory feast was always provided to honour Saint Martin at this time. The custom found it's way into Germany, and then dug in it's heels in Sweden with the German immigrants. The Swedish custom of eating goose at this time of year was originally, of course, based on economics.

Geese are pretty fat and tasty in November.

So we in Skåne, being Skånce, celebrate the life of Saint Martin with a bumper goose on the table. And it's magnificent. It's roasted to perfection and served with local seasonable produce. You should, strictly speaking, enjoy a first course of black soup. But we all tend to give this a miss, knowing that the blood of the goose is the reason this odd-tasting soup has a rather off-putting color.

For desert, bring on the fabulous cake called a spettkaka. This is famous in Skåne and can be baked up to 1 meter high. Made with a mixture of egg yolks and sugar, baked on a skewer over an open fire, this cake looks like an intricate pattern of lacework. Unfortunately, the taste sensation is always rather a disappintment for me. It's rather too hard, too sweet and actually doesn't taste of much at all.

Well, what the heck. It makes a stunning center piece for that prize goose.