In English folklore, groaning food was food, which was occasionally kept uneaten for superstitious reasons, customarily made and served after childbirth.[1][2]
The word groaning referred to the noises made during childbirth by the woman. The groaning food was served on a groaning board, with the various foods served prefaced by the term 'groaning'.[1] A groaning cheese is a large cheese traditionally divided among the members of a household when a childbirth took place. It was cut from the middle so that the baby, when born, could be passed through it.[3] Groaning cake was another popular groaning food made for the occasion of a birth and retained as a simple talisman afterwards, much like topper from a wedding or birthday cake.[4]
See also
edit- Postpartum confinement, a period of rest after childbirth, often associated with special food and drink
References
edit- ^ a b Mark Morton (2004). Cupboard Love 2: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities. Insomniac Press. p. 148. ISBN 978-1-897415-93-1.
- ^ John Brand; Sir Henry Ellis; James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps (1849). Observations on the popular antiquities of Great Britain: chiefly illustrating the origin of our vulgar and provincial customs, ceremonies, and superstitions. Bohn. p. 70.
- ^ "groaning cheese - Wiktionary". en.wiktionary.org. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
- ^ "Death Cheese: A Short History". 24 March 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2024.