The Barnacle Goose

Thanksgiving is coming, and you might want to try something different than the usual turkey.  Consider the barnacle goose.

From the 11^th to the 17^th centuries, many people believed that there was a plant called the barnacle tree.  This tree was believed to produce a fruit that hatched out real, live birds.  According to Sir John Maundeville, tiny geese emerged from this tree and grew up to be very much like regular birds. Others insisted that the goose barnacles didn’t grow on trees, but they were formed on rotting wood that could be found in stagnant water.  In either case, these geese were considered to be excellent eating.

For quite a while, the story of the barnacle goose was believed to be true.  Meyer wrote a paper on them, and Sir Robert Murray gave an eye-witness account.  The thing is, most people liked the idea, because during Lent (when it was forbidden to eat meat) there was no prohibition against the “bird” that grew on trees.  Because these creatures were "neither flesh, nor born of flesh," many thought that it was fine to eat them on fast days.

Not everyone was convinced that this was a legitimate excuse, however.  King Frederick II didn’t believe in it for a moment, and the Secretary of Lev wrote a pretty snarky account about this dish in 1456.  In addition, Gerald de Barri commented in 1187: “Hence the bishops and clergy in some parts of Ireland are in the habit of partaking of these birds, on fast days, without scruple. But in doing so they are led into sin. For, if any one were to eat of the leg of our first parent, although he (Adam) was not born of flesh, that person could not be adjudged innocent of eating flesh.”  For most people, however, the barnacle goose was perfectly acceptable eating during Lent.

According to the National Audubon Society, there actually is a bird called the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis).  Apparently, this is a small Arctic goose that lives in places like Siberia and often spends the winter in Northwestern Europe.  Before people knew that birds migrated, they thought these creatures came about through spontaneous generation.  After all, they were never seen to nest anywhere, so maybe they came from barnacles.  All the same, everyone now seems to agree that this species of goose comes out of an egg in the natural way of geese. 

Because of this clarification, the barnacle goose can be cooked in the usual manner.  They are still rather rare, however, so they are bound to be expensive.  Maybe, on second thought, you might want to just roast a turkey for Thanksgiving or choose a vegan option instead.

 

Hulme, Edward F., Myth-land, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, London. 1886.

The National Audubon Society, The Barnacle Goose, n.d. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/barnacle-goose (7 Nov. 2023).