By GMVozd / Getty Images
With carrots, celery, herbs for cooking, plus chicken livers, allspice and nutmeg for stuffing, in Germany, roast goose is a staple of the Christmas menu. Against the current backdrop of inflation, exacerbated by the biggest bird flu epidemic ever seen in Europe, this year, Germany's traditional dish will be the most expensive festive meal of all. However, turkey -- popular in the UK and France -- will also cost more.
With carrots, celery, herbs for cooking, plus chicken livers, allspice and nutmeg for stuffing, in Germany, roast goose is a staple of the Christmas menu. Against the current backdrop of inflation, exacerbated by the biggest bird flu epidemic ever seen in Europe, this year, Germany's traditional dish will be the most expensive festive meal of all. However, turkey -- popular in the UK and France -- will also cost more.
During the 2021-2022 season, Europe has been facing an epizootic outbreak of avian influenza that is devastating poultry farms. According to The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 46 million birds have been culled in farms affected by this highly contagious viral infection caused by wild birds. In August, 13 European countries were still affected by this unprecedented sanitary crisis, which has no impact on human health. French consumers have already been warned to expect a reduced and more expensive supply of foie gras this year. This is because birds have been slaughtered in infected poultry farms, but also preventively elsewhere. As a result, the number of birds is reduced.
Until the situation returns to normal, Europeans are facing rising poultry prices as they shop for the species on their country's traditional festive menu. According to a study by the social investment network eToro, which involved surveying prices in major local supermarket chains in 11 countries around the world to track the cost of dishes typically served at Christmas, Germany's traditional roast goose is expected to be the priciest Christmas dish. Here, the total price includes the cost of each ingredient for four people. It amounts to €66.53 in Germany. Meanwhile, countries preferring turkey will have a cheaper Christmas meal, such as Spain (€60.74), the United States (€44.20), France (€40.96) and the UK (€32.40).
However, it should be noted that the cost of a Christmas dish can vary widely depending on the recipe chosen and the type of ingredients, since trimmings and stuffing can increase the final cost. In France, the turkey recipe used in this study includes chestnuts as well as chicken livers, but festive poultry is not always served in this way. In fact, it can simply be served roasted (and generously basted with cooking juices).
Beyond the link between the bird flu crisis affecting European poultry farms and the rising price of traditional Christmas dishes, this study also gives an overview of national culinary traditions. For example, did you know that Italians celebrate this festive family moment by eating tortellini in broth?
