Collop Monday

Today (Ignoring all the confusing calendar reforms of the 1750s) would have been Collop Monday in Medieval and Tudor England.

This is the day you would use the last of your meat before lent, if you had any!

A collop usually refers to a lump or slice of pork or bacon. This is because of all the meats this one preserves the best with salt. So this is the meat you were most likely still to have after winter.

Traditionally you would have slaughtered one or more of your pigs at Michealmas in September and began the labourious task of salting to preserve the meat. Every bit was used. After the cuts had been salted for a number of days they were then hung in a smokey area of the house. In the kitchen or in the chimney in later times. This keep the flies off and also helps the preserving of the meat. It dessicates the outer layer and leaves a residue on the meat that bacteria do not like.

My Statute cap got a test on Saturday. It Worked! My head stayed dry. When I removed the cap I shook off the surplus wetness.
Wool has amazing properties. It can absorb water and still conduct heat.