Every year, millions in the U.S. sit down during the fourth Thursday in November and celebrate Thanksgiving.
In many ways, this might be one of the most misunderstood and misappropriated U. S. holidays. The story of Thanksgiving that is accepted by settlers and colonial culture depicts Pilgrims and Native Wampanoag peoples seated around a table and sharing a turkey dinner in 1621 (almost 400 years ago). There was a shared feast that year, but many of the details of that narrative are myth.
Fall harvest celebrations were rather popular in the 1700s and 1800s, but in the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, then-President Abraham Lincoln established a national holiday on which all Americans, home and abroad, were to celebrate “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” This officially solidified the idea. ” So, it was about Christianity, not Indigenous relations.
The reason turkeys were likely on the table was likely due to Sarah Josepha Hale’s decades-long advocacy for Lincoln to declare Thanksgiving a national holiday. Hale was the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, a prominent magazine that featured articles about the customary celebration, including recipes for turkey. Thanksgiving is now celebrated in the United States with over 40 million turkeys consumed annually, demonstrating how successful the relationship between the holiday and cuisine has been.
This doesn’t mean turkeys don’t have a long history in the Americas. They do. Long before Western Europeans arrived, indigenous peoples in continental North America engaged in millennia-long interactions with turkeys, which they still do today. As a zooarchaeologist who focuses on understanding ancient human-turkey relationships in the U. S. Throughout the Southwest and Mexican Northwest (a huge region with more than two dozen Tribal Nations), I enjoy ensuring that this history is remembered on Thanksgiving.
For that reason, these five interesting turkey-related facts can be shared at the dinner table this Thanksgiving if, like me, you prefer to set aside politics and “talk turkey.”
While turkey holds a prominent place on Thanksgiving tables across the globe, its presence in Indian kitchens remains surprisingly limited. This article delves into the reasons behind this culinary curiosity, exploring the cultural, logistical, and culinary factors that contribute to turkey’s absence from the Indian palate.
Cultural Influences:
- Religious Background: India, with its predominantly Hindu population, doesn’t share the same historical and cultural ties to Thanksgiving and Christmas, where turkey consumption is prevalent.
- Regional Cuisine: Indian cuisine boasts a rich tapestry of regional flavors, each with its own preferred meats. Mutton, chicken, and fish dominate the culinary landscape, leaving little room for turkey’s introduction.
- Hunting Restrictions: The ban on hunting wild turkeys in India further limits its availability and accessibility.
Logistical Challenges:
- Size and Preparation: Unlike the smaller chicken, turkeys are large birds, requiring specialized cooking techniques and equipment, which might not be readily available in many Indian households.
- Shelf Life: Turkey’s shorter shelf life compared to other meats poses storage challenges, especially in warmer climates.
- Cost Factor: Imported turkeys can be expensive, making them less accessible to a large segment of the Indian population.
Culinary Preferences:
- Taste and Texture: Indian palates often favor juicier and more flavorful meats. Turkey, known for its leanness and mild taste, might not appeal to everyone.
- Cooking Style: The traditional Indian cooking style, with its emphasis on gravies and spices, might not be the most suitable for roasting whole turkeys.
- Lack of Experimentation: The absence of widespread demand for turkey has limited chefs’ exploration of Indianizing the bird, preventing it from gaining wider acceptance.
However, the tide might be turning:
- Growing Popularity of Duck: The increasing popularity of duck in India suggests a potential shift towards exploring alternative poultry options.
- Hotel Menus: Five-star hotels catering to international clientele often include turkey on their Christmas and New Year menus, exposing a wider audience to the bird.
- Innovative Chefs: Chefs are experimenting with incorporating turkey into Indian dishes, such as curries and tandoori preparations, adapting it to local tastes.
The Future of Turkey in India:
While turkey may not be a staple in Indian homes yet, the growing openness to culinary exploration and the increasing availability of the bird could pave the way for its gradual integration into the Indian food scene. As chefs continue to experiment and consumers become more familiar with its taste and versatility, turkey might find its niche in the diverse culinary landscape of India.
Turkey meat came later
A cousin to the proverbial “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” has an answer of sorts for turkeys. Archaeological evidence strongly supports the idea that in the ancient U.S. Southwest, Ancestral Pueblo peoples interacted with, domesticated, husbanded, and managed turkeys first for their feathers, then later for their meat. Turkeys were important enough that Indigenous peoples fed their birds domesticated maize crops—the same food that they relied on for themselves.
The earliest evidence for Indigenous turkey domestication comes from around A.D. 1 and stretches to Western European contact in the 1500s. But evidence for butchering turkeys—including cutmarks on bone, for example—only arises around sometime after the 900s, about 1,100 years ago. Why people would have initially refrained from eating turkeys remains a mystery—perhaps there was a taboo against it, or the turkeys were seen as too important for non-dietary purposes. Or perhaps they did eat turkeys but left behind no evidence of the activity. We know at least that turkeys were intentionally kept captive during this entire period, something confirmed through the presence of turkey dung and droppings in pens and cages.
Evidence for turkey meat consumption increases dramatically over the past 700 years or so. At an Ancestral Pueblo village near modern-day Santa Fe, New Mexico, for example, evidence of cutmarks and butchery on turkey skeletons indicates that Ancestral Pueblo peoples pinioned (in other words, removed a wing joint to prevent flying), skinned, plucked, and butchered these birds for consumption between about 1300 and 1425. Turkey meat became an important protein source, and the birds continue to be hunted and kept within Indigenous communities today.
Turkey feathers make great blankets
Ancestral Pueblo peoples lived in a desert region with sharp seasonal variations in temperature, and turkey feathers offered a sustainable resource for making warm blankets.
A recent study indicated that one well-preserved turkey feather blanket, likely from southeastern Utah and dating to the early 1200s, originally included approximately 11,550 feathers—probably from four to 10 turkeys. The downy portion of these feathers provided warmth for the blanket, just as they provide warmth for the turkey. Turkey feather blanket creation continues today.
While turkeys may have been killed for their feathers, Indigenous peoples likely collected naturally molting feathers and plucked feathers from living birds too. It is important to note that while modern-day, industrial-scale feather plucking may be a cruel and painful process, there is evidence that safe, harmless, sustainable plucking is possible and was probably practiced long ago.
“Persian Food? Indian Food? Or Turkey?” | Maz Jobrani – Pandemic Warrior
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