[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css_animation=”fadeIn”]It is estimated that between nine and ten million turkeys are purchased in the UK each Christmas. Turkeys are now a yearly tradition, and it’s difficult to picture a traditional Christmas meal without one.
Continue reading this blog to discover the peculiar origins of the Christmas turkey and why it’s not quite as traditional as you might believe. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_single_ =”26873″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” css_animation=”none”][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text].
Yes, people in Turkey do eat turkey (the food), but not as commonly as in other countries like the United States. While turkey is not a traditional part of Turkish cuisine, it has become increasingly popular in recent years especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here’s a breakdown of what you need to know about turkey consumption in Turkey:
Traditionally:
- Not a staple: Turkey wasn’t traditionally a major part of Turkish cuisine. Other meats like lamb, chicken, and beef were more commonly consumed.
- Special occasions: Turkey was sometimes served on special occasions, such as weddings or religious holidays.
Modern times:
- Growing popularity: Turkey has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially among younger generations and those influenced by Western culture.
- Availability: Whole turkeys can be found in some supermarkets, especially around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
- Restaurants: Many restaurants now offer turkey dishes on their menus, particularly during the holiday season.
- Home cooking: Some people cook turkey at home, especially for Thanksgiving or Christmas celebrations.
Here are some additional details to consider:
- Types of turkey: While whole turkeys are available, they are not as common as turkey parts like breasts, legs, and wings.
- Prices: Turkey can be more expensive than other meats in Turkey.
- Cooking methods: Turkish people typically roast, grill, or stew turkey.
- Flavor preferences: Turks often prefer their turkey with less seasoning than Americans, opting for simpler flavors.
Here are some resources where you can find more information about turkey in Turkey:
- Yabangee article: “Turkey Day in Turkey” provides tips on how to find and cook turkey for Thanksgiving in Turkey.
- Quora thread: “Do people eat Turkey (food) in Turkey?” discusses the popularity of turkey in Turkey and where to find it.
Are turkeys from Turkey?
Turkeys are not native to the UK, and nor do they originate in Turkey. In fact, the birds we know as turkeys today originate in the Americas. More than 2,000 years ago, pre-Aztec and Aztec peoples brought these animals under domestication and named them huehxolotls, considering them sacred. Turkeys were a plentiful food source, and their colorful plumage was used for arrows and decoration. Turkeys were connected to Tezcatlipoca, one of the main gods of the Aztec pantheon, who was occasionally observed to assume the form of a turkey.
It was after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, between 1519 and 1521, that turkeys were first brought from central America to Europe and introduced to European nobles. They were an instant hit, as they were larger than most common birds and exotic on account of their imported status.[/vc_column_text][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”2/3″][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text]While these turkeys were not from Turkey, much confusion was caused by the fact that at around the same time, the helmeted guinea fowl had arrived in England from traders in the Eastern Mediterranean who were then known as ‘Turkey merchants’. In fact, these birds were also not native to Turkey; they were from West Africa. Over time, it seems that these birds, briefly known as ‘the Turkey bird’, became conflated with the turkey from the Americas. In the 1550s, the person credited with bringing ‘turkey’ from the Americas to England, William Strickland, had ‘a turkey-cock in his pride proper‘ added to his coat of arms, and it very clearly resembles the turkeys we know as turkeys today. Indeed, this is thought to be the oldest surviving artistic depiction of a turkey in Europe’s art history.
Confusion over the turkey’s name and its historic origins can be traced throughout world languages. Translating to “from India” or “bird from India,” the bird’s name is used in France, Russia, and Poland. The term “Kalkoen” in Dutch refers to the Indian city of Calicut, which is now known as Kozhikode. It also influenced the Danish and Swedish words “Kalkun,” “Kalkon,” and “Kalakuna.” Meanwhile, the Malaysian name is ‘Ayam belanda’ (Dutch chicken) and the Portuguese is ‘Peru’. Something that unites all these names is that the turkey is almost always a bird from somewhere else. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/3″][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_single_ =”26877″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”img_link_large” css_animation=”none”][vc_empty_space height=”16px”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text].
When did turkey join the Christmas menu?
Before the Reformation and the separation of the Church of England from Rome in the reign of King Henry VIII (an event that had major repercussions for our town, Reading, and its royal abbey), England celebrated many Catholic feast days with varying amounts of food and revelry. Christmas was enjoyed like most other feast days and it wasn’t marked by a specific meat taking pride of place on the table. For example, there are records of monks spending money on expensive spices at Christmas for use in their usual meals of pies, fish, and offal. Contemporaneous wealthy households would serve up a trencher: a meaty stew in a hollowed-out loaf of bread. There may have been something special like a boar’s head or a goose, but this was more a display of wealth than a true Christmas dish. In Henry VIII’s palace, a Christmas feast could feature geese, chicken, beef, boars, swans, and peacocks.
Throughout the 16th century, turkey began to appear in Christmas dinners. Turkeys were becoming a staple of the Christmas dinner table, according to Tudor poet and farmer Thomas Tusser, who noted in 1573 that they were becoming more and more popular in English menus: [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”16px”] Good bread Biefe, mutton, & porke, shred pyes of the best, pig, veale, goose & capon, & Turkey wel drest. [vc_empty_space height=”16px”][vc_column_text] Growing English turkey rearing during this time, particularly in Norfolk and eastern England, contributed to its popularity. The land was suitable and it was within a reasonable distance of London. There are still some Norfolk Black turkeys on some farms in the UK, and they are thought to be the oldest breed. Some of these birds were even brought to the Americas, where they were crossed with native species to create the majority of the commercial varieties with dark feathers that are familiar to us today. Unbeknownst to them, many of the pilgrims brought turkeys with them from their native North America.
Later, in Georgian times, the turkey featured in another extravagant Christmas meal: ‘the Christmas Pye’ or the Turducken. One recipe can be found in Hannah Glasse’s well-known cookbook, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Simple. It involved stuffing a turkey with pie crust, meat from rabbits, woodcock, moor fowl, and any other “wild-fowl you can get,” and then putting a pigeon in a partridge, a partridge in a fowl, and a fowl in a goose. After its release, this cookbook enjoyed over a century of popularity in both England and the Thirteen Colonies of America. It was written in plain English so that servants could use it to make delicious, extravagant meals. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text].
Why Do We Eat Turkey During the Holidays?
FAQ
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