| This is part 12 of
14 facts associated with THANKSGIVING. This is an all American holiday. Although the US
and Canada celebrate the day on different dates, the purpose is the same. |
Part 12The Traditional Main Dish?
— Turkey:
Roast turkey in many European countries has long been a
customary Christmas dish. In the United States the bird is especially associated with the
holiday of Thanksgiving. Just how the turkey became associated with Thanksgiving is
unknown. Perhaps the Pilgrims and Indians of Plymouth enjoyed a turkey during their three
day feast, perhaps not.
The common turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, is a native game bird of North America. The wild
turkey prefers woodlands near water. It eats seeds, insects, and an occasional frog. When
alarmed it may run rapidly to cover, but it can fly strongly only for short distances of
about 1/4 mile or less. Adult male turkeys have a naked, heavily carunculated, or bumpy,
head. This head is is normally bright red in color but turns to white overlaid with bright
blue when the birds are excited. The common turkey also has a long red fleshy ornament
called a snood that grows from the forehead over the bill. The turkey also displays a
fleshy wattle of reddish folds of skin growing from the throat and generally prominent leg
spurs.
The male turkey (gobbler or tom) may be 50 inches long and weigh 22 pounds, though the
average weight is less. Female turkeys (hens) generally weigh only half as much as the
males and have less warty heads than do the males. In courtship display the male spreads
his tail, droops his wings and shakes the quills audibly, retracts his head, struts about,
and utters rapid gobbling sounds. He assembles a harem, and each hen lays 8-15 brownish
spotted eggs in a hollow in the ground. The young (poults) hatch in 28 days.
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When the first settlers came to North America there were about 10 million
wild turkeys here. Though native to America, the turkey was not unknown to the European
settlers. Domestication of the common turkey was probably begun by the Indians of Pre-Colombian
Mexico. These domesticated birds were first taken to Spain around 1519. From Spain they
spread throughout Europe, reaching England in 1541. When the bird became popular in
England, the name turkey-cock, was attached to it. This name was previously used by the
English for the guinea fowl of "Turkish" lands. English colonists then
introduced European-bred strains of the turkey to eastern North America in the 17th
century.
The formerly abundant American wild turkey was diminished in numbers due to hunting and
destruction of habitat. M. gallopavo has recently come back well under various state game
management programs in the United States. Still, today most turkeys that grace the Holiday
table are domesticated varieties. Domesticated strains of the turkey may be much heavier
than the wild Turkey. Turkeys were mainly bred for their beautifully colored plumage until
about 1935, after which the breeding emphasis changed to their meat qualities. Until
recent years, and the emphasis on low fat foods, the turkey was solely a seasonal food
found only at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Today ground turkey, rolled turkey breasts and
turkey parts can be found at all seasons of the year.
Late News - More turkey facts
The biggest turkey known to man
weighed in at 86 pounds. He was raised in the United Kingdom.
The wild turkey is one of the world's fastest birds. Wild turkeys
can fly for short distances at speeds up to 55 miles an hour. But they
prefer to have their feet on the ground, where they can run nearly 30
miles an hour. Domesticated turkeys are not so light on their feet
and they can not fly. |
