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Turkey as a symbolized holiday food for Thanksgiving in the United States is an excellent high-protein, low-fat food good for weigh-loss diet. Turkey is also the traditional meat used for Christmas dinner.

About Turkey

Turkey is a large bird from the genus Meleagris. There are two living species of large bird in this genus; one is Meleagris gallopavo also known as the Wild Turkey. The Wild Turkey is the descendant of Domestic Turkey, which is a large poultry bird raised for food. The other species is Meleagris ocellata also known as the Ocellated Turkey.

The turkey has brown features with buff-colored feathers on the tips of the wing and on the tail. The male turkey is called a ‘tom’. It is bigger and brighter with more colorful plumage. Also it has a long wattle (a fleshy, wrinkled, brightly colored fold of skin hanging from the neck or throat)  at the base of its bill and additional wattles on the neck, as well as a prominent tuft of bristles resembling a beard projecting downward from its chest. The female is called a ‘hen’ and is generally smaller and drab in color.

The long fleshy skin that hangs over a turkey’s beak is called a snood. The color of a wild turkey’s naked head and neck area can change blue when mating. When turkeys reach maturity they can have as many as 3,500 feathers.Wild turkeys can run up to 55 miles an hour.

History:

The history of this festive food dates back to 1526 when William Strickland introduced this meat to the UK.  He imported six turkeys from America and sold them for tuppence each.  People at the time found turkey to be a tasty, practical and cheaper alternative to other livestock such as cows (which could be used to produce milk if kept alive) and chickens (which were expensive at the time).  Henry VIII is believed to have been the first person in the UK to eat
turkey on Christmas day.  Following its introduction the popularity of turkey steadily increased and people started to follow Henry VIII’s trend of eating this meat on Christmas day.

Midway through the twentieth century it overtook goose as the most popular Christmas dinner meat in the UK and during Christmas 2008 around 10 million turkeys were eaten by people in this country.

Turkey & Thanksgiving

The celebration of Thanksgiving will be incomplete without the legendary Turkey. It derives its name from the ‘turk turk’ sounds it makes when scared. Turkey was at one time being considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin felt that turkey was the right choice because it was a good runner and had a sharp sight. A bald eagle later became the national symbol of America.

The famous ‘Turkey’ adorns the table of every household as a main course during the celebration. The customary dinner reminds of the ‘Four Wild Turkeys’ served at the ‘First Thanksgiving Feast’.

It is said, that pilgrims had a feast consisting of cooked turkey after their first harvest in the year 1621, which popularly came to be known as ‘First Thanksgiving Feast’. It continued for three days and included ninety Indians. There is however no evidence to prove that turkey was cooked during the first feast. It could have been Venison-flesh of a deeror wild goose meat.

According to folklore Queen Elizabeth of 16th century England was chewing a roast goose during a harvest festival. During the meal, she got to know that the Spanish Armada, on its way to attack England had sunk. In the joy of good news, she ordered for a second goose. Goose became a favourite bird at harvest time in England. However, when the pilgrims arrived in America, they replaced the roasted goose with roasted turkey as main course as it was easier to find and in plenty.
National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation

National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation is a ceremony that takes place at the White House every year. The President of the United States is presented with a live domestic turkey, usually of the Broad Breasted White variety. Generally the National Turkey Federation and the Poultry and Egg National Board are involved. Since 1989 during the first Thanksgiving of President George H. W. Bush, the president has granted the turkey a “presidential pardon” and thus spared the bird from being slaughtered.

From 2005 to 2009, the pardoned turkeys were sent to either the Disneyland Resort in California or the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, where they serve as the honorary grand marshals of Disney’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2010, the turkeys were sent to live at Mount Vernon, the estate and home of George Washington.