SC - Fw: [TY] 3 popular misconceptions about Thanksgiving

[Christine A Seelye-King]

This came off of our Kingdom List, and I thought it was interesting.
Christianna

- --------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "RANDALL DIAMOND" <ringofkings at mindspring.com>
To: <TY at reashelm.ce.utk.edu>
Date: Thu, 25 Nov 1999 10:08:55 -0600
Subject: [TY] 3 popular misconceptions about Thanksgiving
Message-ID: <MDAEMON-F199911251110.AA102226MD60817 at reashelm.ce.utk.edu>

Selina wrote:

>Date: Wed, 24 Nov 1999 07:54:13 CST
>From: "Selina Duval de Broome" <selina2636 at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Three popular misconceptions about Thanksgiving:

>Three popular misconceptions about Thanksgiving:

>snip

>- Turkeys originated in Turkey. No way. The English called it
>a turkey-cock, the same name they used for the guinea fowl
>that came from the Ottoman Empire. Colonists brought it over
>to America, where it became simply a turkey.

>- Turkeys have always been bred for their meat. Nah. Until the
>mid 1930s, it was their pretty plumage that people wanted
>most. However, it *is* true that they were never bred for
>their intelligence.

You are operating under more than three misconceptions
Selina.  Colonists did not bring it "over to America, where it 
became simply a turkey."  The turkey is and only is native
to North America.  Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat in her
HISTORY OF FOOD has some rather confused data on
the origins of the turkey but never confused it with the 
guinea-fowl or "turkey-cock".  While documents exist for
turkey as early as 1385, it was probably an unrelated bird
to what we call turkey. Turkey eggs came to Europe at
the very beginning of the 16th century, I think with the later
voyages of Columbus (certainly with Cortez).  The raising of 
these birds rapidly spread across Western Europe and 
very quickly replaced the peacock as the favoured (and 
flavoured) choice at sumptuous feasts.  The great hostess 
Catherine d' Medici served a large number of turkeys to 
her guests in a documented feast in 1553 (I recall the 
number of birds was around 70).  While the English did
not appreciate the bird too highly, the Italians certainly did.

While Europeans regarded the AMERICAN turkey as a species
closely related to the peacock and admired its very colourful
plumeage, they bred it for the meat!  Peacock is rather dry and
not particularly tasty.  The early turkey bred from wild American
birds tasted better than modern birds.  Selina, have you ever
had wild turkey meat?  It is excellent.  16th century bird breeders
were not stupid and quickly realized that turkeys were far superior
to peacock in meat production and popularity.  In a similar fashion,
chicken eggs are what we commonly have available rather than
duck or goose eggs because ducks and geese can not economically
compete in egg production.  For similar reasons, the peacock became
an occasional visual rather than culinary offering at feasts.  Turkey
is king!

Akim Yaroslavich

"No glory comes without pain"



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