[Sca-cooks] Turkeys

[wheezul at canby.com]

> The Aztecs had domesticated turkeys (M. gallopavo gallopavo AKA South
> Mexican Wild Turkey) and it was from this stock that the first turkeys
> were
> imported into Europe.  We don't know how widespread raising turkeys was,
> so
> the introduction of the turkey into Europe could have occurred from about
> 1510 to 1528 (Cortez's first return to Spain).  The actual date is likely
> between 1520 and 1527, after the Spanish took over the Aztec empire.  The
> key point is the turkey was already being farmed and it was introduced as
> an
> animal to be farmed.
>
> There is at least one record of a farmer being paid to raise turkeys for a
> noble table.  And there is a record of expenses for one on Catherine de
> Medici's feasts where the turkeys were priced much lower than any of the
> large wild birds (I covered this in more detail some time ago, so the
> reference may already be in the Florilegium).
>
> At least one source has stated that the English brought domesticated
> turkeys
> to the New World before they encountered the Eastern Woodland Turkey (M.
> gallopavo silvestris).  I haven't traced that back to a contemporary
> reference yet.
>
> Bear

I've been making my way through "Household Accounts and Disbursement Books
of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1558-1561, 1584-1586" edited by Simon
Adams.  I have not read all of it quite yet, but there is at least one
entry for a payment to a person for a turkey.

I wish these were actually the bills for the kitchen, and although those
records were kept elsewhere in a day book type register, there are many
references in the disbursements to seasonal foods that were delivered, and
also mention of hiring messengers to deliver food items to the court. 
There is record of hiring a foreign cook, and also the payments to the
cooking staff. An interesting bit is a listing of 'rewards' given to the
Queen's household staff which includes the different offices of the
kitchen.  I found it useful to know that there was a privy bakehouse and a
great bakehouse in the Queen's household.

I thought to pass this reference on to anyone who might be interested in
investigating this potential Elizabethan era resource.

Katherine B