The Twelve Ingredients of A Christmas Dinner - Turkey

The Twelve Ingredients of A Christmas Dinner - Turkey

The domesticated turkey body that you have either frozen in the freezer, defrosting in the fridge, roasted in the oven or stripped on the day after Boxing Day is descended from the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). This species is found in North America and is the heaviest member of the Galliformes family.

It was domesticated over 2,000 years ago by the inhabitants of the Mexican states of Guerrero, Jalisco and Veracruz. This bird was imported by the Spanish as the bird's flesh and eggs were used for protein, whereas the feathers were used by the Aztecs for decoration. It is thought that in the 16th Century, William Strickland (an English navigator) introduced the turkey to England.

There are eight varieties of birds (including Black and Bronze) recognised by the American Poultry Association and a further seven varieties (including Buff and Midget White) to be recognised, this list can be found here.

A report on Turkey and Goose production (completed in 2007) for Defra reported that two companies, Bernard Matthews Farms and Cranberry Foods, dominate the all year round market and there were approximately 600 smaller seasonal producers in 2006. This year brought 17 million turkeys into existence with 10 million being used in the seasonal period, which equated to 184 tonnes of turkey meat produced in the UK with another 48,000 tonnes being imported. This industry contributes £365 million to the UK economy.

The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy published "How To Raise Heritage Turkeys On Pasture" and despite the turkey being a hardy bird that can be easily managed; its growth can be hampered by 9 different types of deformities, injuries, behavioural and situational problems including Bumblefoot as well as 32 diseases and parasites including Newcastle Disease. Amazing to see it on the dining room table.

The Twelve Ingredients of A Christmas Dinner - Chestnuts

The Twelve Ingredients of A Christmas Dinner - Chestnuts

The Sweet Chestnut (Castanea sativa) is a fast growing tree that reaches a mature height of around thirty feet (nine metres); the plant was introduced from Sardis, Turkey where the nut was used as a carbohydrate substitute when the cereal crop harvests failed. Eastern USA had four billion trees in the early 1900's but by 1940 a blight had wiped a great number of them reducing the potential for cross-pollination.

The fresh chestnut, the fruit (nut) not the wood, is calculated to be about 180 calories per 100 grams - lower than almonds and walnuts; it contains no cholesterol, little fat (and mostly as unsaturated) and no gluten. The carbohydrate level is of a par to wheat and rice and no reason why it acted as a carbohydrate source for many medieval communities. It contains twice the amount of starch than potatoes and eight percent of the nut is made up of five sugars (fructose, glucose, raffinose, stachyose and sucrose). It also contains 40 milligrams of Vitamin C per 100 grams. (Source)

As stated above, the tree originated in Turkey but gained European status through the help of invading armies. Alexander the Great and various Roman armies planted these trees during their campaigns to create food supplies, much, later in the campaigns. In 2011, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Americans spent $20 million importing chestnuts from Europe and Asia.

The chestnuts can be brewed for beer, milled for flour, roasted and sold in the street. I recommend not to eat them raw, as I found out to my cost, when I was on traffic light duty in the mid 90's - I felt a bit like a horse with colic, I am guessing.

The chestnut trees can also be coppiced to form fencing spials and posts as well as using the more mature trees for furniture making. 

So if you have gluten intolerant guests for Christmas, why not give them a cabbage, chestnut and hazlenut salad or a chestnut crepe, some recipes can be found here.