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As Thanksgiving ebbs into memory and Christmas looms on the horizon, Eat This Podcast concerns itself with the turkey. For a nomenclature nerd, the turkey is a wonderful bird. Why would a bird from America be named after a country on the edge of Asia? The Latin name offers a clue; the American turkey is Meleagris gallopavo, while the African guineafowl is Numida meleagris. But why did the first settlers adopt a name they were already familiar with, rather than adopt a local indigenous name such as nalaaohki pileewa for the native fowl. Simple answer: nobody knows.
Then there’s the question of how a somewhat shy bird of the underbrush turned into the monstrous spectacle that graces holiday tables? And why is Rockingham County, Virginia, the turkey capital of the world? That last question is actually rather easy to answer, as I learned from Nancy Sorrells, a local historian in Rockingham County. The domestication question, however, is far from simple. Greg Laden, a biological anthropologist and science writer, did his best to explain it all. And at the end of the day, I confess, I prefer goose.
Notes
- Of course Wikipedia has a List of names for turkeys.
- The Main Squeeze (James Madison University alumna) clued me in to the crucial role of Rockingham County in the turkey story, which led me straight to Nancy Sorrells’ article
- Greg Laden writes at Science Blogs, and elsewhere.
- You surely don’t need to be told that the Turkey Trot was performed by Little Eva.
- Samuel H. Blosser, pioneer of artificial incubation, lived to be very nearly 90.
- Banner photograph modified from an image by Don DeBold.
I am extremely grateful to Tom Nealon for giving me a reason this year not to republish my previous podcasts about turkey and Thanksgiving. He has written a choice round-up of many things turkey that is bound to lift the gloom that sometimes hangs over leftovers.
That secret, and many more, in Tom’s piece.
I know, too, as a solo podcaster, that I must not ignore this opportunity for self-promotion (or marketing) so:
Tom Nealon’s podcast here: Mistaken about mayonnaise — and many other foods
My first crack at the topic: A partial history of the turkey
Further and better particulars: Another helping of turkey
The icing on the cake (a metaphor too far): What a bunch of turkeys
As for our celebrations, for the second year in a row we went with beef cheeks stracotto, and all present agreed: All Hail a new Thanksgiving tradition.
Photograph by Don DeBold.
Traditionally, in the US at least, today is a day for revisiting favourite dishes consumed only on Thanksgiving. We’re no different. Here’s
Traditionally, in the US at least, today is a day for revisiting favourite dishes consumed only on Thanksgiving. We’re no different. Here’s
Recent work in Mexico shoes turkeys domesticated by 1500 years ago (400 – 500 ACE.)
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