Most Americans eagerly anticipate gobbling down at least one turkey dinner during the winter holidays. It�s the festive feast the Pilgrims cut their teeth on, and the image of the golden brown bird crowning the dining room table has carved many a childhood memory in the USA. The turkey is so American that Benjamin Franklin jokingly campaigned for it to become our national bird instead of the bald eagle (which he considered a bird of bad moral character). He further reasoned the respectable turkey was "a true original native of America."
Franklin�s account of the turkey�s heritage was correct, but in a much broader sense than he assumed. The America that turkeys first called home wasn�t near Franklin in Philadelphia. In fact, by the time the great statesman was championing the turkey, the bird had hitchhiked around the globe and had found its way back to America for the second time.
Turkeys were originally from the mountains of the central plateau of Mexico, and by 200 B.C. they were one of the first animals in this hemisphere to be domesticated. The Aztecs were among the earliest turkey fans who considered them so important, they dedicated two religious festivals a year to the birds. During the celebration, turkey eggshells which had been saved for months were strewn upon the streets to honor the god who favored them with such a plentiful source of food. All year round, it was not uncommon for over 1000 turkeys a day to be sold in a busy Aztec market.
Appreciation for the turkey was also evident in the Mayan culture where parts of the bird were used in sacred ceremonies. Its popularity among other tribes grew, and the turkey population had spread far beyond Mexico by the time the first European explorers set foot there. In North America, tribes like the Navajo first encountered wild turkeys after they had trouble keeping the hungry birds away from the scanty crops they had scratched out of the desert. Losing the battle to bar them from the cornfields, they decided instead to feed the turkeys and fence them in. By barging in and refusing to leave, the invading turkeys unwittingly provided a controlled source of protein and ornamental feathers. Instead of pests, they became symbols of friendship and providence.
Wild turkeys spread to the Northeast where nomadic Indians did not bother to domesticate the bird who enjoyed the abundant vegetation and thrived without agricultural welfare. Tribes like the Wampanoags hunted wild turkeys with bows and arrows. When the Mayflower landed and hungry European settlers began to search for food, the Northeastern Indians shared their knowledge of hunting turkeys with the pilgrims.
There has been some debate about whether or not turkeys were
consumed at the first Thanksgiving banquet because Plymouth�s Governor Bradford
didn't plan for them on the menu. However, the feast was repeated annually, and
the turkey was a key course thereafter.
Wild turkeys were eagerly devoured by the pilgrims who were already well
acquainted with the flavor. Like other Europeans, they had developed a taste for
turkeys after Spanish and Portuguese explorers brought them back home with a
number of other New World foods. Unlike the tomato, avocado and potato which
were initially considered poisonous, the turkey was an instant hit - most likely
because it resembled another recent import from Africa, the guinea hen.
Guinea hens were well known in ancient Greece and Rome, but were forgotten after the Roman Empire fell and trade came to a standstill. The bird, which resembles a shorter, plumper turkey was reintroduced to Europe through Turkish traders about the same time American turkeys made landfall in the Old World. When the Turks began to market the American bird as well, the English gave up trying to pronounce the African and Native American names for the birds and began to call both species turkeys after the source of their supply. Turkeys were referred to as �cock of India� in France - referring not to the continent, but to the New Indies; and adding to the confusion, turkeys in Germany were referred to as hens of Calcutta. Regardless of what it was called, the turkey soon replaced the stringy peacock as the bird of choice at banquets where it was ceremoniously served with all its plumage intact. Turkeys were domesticated all over the continent, and European cookbooks offered dozens of turkey recipes by the end of the sixteenth century.
Although the pilgrims dined upon wild turkey, it was the European, domesticated White Holland turkey imported back to America which became the foundation of this country�s turkey industry. Commercial turkey breeding took off in the 1800�s after much of the wild turkey population was eliminated by hunters. To prevent extinction, the federal government began protecting the wild turkey after World War II, but by that time the only turkeys most Americans ate came from their local grocer.
Since the 1930�s, when the annual per capita consumption of turkeys was only 1.7 pounds, Americans have increased their turkey gobbling to 20 pounds of turkey per year. It�s now enjoyed year round, thanks in part to the National Turkey Federation whose promotions like "June is Turkey Lovers Month" have broadened turkey�s appeal beyond holiday fare. Americans cozied up to the bird offering a bargain at the supermarket and a boon to the heart healthy diet to which we all aspire. Various parts of the turkey are now sold far more frequently than the whole bird, and turkey salad, sandwiches and soup are not just Thanksgiving leftovers anymore.
As pervasive as it has become, and despite its globetrotting, the turkey still maintains its American symbolism. From the pueblos and Plymouth to the modern Thanksgiving meals binding people together nationwide, the turkey continues to draw our heartfelt appreciation. Perhaps Ben Franklin was right after all.
Chef Jim Coleman is the Executive Chef at Coleman Restaurant at Normandy Farm in Blue Bell, PA. Chef Jim Coleman is one of America's only multi-media celebrity chefs, and his Flavors of America on national public television continues to be a major hit across the country.