A Yorkshireman's Discovery (your welcome)

Over 500 years ago, a Yorkshireman Bill Strickland played a pivotal role in bringing the turkey to Britain. As a lieutenant for explorer Sebastian Cabot during the voyage of discovery to the 'New World' in 1526, Strickland and his crew encountered the turkey among their discoveries. Being a canny Yorkshire man he spotted an opportunity, and bought three breeding pairs from American Indian traders.

The Rise of Turkeys

Before turkeys found their way onto British Christmas feasts were centred around goose, boar's head, and even peacocks.

However, the arrival of turkeys revolutionised the culinary landscape. Farmers soon realised that these birds could provide not just a sumptuous Christmas dinner but also other profitable products.

King Henry VIII is believed to have been one of the first English monarchs to consume turkey in the 16th century, but it was Edward VII who popularised eating turkey at Christmas. The bird's transformation from a luxury item to a mainstay on the holiday menu took about six decades, making its regular appearance possible due to refrigeration becoming more widespread in the 1950s.

Turkey: More than Meets the Eye

Beyond being just large chickens, turkeys boast an evolutionary history spanning over 45 million years. Young turkeys are known as poults, and their genders carry unique monikers - males are stags, and females are hens. While wild turkeys can fly at impressive speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, domesticated turkeys are unable to take to the skies. The distinctive fleshy growth on a turkey's neck is called a wattle, while males also sport a fleshy appendage, known as a snood, which becomes vibrant red when they're feeling amorous.

Turkey: Beyond the Festive Table

Turkeys have even made history beyond the dinner table. Roast turkey was the inaugural meal consumed on the moon by Neil Armstrong

Most of us (87%) in the UK think Christmas would not be Christmas without a roast turkey dinner with pigs in blankets and all the trimmings on the table.

But why turkey?

Whats so special about turkeys? They were first introduced in Britain more than 500 years ago by a fellow Yorkshire man  William Strickland, born nr Bridlington.

Strickland, a lieutenant for the explorer Sebastian Cabot, on the famous voyage of discovery to the ‘New World'. In 1526 one of the things they found was the turkey.

The shrewed Yorkshire man Strickland spotted an opportunity and bought six birds from American Indian traders. 

Before that, people's roast of choice for Christmas lunch was goose, boars' head, and even peacocks.

But as soon as turkeys arrived in this country, farmers realised that the animals they were killing for their Christmas dinner could be used to provide other, more profitable foods.

We think Henry VIII was the first English king to eat turkey in the 16th century, but it was Edward VII who made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas.

Turkey has only been regular feature at the Christmas dinner table for the last 60 years.

Until the 1950s, it was too expensive and considered a luxury; then as refrigerators became commonplace, we could all store them.

Turkey facts:

Turkeys are more than just big chickens–more than 45 million years of evolution separates the two species.

A young turkey is called a poult.

A male turkey is a stag and a female is a hen.

Wild turkeys can fly at speeds of up to 55 miles per hour, but domesticated turkeys can't fly.

The fleshy growth on a turkey's neck is called a wattle.

Male turkeys also have a fleshy appendage which hangs down from the nose, called a snood.

When a stag is feeling amorous, his wattle and snood glows bright red.

Roast turkey was the first meal eaten on the moon by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.

Back in the 1930s, the average person had to work for a whole week to be able to buy a turkey.

Now it only takes 3 hours work at minimum wage should just about cover it.

In the UK  we get through aabout 10 million turkeys every year.

It’s only really us here in the UK and in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that turkey is the main festive meat of choice;

It's eaten in other countries, including many in south and central America, but not at Christmas across the rest of Europe.

In Portugal, the typical Christmas animal is cod. were the Germans prefer wild boar or venison.

In Sweden the average Christmas feast would include caviar, shellfish, cooked and raw fish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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