Atlantica - 01.12.2006, Page 26

24 AT L A N T I CA
By Eliza Reid
TURKEY DELIGHTS
The proud turkey is celebrated at festivals throughout the world, particularly
on its native continent, North America. The Strathroy Hometown Turkey
Festival is an annual party for the turkey held on the third weekend in June in
the small town of Strathroy in Ontario, Canada. The 20-year-old festival sees
about 40,000 visitors every year, some of whom come from as far away as the
southern US.
SHT Festival-goers watch musical concerts and join the fairground rides, but
the highlight is, of course, the turkey. “We serve turkey burgers all weekend
and an old-fashioned turkey dinner on the Sunday with mashed potatoes
and pumpkin pie,” says Brett Denning, head of the festival’s promotion.
The “turkey egg drop” is another popular event, in which contestants
compete to see who can catch a huge turkey egg dropped from the highest
point. And a tent is set up with hundreds of fluffy baby turkeys for children
to pick up and cuddle, probably before they also enjoy them in the turkey
burger at the next year’s festival.
The festival is put on by the Lions Club and sponsored by Cuddy Farms,
which is based in Strathroy and, according to Denning, is the biggest turkey
producer in the world. turkeyfest.ca
Indulge… IN TURK Y
In commemoration of the season, we bring details you never thought
you’d need to know about the noble great bird
of North America, the turkey.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
TURKEY: AN AMERICAN STORY by food historian Andrew F. Smith, the man who
brought you The Tomato in America and The Peanut, is a footnote-filled academic
work on all things fair and fowl (pardon the pun) about this popular bird.
The first half of the book presents a history of the turkey in “ten courses”,
with chapter titles like “How the Turkey Conquered America” and “How the
Wild Turkey Came to a Fowl Ending”. The book’s second half is devoted to over
100 ancient and modern recipes for turkey, like turkey cutlets, turkeys’ livers en
brochette and even a vegetarian “mock turkey”.
Turkey: An American Story undoubtedly has more detail that any layman
would think they’d want to know about this feathered creature, but Smith’s
prose is remarkably enthusiastic and entertaining.
TURKEY TIDBITS
If conversation around the roast turkey gets a little slow this holiday season, try
impressing your dinner companions with these little gems:
Ω The world’s largest turkey farm belongs to Bernard Matthews plc in Norfolk,
England. It produces one million turkeys annually.
Ω Vincent Pilkington of County Cavan, Republic of Ireland, has the world
record for fastest turkey plucking, coming in at 1 minute 30 seconds. This record
was set back in November 1980.
Ω According to the website of the National Turkey Federation (US), former
American President Benjamin Franklin was disappointed when the bald eagle
was chosen over the turkey as the official bird of the United States. Franklin
wrote that, “I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative
of our country! The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true
original native of America.”
Ω Turkeys have approximately 3,500 feathers at maturity. There have been
turkeys for over 10 million years.
Ω The name “turkey” comes from European confusion over the country where
the animal originated. It’s a North American creature, but the French called it
dinde, an adaptation of the term d’Inde, literally meaning “from India”. Judging
by the English word for this creature, the British also misjudged the animal’s
country of origin. a

For a twist on traditional turkey, try this “Christmas Dinner Soup” recipe
from the New Covent Garden Food Co’s new book Soup for all Seasons.
Preheat oven to 190ºC.
Roll the stuffing into 12 balls then cook in the oven for approximately
20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and keep to one side. Soak the
dried cranberries in boiling water for 15 minutes, then drain and put to
one side.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the leek, celery and onion then cook for
5 minutes, or until softened. Add the stock, bay leaf and thyme, cover
and simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Remove the
herbs and blend until smooth. Return to the pan, add the cream, turkey
and cranberries, then season to taste. Reheat gently for 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Place the stuffing balls in the center of the serving
bowl, ladle the soup over and serve. Serves four.
200 g (7 oz) ready-made stuffing
15 g (1/2 oz) dried cranberries
25 g (1 oz) butter
1 leek, finely sliced
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
750 ml (26 fl oz) chicken stock
1 bay leaf
A few sprigs fresh thyme
100 ml (7 fl oz) single cream
200 g (7 oz) cooked turkey, diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
COOKIN’ UP A STORM
on the fly
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