22. The Turkey - An American Story by Andrew F. Smith

BOOK REVIEW: The Turkey – An American Story by Andrew F. Smith

‘Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way...’ Everyone loves that time of the year where festive cheer abounds and family dinner tables are laden with dishes cooked specially for the season. Yes folks, I’m talking about Christmas. Never would a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner be complete without the revered roast turkey with all the stuffings and a piquant cranberry sauce. Have you ever wondered where this much hunted bird originated from or maybe what are the dishes cooked with this fluffy creature? Flip through these pages and you may just get your doubts answered.

Fondly regarded as the centrepiece of festive family reunions, the turkey is a cultural symbol as well as a multi-billion-dollar industry. As a bird, dinner, commodity and national icon, the turkey has become as American as the bald eagle, with which it competed for supremacy on the nation’s insignia.

Food historian Andrew F. Smith’s sweeping and multifaceted history of Meleagris gallopavo separates fact from fiction, serving as both a solid historical reference and a fascinating general read. With characteristic wit and insatiable curiosity, the author presents the turkey in 10 courses, beginning with the bird itself (actually, several species of it) in the wild. This book subsequently includes discussions of practically every aspect of the icon, including its arrival in early America, how it came to be called “turkey”, its domestication and mating habits, the expansion of the bird’s territory into Europe, conditions in modern turkey processing plants, and the surprising boom-or-bust cycles in turkey husbandry.

The bird’s ascension to holiday mainstay – and the techniques of stuffing – are also discussed. As one of the easiest foods to cook, the turkey’s culinary possibilities have been widely explored if little noted. The second half of this book is a collection of more than a 100 historical and modern turkey recipes from across America and Europe.

With details on making everything from sandwiches to salmagundi, The Turkey provides a look back at the varied appetites of our ancestors and gives seasoned cooks an opportunity to reintroduce a familiar food in previously forgotten ways. Gobble, gobble!