Did you know that around two-thirds of us will be sitting down to turkey this Christmas? And, nutritionally speaking, it’s one of the healthiest meats to eat – which is just as well when you think of all the side dishes that usually get served alongside it!
We have a great feature coming up in “The People’s Friend” December 8 bumper issue, “6 Good Reasons To Eat Turkey”, which explains why this meat is so good for us. Along with this our health writer, Colleen Shannon, has also gathered helpful advice from the Food Standards Agency on festive food safety.
In the meantime, here are five facts courtesy of British Turkey to whet your appetite.
- It’s believed Henry VIII was the first royal to have turkey on the table, but Edward VII made it the fashionable choice to eat at Christmas. Prior to this it was more common to serve up roast swan or pheasant.
- Turkey was regarded as a luxury up until the 1950s and in 1930 it would take a week’s wage to pay for a turkey, compared to just 1.7 hours today.
- 10 million turkeys were consumed in the UK last Christmas alone.
- The bird does not come from Turkey as the name may suggest, but rather Mexico!
- Here’s one to test on the family . . . what’s a male turkey called? [Answer: a stag]
If you’re serving up turkey this year and are looking for advice, there are lots of helpful tips such as what size of bird to buy and how long to cook it for at www.britishturkey.co.uk/facts-and-figures/faq.html
Yvonne McKenzie I work on the Features team and admit to being nosy, so I love looking after the Between Friends letters and finding out all about our lovely readers. I also look after our health copy and enjoy writing about inspiring people that help make the articles in the magazine so interesting.
