Need to break the ice over Thanksgiving Day dinner? Here’s a little Thanksgiving trivia for your friends and family to chew on.
It Wasn’t Always Turkey Day
There’s actually no proof that the English colonists and Native Americans ate turkey at the first Thanksgiving.
The best existing account of the event comes from one of the colonists, whose first-hand account included no direct reference to turkey. He did, however, mention the Pilgrims gathering “wild fowl.” And Wampanoag Indians were said to have brought five deer with them to the party.
Lots of fish and shellfish were probably on the menu as well, since these were staples of the Pilgrims’ diets.
Turkeys Are Named After the Country (Sort of)
The large bird doesn’t actually hail from the country Turkey, but there is a connection.
During the Ottoman Empire, a bird called the guinea fowl was imported to Europe by Turkish traders. So Europeans began to call these birds “turkeys.”
When American settlers began shipping similar-looking birds to Europe, the name stuck. (The following video clip explains the origins of all the turkey’s various names.)
There’s Always Room for Tofu
Tofu turkeys — those one-time dubious creations of baked tofu shaped to resemble the iconic Thanksgiving bird — have become the go-to alternative for many vegetarians.
The tofu turkey was created by vegetarian chef Gary Abramowitz in 1990. He molded a 14-pound block of bean curd into the shape of a turkey, which he then marinated and roasted. The first couple of years Abramowitz made his faux meat just for himself and few friends. In 1992 he began marketing the product by word of mouth to local store owners.
Then the Wall Street Journal published an article about his tofu turkeys the day before Thanksgiving, and “the crowd went crazy,” Abramowitz said. “We had calls from Israel, Moscow.”
These days, more than 400,000 tofu turkeys are sold during the holiday season.
Whether your feast is traditional, alternative, or something in between…
Your Friends at AG Law
Wish You and Your Family a
Happy Thanksgiving!
Our Friends
Who Celebrate
Hanukkah!
Sources:
Featured Image: Pixabay
Smithsonian Magazine
JSTOR Daily