A HOLIDAY TRADITION

by Janette Mitchell
Missouri College Media Award: Third Place, Special Section

November is the month that marks the beginning of the holiday season. On the fourth Thursday of November, mother across the country strategically plan the picture perfect Thanksgiving feast.

That’s right, the very same mom that established the “fend-for-yourself” night once a week in a desperate attempt to reclaim her sanity. On Thanksgiving, we feast, and are grateful for the harvest that we purchased from the grocery store.

It is undeniable that turkey is a Thanksgiving icon, a giant inflatable turkey meandering in the streets of New York, cartoon turkeys, turkey napkins, Tofurkey (tofu turkey), fried turkey, smoked turkey, barbequed turkey, golden roasted turkey, wild turkey, just to name a few. Some people have turkey, some have duck, and some have chicken, and then there are those who stuff a chicken into a duck and the duck into a turkey, which they call Turducken. Ninety percent of American homes serve turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. The death toll is 45 million birds and 768,000 tons of green beans, an American tradition with the fowl taste of excess.

The majority of the population is lethargic by sundown, and one has to wonder whether Thanksgiving could be considered a national security risk. The post-feast nap has in recent years been blamed on Tryptophan, an amino acid in turkey that helps the human body produce B vitamins that in turn produce serotonin, a calming agent. Tryptophan supplements were banned by the FDA almost 20 years ago due to an outbreak in 1989 of eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS) that caused 37 deaths. Recently a new and improved supplement has been allowed on the market aimed at controlling appetite, mood and sleep. The real culprit, though, is not Tryptophan but a huge meal packed with carbohydrates.

Remember safe kitchen practices: avoid cross contamination by washing everything that comes into contact with the bird, especially hands. If stuffing the bird, do so immediately before cooking and make sure the internal temperature of the stuffing reaches 165 degrees. The turkey should cook until the thickest part of the thigh is at 180 degrees, and only use the leftover meat for up to 4 days. So the following week stop with the turkey sandwiches.

Turkey is sometimes served at Christmas dinners as well but throughout the rest of the year, turkey’s popularity tends to fall. The turkey could have been a national icon of a different sort when the Continental Congress of 1872 was deciding on a design for the nation’s great seal. The eagle won his place on the seal, and the turkey won a place on the table.

In comparing the two birds in a letter to his daughter Benjamin Franklin wrote this befitting statement, “…For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true Native of America….”

Special Section: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year