Did you know that turkeys don't originally come from turkey?No, they actually come from Mexico. The confusion arose due to the fact that they were introduced into central Europe by Turkish merchants.
Just to add to the confusion, because America had been discovered by explorers seeking an alternative route to India and the East, other nations named the bird assuming it was of Indian descent.
In France the turkey was called coq d'Inde, (now corrupted to dindon). In Italy, turkey was galle d'India, in Germany the name was indianische henn, while throughout the Ottoman Empire it was called the hindi.
Other tasty morsels of information like this can be found in 'What is Myrrh Anyway?' out this October from Icon Books.
But to keep you amused until then, why not take part in a festively-themed turkey shoot, by clicking this link?
2 comments:
Nice facts on the origins of Turkey. But what I want to know is...how did mince pies get to be so associated with Christmas? A mince pie is a great pie and we should eat it more during the rest of the year...how come the mincemeat only comes out at Christmas? And, come to think of it, why is it called mincemeeat when there's no meat in it?
Hi Amy
Ahh... the mince pie. Have no fear all we be revealed come October.
Actually, I may post a few teaser snippets a bit before that, just to whet your appetite (as it were) still further.
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