The Christmas festive season is marked by a profusion of savory and generous food traditions, including turkey, oysters, and foie gras, among other dishes. But do you know why the Turkey (dinde in French) is so popular? 

The Origins of Turkey as a Christmas Foodstuff 

By 1720, approximately 250,000 turkeys were being cultivated annually in Norfolk, on the east coast of England. In addition to the route via Turkey/Constantinople, turkeys also entered the UK from the Netherlands via Spanish and Portuguese merchants who had established strong historical ties with the Netherlands. 

The consumption of turkey as a Christmas dish in the United Kingdom became increasingly prevalent during the 1840s and 1850s. In A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, first published in 1843, the Cratchit family initially had a goose, but by the end of the novel, Ebenezer Scrooge has provided them with a turkey, which is perceived as a more substantial and significant offering. Additionally, historical records indicate that Dickens’s family also celebrated Christmas with a turkey in 1843. 

Queen Victoria’s first Christmas dinner with turkey, in addition to the more customary goose and beef, was in 1851. In the 1861 publication, “Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management,” turkey was lauded as a suitable Christmas repast for the expanding “middle classes,” and the book even provided instructions on how to carve them “correctly.” 

It was not until the post-war period, when agricultural practices became more efficient and food became more affordable, that turkey became the traditional Christmas meal in the UK, superseding beef and goose. The majority of commercially produced turkeys are now of the ‘White Holland’ variety, which was initially developed in the Netherlands. 

The Etymology of the Term “Turkey” 

The etymology of the term “turkey” is a matter of some debate. Two principal hypotheses have been put forth to explain this phenomenon; it is possible that both, or a combination of both, are accurate. 

One hypothesis posits that the initial colonists in the Americas perceived turkeys to be a variant of the guinea fowl, a bird indigenous to Africa that was already a dietary staple in Europe. Guinea fowl were imported in Europe by Turkish traders in Constantinople (now called Istanbul). An alternative hypothesis posits that, although turkeys were initially introduced to Europe via Spain, they were predominantly imported into Europe through the intermediary of Turkish traders in Constantinople. Consequently, they were designated as ‘Turkey coqs’. Furthermore, over time, the term ‘turkey’ became the predominant designation for this bird. 

However, in some countries, the term ‘turkey’ is not used to refer to this bird. In French, the turkey is referred to as a dinde, which is derived from the Hindi word ‘Indjushka’ and the Polish ‘Inyczka’, both of which signify a bird from India. In Arabic, the turkey is known as a ‘diiq Hindi’, which translates to ‘Indian rooster’. In Turkish, the turkey is simply called a ‘Hindi’, which is derived from the Hindi word ‘Hindi’, which in turn signifies India. The name was linked to India because Christopher Columbus was searching for India when he discovered the Americas, which led to the bird from the Americas being given an ‘Indian’ name. 

In Portuguese, the turkey is referred to as a ‘peru’, a term derived from the country of Peru in the Americas. This may be the most logical designation for turkeys. In 1758, turkeys were assigned an “official” Latin name, “Meleagris gallopavo.” However, this name is a combination of Latin and Greek and actually signifies “guinea-fowl chicken-peacock,” which is inaccurate as turkeys are not guineafowl, chickens, or peacocks. 

Further details of the Christmas menus at Thalias restaurants will be announced in due course. 

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