Thanksgiving Menu Myths: Cranberries and Turkeys

Holidays are funny things – we love them yet often their true origins are confused or lost.  Take Thanksgiving for example.

Although the Pilgrims did celebrate their first harvest, it was merely a common English farm practice to do so.  At various time during the colonial period (depending on the timing of the incoming harvest), fall celebrations were held from September to November. Generally they lasted three or more days.  As the young nation moved into the 19^th century, the holiday became more concerned with honoring patriotism with many communities celebrating a general “Day of Thanks” on George Washington’s birthday in the early spring!

By mid-century the decision to celebrate a holiday of thanks was largely a local one.  There was, however, one tenacious champion for the holiday – Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, the widely read editor of Godley’s Lady’s Book. Beginning in 1846 she wrote endless editorials urging the establishment of a national day of contemplation and gratitude.

But as the issues of state’s rights and slavery slowly tore the country apart, few politicians were willing to listen to her more reasonable requests.  By 1861 the nation was embroiled in a terribly bloody civil war that would drag on for four more years and cost millions of lives.

During the first three years of the war the north lost many, many battles.  Heart breaking casualty lists filled page after page in northern newspapers each week.  As a result, Union morale fell and some northern senators even spoke of ending the war by recognizing the south as a separate nation.

Lincoln knew he had to raise hopes.  He declared a national holiday in November to give thanks for America’s “general blessings”.  

Chief among Lincoln’s own hopes was his urgent desire to see his newest general, Ulysses S. Grant defeat the south’s legendary General Robert E. Lee.

For nine long and brutal months Grant battled the Confederate Army in a series of battles at the Siege of Petersburg in Virginia. 

Grant understood his men well and knew both their courage and their limits.  When he saw his men exhausted and near the breaking point from fatigue and battle shock, he ordered the army cooks to make up huge kettles of red cranberry sauce to brighten the soldiers’ dull dinners.

Cranberries were later added by grateful northern citizens to their post Civil War holiday dinners as a way of honoring Grant (by then President of the United States) and his long-suffering men, who finally defeated the brilliant Lee. 

Over time, however, the sacrifice of the Civil War veterans was forgotten and everyone came to believe that it was the pilgrims who make cranberries a must-have part of every Thanksgiving dinner.  Not so.

Similarly many sources insist that turkeys were the original and only authentic Thanksgiving meat.  But records from Plymouth’s early days note that other meats were served including deer, duck and fish. 

Sadly, these great meats are often omitted and forgotten today. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin so revered the turkey he wanted it to be our national bird.

Franklin wrote many letters to the various committees of Congress urging a more peaceful bird than the eagle be chosen as our national symbol.

Even from elegant Paris he wrote his beloved daughter Sally that "...the turkey is a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on." 

So hail the often misunderstood turkey and consider enjoying some of all those other delicious meats that we overlook each Thanksgiving as we raise our brimming glasses and remember all our many blessings.

And if you feel a lack of the holiday spirit now or ever, just remember what dear Ben Franklin told somber John Adams, "Wine, dear friend, is the proof that God truly loves us!" Enjoy the Holidays everyone!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Sweet Potatoes or Yams – A Great Thanksgiving Choice in Both the U.S. and Europe

Each Thanksgiving both yams and sweet potatoes appear in stateside grocery stores.  And though they look similar, these two holiday stables are not the same.

Sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family and their blossoms resemble the bright blue flower of this climbing vine. Like the morning glory, the sweet potato is a heat loving plant. It is their need for warmth and sunlight that has defined their place in culinary history.

Sweet potatoes originally came from the warm growing fields of South and Central America as early as 750 BC where they were called “batata”. This indigenous word was later changed to “potato” as languages met and mingled into the New World.

Europeans first encountered the sweet potato when Columbus arrived in the Caribbean.   Soon he was exporting sweet potato eyes to Spain where they grew very well under the warm Hispanic sun as the newest elite (and most expensive) vegetable from the New World.

One of Spain’s major clients for the very new sweet potatoes was amazingly Henry VIII.  

In England’s colder climate sweet potatoes simply did not grow well, if at all. Though expensive, Henry VIII was willing to pay a high price for the hundred of pounds of sweet potato that he imported – and why?  He thought the sweet potato was an aphrodisiac!   

By the 1700s sweet potatoes had lost enough their sexual association to be a favorite in conservative colonial America.  Home cooks from Vermont to Pennsylvania added brandy or rum to the traditional English mixture of sweet potatoes, farm eggs, fresh butter and rich cream and created the now famous northern American Thanksgiving pie.

Meanwhile Spain’s great rival, Portugal was also expanding her overseas colonies (and profits).  They imported the American sweet potato to Africa where they held colonies.  It grew well in the higher heat of Africa but produced a higher starch level as a result.   

Adapted into the rural farming culture of central Africa, the new starchier sweet potato was renamed “nyami” by the African farmers, which in America was mispronounced as “yam”.  When the natives of Africa were later captured and transported to America as slaves for the vast southern plantations, the yam also came with them.

And that is why in the English speaking North this remarkable vegetable was called a 'sweet potato” and made into a pie using only a small amount of sugar.  In the South, however, the starchier “yam" needed more sugar and was made into a much richer pie by house slaves, who called it by a different name.

Today Europe’s interest in both the sweet potato and the yam is on the rise. Thoughtful Europeans are impressed with this vitamin-packed vegetable.  Between 2005 and 2009 more than $51,400,000 worth of yams and sweet potatoes were exported by American farmers to Europe, especially Great Britain.  

King Henry, who always loved a feast, would be smiling. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Regional Differences Decide Whether It’s Stuffing or Dressing this Thanksgiving

Yes, yes, it is the question that rages every Thanksgiving: Is the correct word “stuffing” or “dressing” and what’s the ‘best’ recipe? Well, it all depends on where you live in the United States.

If you want to address the question from a culinary point of view, stuffing is what is cooked inside the turkey because it is ‘stuffed’ inside. Makes sense, no?  Dressing is what is cooked outside the turkey, ‘dressing’ up or enhancing the serving platter.

From a regional point of view, north of the Mason-Dixon Line, ‘stuffing’ is called stuffing.  That’s because ‘stuffing’ is an old English word dating back to 1538.  It’s practical and reflects the heritage of New England’s early settlers.

South of the Mason-Dixon Line, stuffing is generally called “dressing”. This choice of words occurs because holiday dining in the South was largely centered around the great rural plantations and elite townhouses of Charleston, Atlanta and the like.  There, with the help of black house slaves, dining was a more formal affair than in the farm kitchens of the North. It also reflected a baronial Scottish influence from the many pre-Civil War land owners.

After the Civil War many former house slaves found employment in the kitchens of northern hotels and the dining cars of the Pullman trains heading west.  As a result, the use of the word ‘dressing’ moved out of the South and spread throughout the nation mingling with the word ‘stuffing’.  Today it’s largely a personally choice which word you want to use.

As to what is the best recipe for Thanksgiving stuffing/dressing, that, too, is largely a regional question.  In the North a bread based stuffing with onions, celery, thyme and sage is the norm while in the Carolinas a rice dressing is the most traditional.

Cornbread dressing is a deep South favorite with bits of ham, country bacon or smoked sausage added.

Once both New England and Louisiana favored oysters mixed into the stuffing/dressing.   But sadly once the northern oyster beds were destroyed by over fishing and pollution, only the southern Delta area continues this tradition.

In Chicago and nearby parts of the Midwest where there are large eastern European communities, rye or other heavy Bohemian-style bread is often used to make a darker but great tasting stuffing. 

Out in California, creative cooks use sourdough bread as the basis for their stuffing/dressing with the possible addition of wild mushrooms, chestnuts and other often unusual ingredients such as artichokes.

In Texas, New Mexico and Arizona a corn based tamale stuffing with pulled pork, red chilies and rich raisins is a holiday must.

So this Thanksgiving you can ‘correctly” enjoy any of these amazing stuffings/dressings because that’s what America is truly about – diversity and community.  

We should all give thanks this holiday, no matter what our choice is, because we can all celebrate together – one nation in fellowship with each other.     

Happy Holidays!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

From the Bottom of the Sea: Veuve Clicquot Champagne 185 Years Old and Still Amazing

Usually when treasure is brought up from the bottom of the sea, one expects to see gold coins and maybe an anchor or two.

This past summer, however, an amazing cache of 168 champagne bottles were discovered beneath the cold waters of the Baltic Sea, south of Aland, a Finnish controlled collection of over 6,000 small islands.

The first sign that some of champagne had survived the ancient shipwreck occured when one of the champagne bottles was brought to the surface.  The difference in pressure above water caused one of the champagne corks to pop.

The startled diver holding the bottle quickly took a drink from the overflowing champagne, expectating a bitter or at best salty sea taste.  To his amazement, it was sweet and fresh.

The next question was which legendary champagne house could claim these, the world’s oldest drinkable champagnes, as their own.  The crew hurriedly resealed the bottle as best they could and called on the services of Finnish sommelier Ella Grussner Cromwell-Morgan to evaluate the remaining champagne. 

It was then discovered, while examining the logos on the recovered corks, that the bottles held two varieties of classic French champagne: Veuve Clicquot and Juglar, an older house, now part of Jacquesson.

Also tasted by the few lucky journalists present, both champagnes were pronounced as rather sweet, just like the most popular style of champagne two centuries ago.

And though much of the fizz traditionally associated with champagne was gone, everyone declared the the wines were still delightful.

The government of Aland, which claims the salvage rights over the wreak, now plans to auction one bottle of each Champagne in the coming months and possible sell others in the future, according to Brit Lundberg, Deputy Minister of Education and Culture.

Five bottles will be retained while others may be used in a future champagne blend that can only de described as liquid history.

If you plan to attend the auction, bring a major back account as the estimated price per rare bottle is projected to be $135,000!  

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010

Make Christmas Easy and Original with Simply Postcards

Thank goodness for smartphones - nothing makes Christmas easier.  There are several apps now appearing on iPhones and their many cloned cousins that can make many traditional holiday activities more personal, less expensive and virtually stressless.

After you've purchased gifts at amazon.com or bargain shopped on ebay.com, why not make every Christmas card you send this year new and original? Just download Simply Postcards (the app is free).  Then take photos that are uniquely personal - that special ornament on the tree, your front door wreath, local snow, holiday activities.

The Simply Postcard software enables you to easily upload your photos (past or present) into the app and then flip the postcard to add a personal holiday message. Type in your address and that of the recipient and Simply Postcards will mail the actual card in full professional color via post.  

Just think of all the application: create a host's thank-you postcard with an image taken at their holiday party, the image of a favorite holiday treat with attached recipe for a friend, the children's holiday school events, your neighborhood decorations or winter vacation destinations. 

Done, easy and inexpensive! What could be easier - you can even get the children involved taking photos and sending cards to friends and family.

And if you think all this might be just too modern, just remember the first Christmas 'cards' were actually postcards, yes postcards, produced in England in 1843.

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2010