It’s the Superbowl of cooking holidays and with these fun facts you can impress your friends and family with more than just your food.
It is hard to believe that 2013 is coming to a close and Thanksgiving is upon us. Many of us have been planning our meals for weeks and no doubt the preparations have already begun. This is the time of year when family and friends come together to celebrate, give thanks, and knock back a few thousand calories! Here is some fun Thanksgiving trivia to liven up your feast.
- The first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was in 1924.
- The first known pumpkin pie recipe was recorded in the 1796 book American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. It was called “Pompkin Pudding.”
- Only male turkeys gobble. They do it to attract hens during mating season, usually Fall and Spring. Wild turkeys gobble more frequently.
- The first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 lasted three days.
- 280 million turkeys are sold for Thanksgiving feasts in the United States.
- Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.
- A 15 pound turkey has about 70% white meat and 30% dark.
- Since 1947 the National Turkey Federation has presented one live turkey and two cooked to the President. Starting with President George H.W. Bush in 1989 the live bird has been “pardoned” every year.
- The Etruscans, an ancient civilization from what is now Italy, created the tradition of making a wish on the “wishbone.” They used chickens and believed they could predict the future. This tradition carried over to the Romans, who started practice of breaking the wishbone. They then spread this to England, and the English settlers brought it to the new world.
- The wishbone is actually called the furcula, “little fork” in Latin.