Monroe County agriculture: No butter in a Butterball turkey
Weather folklore: Here is some interesting winter weather folklore from The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Woolly bear caterpillars are said to be winter weather predictors: the more brown they have on their bodies, the milder winter will be. If they have more black than brown indicates a harsh, cold winter. When rabbits and birds are fat in October, expect a long, cold winter. The fear of snow is called Chionophobia. (Hippopotomstosesquipedaliophobia is a fear of long words.)
Dean Cousino feted at the Agriculture Banquet: Monday, December 5 will be the 59th Monroe County Agriculture banquet at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Ida. There will be a Memory Book given to retired Monroe (Evening) News farm reporter Dean Cousino. Everyone who wishes will have a change to sign and/or write a short message to Dean or a humorous incident about Dean, or bring something already written to add to the book. Tickets are available at most Monroe County and area Agri-businesses and the price remains $10 per person. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
Earlier report:After 45 years, Monroe News Reporter Dean Cousino retiring
Thanksgiving: Since 1941, Thanksgiving has been a U.S. federal holiday held on the fourth Thursday in November. President George Washington in 1789 declared a proclamation of “public thanks” to be held on November 26, eventually followed by a proclamation in 1863 by President Lincoln to “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise.” President Franklin Roosevelt decided to move Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November to boost the economy with more time for Christmas shopping, but this was not very popular, and it was moved back to the fourth Thursday.
Turkeys are generally smaller in size this year, and more expensive, partly due to the outbreak of avian influenza (bird flu), which has led to the culling of over 50 million birds, including millions of turkeys. Still, there is no shortage of turkeys this year and Americans are expected to eat 40 to 46 million turkeys on Thanksgiving.
The 2022 traditional Thanksgiving dinner is projected to cost about 20 percent more this year, $64.05 for a 10-person dinner. Contributing factors to the price increase include supply chain disruptions, the price of diesel fuel and shipping charges, increased processing charges and general inflation of food and non-food items.
Of all the traditional dishes at a Thanksgiving feast, all the ingredients could come from Michigan farms. This includes turkeys, wheat for numerous dishes, cranberries, green beans, potatoes, corn, butter, carrots, celery, green peas, salad, cole slaw, tomatoes, onions, milk and whipping cream.
Ancient Egyptians are thought to be the first to make yeast breads. Wheat is the second most consumed grain in the world, originating in the Middle East. Thanksgiving dinners can have wheat in a number of dishes, from rolls to salad croutons to pie crust.
Corn is another part of many traditional Thanksgiving dinners. Corn, or maize, is native to North America, first found in central America over 7,000 years ago with popcorn seeds found in bat caves in Mexico that were over 5,600 years old.
Turkey Trivia
Are turkeys native to North America? Yes, wild turkeys are native to Mexico. Turkeys were taken to Europe and domesticated, then brought back to North America.
A male turkey is called a tom, a female is a hen, a baby turkey is called a chick or a poult. It takes about 6 months to raise a turkey. A turkey egg incubates for 28 days before hatching.
Turkeys are obviously gluten free, since gluten is a protein only found in wheat, barley and rye.
Turkeys are not given growth hormones and turkeys cannot be sold off the farm with any antibiotics.
Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey would be a better national symbol than the bald eagle because he thought the bald eagle was a bird of “bad moral character.” He wrote that the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.
How big to do turkeys get? The domestic tom can weigh up to 50 pounds, the hen up to 16 pounds. The wild tom can weigh up to 20 pounds, the wild hen up to 12 pounds.
Yes, wild turkeys can fly, though they prefer to walk or run.
No, turkeys do not come from the country of Turkey.
There is no butter in a Butterball™ turkey.
Ned Birkey is MSU Extension educator emeritus and a regular contributor to The Monroe News.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Ned Birkey: No butter in a Butterball turkey
