Tag Archives: thanksgiving

Testing, Testing, Turkey

Post contributed by Brooke Guthrie, Research Services Librarian.

A few days ago, I went searching (in the catalog) for the perfect Thanksgiving-related item and came across a folder titled “Turkey Test, 1951-1952”  in the papers of Theodore “Ted” Minah. What kind of test could Minah, the Director of Duke University Dining Halls from 1946 to 1974, be conducting on turkeys? Was it a taste test or some sort of “mystery meat” challenge? Was he investigating the sleep-inducing properties of turkey meat?  Was he out to prove that turkeys really are as dumb as they are rumored to be?

Sadly (for us), Minah was a practical fellow and it was none of those things. Minah, who worked hard to provide quality food at the lowest price to the university, wanted to know if turkey could be a cost effective meat option for campus dining halls. The test was part of an effort by the National Turkey Federation (NTF), an organization representing turkey farmers and processors, to better market the turkey and get more turkey on more American tables. (The NTF is also the organization that provides turkeys for the annual White House turkey pardon.)

Chart showing the results of the Duke turkey test.
Chart showing the results of the Duke turkey test.

Duke, along with dining offices at other schools, participated in a 1951 study to determine how much edible meat a cooked turkey yielded and how much a single serving of turkey would cost. Led by Food Production Manager Majorie Knapp, Duke cooked several whole turkeys and took detailed measurements before and after cooking. Duke’s test used Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys from Sampson County, North Carolina which, according to Minah, “is a delicious eating turkey.”

According to the results of the Duke test, turkey would cost around $1.50 per pound of cooked meat and around $0.20 per serving. In her summary, Knapp noted that the price for chicken was cheaper at $1.37 per pound. A serving of chicken would be a few cents cheaper than turkey.

Marjorie Knapp’s turkey test report.

The test results were submitted and later included in NTF marketing materials designed to get turkey on the menu at places like schools, hotels, and hospitals. In addition to the study results and Ted Minah’s correspondence about the study, the “Turkey Test” folder also includes a few of these industry publications.

Turkey marketing materials from the Ted Minah papers.

The booklets and brochures, with catchy titles like “Carving the Turkey for Portion Control and Greater Profit” and “Pre-Cut Turkeys for Institutional Use,” mostly contain recipes and instructions for properly cooking a turkey. The recipes were certainly creative.  Creamed Turkey in Pastry Tart, Turkey Salad Roll, and Turkey Chow Mein on Chinese Noodles (to name just a few) were suggested as “profit-making turkey dishes.”

 

 

list of turkey recipes
“Profit-making” recipe ideas from the National Turkey Federation.

If you are desperately seeking things to do with all of those turkey leftovers, the NTF has your back. You could make a Jellied Turkey Salad, put some gibblets on toast, or impress your guests with jellied turkey feet. They even provide tips on what to do with the carcass!

Turkey recipes including jellied turkey and turkey feet.
More turkey recipes including 33 ways to serve turkey and how to best use that turkey carcass.

The Ted Minah materials include one more turkey item worth mentioning. He was sent a booklet of photos showing turkeys frolicking on a farm. It includes a photo of a turkey that doesn’t seem particularly pleased to have his photo taken for the purposes of marketing his own deliciousness as food.

Turkey snapshot featuring turkey that’s not having a good time.

If your uncle brings up politics at Thanksgiving dinner, just turn the conversation toward the fun facts you learned in this blog post and then you can all bond over your love of jellied turkey feet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feasting from The History of Medicine Collection

As we sit down to our Thanksgiving dinners, I leave you with a few images from a recent acquisition of thirty-four medical prints collected and donated by William H. Helfand. The posters date mainly from 18th century Paris, but the earliest dates to 1695 (the Kospter poster below) and the latest to 1991. They are all beautiful prints–heavy with political satire and caricatures, quack doctors and alchemy. But they also serve as wise reminders to eat in moderation this season. Happy Thanksgiving from the Rubenstein Library!

Maleuvre, “La Ribotte a nos chants”, color lithograph, Paris 1823
Cheret, J., “Kola Marque,” color lithograph, Paris, c. 1895
Dusort, Cornelius, “Hopster,” engraving, Holland, 1695
Grandville and Forest, “Memento Homo Quia Pulvis…”, hand color lithograph, Paris, 1833
Langlumé, “L’indigestion” from Album Comique, color lithograph, 1823

Post contributed by Joanne Fairhurst, Technical Services Intern and doctoral candidate in the Classical Studies Dept.

Turkey leftovers? Problem Solved.

Need something to do with the turkey leftover from Thanksgiving? One of our 1950s advertising cookbooks put out by the Poultry & Egg National Board had 33 suggestions, including turkey and corn casseroles, turkey macaroni loaf, and something called “Turkey Red Devils.” However, the Home Economic Staff of the PENB Laboratory Kitchen (pictured below) really got creative when it came to putting turkey in salads. Tied for grossest in my book are the Jellied Turkey Pineapple Loaf and the Turkey Mousse. Which wins your vote? Let us know below, or suggest a third choice in the comments!

Turkey Mousse:Cookbook from the Poultry & Egg National Board

  • 4 envelopes unflavored gelatin
  • 1 cup broth
  • 1½ cups boiling turkey broth
  • 2 cups finely chopped or ground cooked turkey
  • 1 cup finely diced celery
  • ¼ cup finely diced sweet pickle
  • ¼ cup finely diced green pepper
  • 1 pimiento, chopped
  • 1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
  • ¾ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. white pepper
  • Dash of cayenne
  • 2 to 3 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 cup heavy cream, whipped
  • Parsley or celery leaves
  • Deviled egg halves

Soften gelatin in the cold broth. Dissolve thoroughly in boiling broth. Chill until jelly-like. Combine turkey, celery, pickles, pepper and pimiento. Add mayonnaise, seasoning and lemon juice. Add thickened gelatin mixture. Fold in the whipped cream. Taste and add more seasoning if necessary. Pour into a 1½  to 2-quart mold. Chill. Unmold. Garnish with the greens and deviled eggs. 10 to 12 servings. Increase gelatin to 5 envelopes in warm weather.

Jellied Turkey Pineapple Loaf:

Pineapple Layer:

Home economists debating a turkey
"Have some Turkey Mousse. I molded it into a turkey shape." "It's beautiful! Too bad I've already had dessert in the form of a Jellied Turkey Pineapple Loaf!"
  • 1 package lemon gelatin
  • ¾ cup hot water
  • 1 cup pineapple juice, drained from a No. 2 can crushed pineapple (2½ cups)
  • 1¼ cups well-drained crushed pineapple
  • ½ cup grated carrot

Turkey Layer:

  • 1 package lemon gelatin
  • 1 chicken bouillon cube
  • ¾ cup hot water
  • 1 cup cold water
  • Grated rind of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 cup finely chopped cooked turkey
  • 1 cup finely diced celery
  • ¼ cup sliced stuffed green onion
  • ½ tsp. salt, or more

Pour hot water over lemon gelatin. Stir until gelatin is dissolved. Stir in pineapple juice, pineapple and carrot. Blend and cool until mixture is thickened. Pour into a 1½ quart mold. Chill until set. Pour turkey layer on top. To make turkey layer: Dissolve the gelatin and the bouillon cube in the hot water. Add cold water stirring constantly. Cool until mixture is thickened. Add remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt. Pour mixture over top of set pineapple layer. Chill until firm. Turn out of mold on lettuce or other greens. Serve with salad dressing. 8 to 10 servings.

Now that you’ve perused and possibly tried them both, we want to know: Turkey Mousse or Jellied Turkey Pineapple Loaf? Vote now! Or, peruse the Emergence of Advertising in America cookbooks and find your own options for turkey leftovers.

Post contributed by Liz Shesko, Intern for the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History.

Soup or Salad? Sealtest Suggests Soup.

Sealtest Recipes CoverToday’s Thanksgiving menu comes from a 1940 advertising cookbook published by Sealtest Dairy, which was a division of the National Dairy Products Corporation, a predecessor to Kraft Foods. They marketed their dairy products as having “scientific supervision unsurpassed,” and printed recipes developed in their Laboratory Kitchen. Despite the cover image showing turkey, a creamy soup, and cheesy potatoes, their dairy-heavy Thanksgiving menu had pork as a main dish:

  • Pea Soup Supreme with Cheese Croutons
  • Roast Stuffed Shoulder of Pork
  • Mashed Turnips
  • Buttered Broccoli
  • Hot Rolls with Butter
  • Orange Salad with French Dressing
  • Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream and Ginger
  • Coffee with Cream

Pea soup, you say? Why yes, complete with a quart of milk, butter, and cheesy croutons!

Thanksgiving menu
Sealtest's Thanksgiving menu, featuring pea soup and pilgrims

Pea Soup Supreme with Cheese Croutons

  • 1 cup diced potatoes
  • 1½ tbsp. chopped onion
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 No. 2 can peas
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 2 tbsp. flour
  • 1 quart milk
  • Few grains pepper

Combine the potatoes, onions, salt and water in a saucepan. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender. Add the peas and liquid and heat thoroughly. Drain and boil down the liquid to ¾ cup. Press vegetables through a sieve. Melt the butter in a double broiler, add the flour and mix well. Add the milk gradually and cook, stirring constantly until thickened. Add the pureed vegetables and liquid. Reheat. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with Cheese Croutons made as follows: Sprinkle small toast squares with cheese and place under the broiler until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve on the soup. Serves six.

You can find more recipes to complete your meal in the Hartman Center’s Emergence of Advertising in America cookbooks!

Post contributed by Liz Shesko, Intern for the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising, and Marketing History.

A Thanksgiving Menu from the Hartman Center

In honor of all the cooking and eating we’re planning to do for Thanksgiving, we wanted to share a few menus and recipes from Thanksgivings past. Over the next couple of days, look for delicious posts drawing from the Hartman Center’s extensive collection of advertising cookbooks.

Today’s recipe comes from a cookbook published by the Calumet Baking Powder Company in the 1920s. The following Thanksgiving menu, the author suggests, is perfect for “the average woman, who must prepare for her parties alone or with one maid to help,” without making everyone “uncomfortable” by becoming “a flushed and worried hostess.” I think we’d all appreciate the help of that maid this year!

  • Assorted canapés
  • Turkey with chestnut stuffing and giblet gravy
  • Baked onions
  • Baked squash
  • Caramel sweet potatoes
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Molded cranberry jelly with celery and olives
  • Orange delight salad
  • Pumpkin pie
  • Caramel Nut Cake
  • Salted Nuts
  • Bonbons

The featured recipe – Caramel Nut Cake (pictured below) – of course contained Calumet Baking Powder. The picture doesn’t look too appetizing, but it sure sounds good. And where can I get one of those mini turkeys?

Caramel Nut Cake

  • ½ cup shortening
  • 1 cup sugar
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cup sifted flour
  • 2 level tsp. Calumet Baking Powder
  • ¾ cup chopped nuts

Sift flour three times with baking powder. Cream shortening, add sugar, gradually add egg yolks and nuts. Add dry ingredients alternatively with milk. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Bake in 2 layers in a moderate oven  (375 degrees F.). Ice with caramel icing, sprinkle the top and sides of cake with chopped nuts.

You can check out more images like these in the Emergence of Advertising in America digital collection. Stay tuned for more recipes later this week!

Post contributed by Liz Shesko, Intern for the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Marketing, and Advertising History.