87% of British people believe that Christmas would not be the same without a traditional roast turkey. The majority of families (76%) around the UK will serve up a succulent roast turkey as the centrepiece of their festive meal this Christmas… but why do we eat turkey at Christmas?
Turkey is a relatively newcomer to the Yuletide table – it was a luxury right up until the 1950s when they became more widely available. Apparently, the turkey first appeared on Christmas tables in the 16th century, and popular history tells of King Henry VIII being the first English monarch to have turkey for Christmas. Turkeys were eaten instead of cows and chickens because cows produced milk, and chickens produced eggs. Today, approximately 10 million turkeys are eaten in the UK every year.
Unfortunately, the job of cooking that “perfect” Christmas turkey still often falls on the shoulders of women. According to research by Betta Living, 67% of British females will be the ones in charge of Christmas dinner this year.
According to another survey by Food Network, the average British woman will not attempt to cook their first Christmas lunch until the age of 34. Nearly half of the women polled said they felt a real sense of achievement when finally dishing up the Christmas dinner and 28% of British men admitted that their partner’s dinner is better than their mother’s. We’re not going to comment on that one, but we would recommend our turkeys (obviously)! A Stuart’s turkey comes with all our trimmings too and makes a very tasty centrepiece. Order yours today!
