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Every year on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States, the whole country is thrown into a special kind of revelry. On the dining table of every household, a large, golden and crispy roast turkey is always the protagonist.
Relatives and friends sat around in the midst of the aroma, with happy smiles on their faces. However, on the other side of the Pacific, on the Chinese table, the turkey seems to have become "invisible".
The contrast is puzzling: Why is turkey so popular in United States but not in China? Even more surprisingly, there are very few Chinese farmers who even raise turkeys.
What kind of cultural code is hidden behind this? Let's unravel the mystery of this culinary journey across the ocean.
In the vast primeval forests of North America, a large, brilliantly feathered pheasant lives freely. This is the ancestor of turkeys, whose wings spread out an astonishing 2 meters, weigh more than 10 kilograms, and have beaks covered with red sarcomas, which look like they are wearing a strange hat from a distance.
This wild bird was successfully domesticated by the indigenous peoples of Mexico in the 16th century, starting its legendary journey.
Soon after, European colonists brought turkeys back to the continent out of curiosity. Europeans who saw this strange bird for the first time were amazed. Some United Kingdom aristocrats even gave live turkeys as precious gifts to friends, and as a result, the behemoth made a big fuss in the elegant carriage, scaring the nobles into a hurry, and the scene was very funny for a time.
However, people soon discovered the other side of turkey – its meat was tender and juicy, and it was a delicacy. Culinary masters from all over the world are starting to put their skills to work on this new ingredient.
Germans prefer turkey thighs for a refreshing salad, France prefer to roast whole turkey and add flavor with mustard, and United Kingdom invent mouth-watering turkey patties.
In this way, the turkey took the continent by storm in just a few decades and became the protagonist of the festive table. Especially in the annual Thanksgiving dinner in the United States, roasting whole turkey has become an indispensable traditional delicacy.
United States don't stop there, they even pair turkey meat with vegetables to make a sandwich that is popular with young people.
The charm of turkey is not limited to the gastronomic realm. In 17th-century Europe, it was also endowed with magical powers. At that time, it was believed that the consumption of turkey meat could predict the future, cure diseases, and even reach the state of immortality.
Although this superstition faded with the Enlightenment, the turkey grew in Western culture and became a symbol of abundance and happiness.
The famous writer Virginia · Woolf once wrote affectionately: "Every Christmas, we slaughter a fat turkey, its body rich and bright, full of hope and helplessness."
This quote vividly captures the unique place of turkey in Western culture, as it is both a delicacy and a vehicle for emotion.
Over time, turkeys have become increasingly important in the United States. Not only did it star at the Thanksgiving table, it became a microcosm of United States culture. Every year, United States people can enjoy an average of 2 kilograms of turkey meat, and behind this figure is the warm scene of countless United States family reunions, which is a memory of history and a blessing for the future.
From wildlife to table darlings to cultural symbols, the legendary journey of the turkey shows how a species can be deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of a country. Its story is not only a history of gastronomy, but also a vivid history of cultural exchange.
Turkey's ties to United States history date back to the 17th century, a story of hardship and hope. At that time, a group of United Kingdom Puritans, who longed for freedom of religion, resolutely embarked on a long journey to the North American continent in order to escape religious oppression.
After more than two months of adrift in the cold and biting Atlantic Ocean in a rudimentary wooden boat, they finally set foot on this strange and hopeful land.
However, the Puritans, who had just arrived in a foreign land, soon found themselves in an existential crisis. Bitter cold and hunger destroyed almost all their hopes. At this life-or-death moment, the god of fate favored this group of brave immigrants.
They met the good Native Americans. Despite the language barrier, the Indians generously shared food with the newcomers, including delicious turkey and corn.
Not only that, but they patiently taught the Puritans how to survive and farm in this strange land.
This friendship touched the hearts of the Puritans deeply. A year later, in November, the harvest season, United Kingdom immigrants invited them to a grand dinner to show their sincere gratitude to the Indians.
At this dinner, the golden roast turkey became the protagonist of the dinner, symbolizing the harvest and hope brought by the new home. It is said that this banquet lasted for three whole days, and it was filled with sincere gratitude.
This touching story became the origin of Thanksgiving in United States. Since then, this day has been known as "Thanksgiving" every year and has spread widely throughout the United States.
In the 60s of the 19th century, Abraham · Lincoln, then president of the United States, officially established Thanksgiving as a national holiday, which further consolidated and inherited this tradition.
Today, Thanksgiving has become one of the most important holidays in the United States, and the turkey is a well-deserved symbol of this holiday. According to statistics, on Thanksgiving Day alone, United States consume about 300 million kilograms of turkey meat.
Behind this staggering number are the warm scenes of countless family reunions in United States, the affectionate remembrance of history, and the earnest wishes for a better future.
Over time, United States have added a unique and humane ritual to the tradition – the president's "pardon of turkeys." Every year on the eve of Thanksgiving, President United States symbolically "pardons" a turkey from being slaughtered.
This seemingly humorous tradition has lasted for decades and has become a hot topic of United States media attention, reflecting the importance of turkey in United States culture.
Every year at this time, students in Washington gather outside the White House for a lively rally, pleading with the president to save the life of a "national fire." This playful ceremony not only reflects the respect for life in United States, but also places people's yearning for peace and forgiveness.
From the original sharing of gratitude, to today's national holidays, to the tradition of the president's pardon of turkeys, turkeys have become deeply embedded in the history and culture of United States.
It is not only a delicacy, but also a cultural symbol that carries the spirit of United States. Every turkey that appears on the Thanksgiving table tells a story of gratitude, hope and unity in United States.
As we shift our gaze from United States to China, a very different picture unfolds before our eyes. In a land with a long food culture, turkeys seem out of place.
Turkeys are very few on the table in China, and even few farmers who raise turkeys are few.
First, there are huge differences in eating habits between China and the United States. Chinese people are accustomed to eating tender chicken, and turkey meat is relatively hard and slightly rough in taste, which is difficult to meet the taste needs of Chinese consumers.
A Chinese diner who has tried turkey described his experience as follows: "It feels like chewing a rubber band, and it doesn't taste as good as you might expect."
This is too different from the chicken we usually eat.
Secondly, the traditional Chinese cooking method does not quite match the characteristics of turkey. Chinese cooking techniques are mainly stewed, boiled, boiled, and stir-fried, and the most suitable cooking method for turkey is baking.
An experienced Chinese chef reluctantly commented after trying to cook turkey in the traditional way: "Treating turkey with our usual cooking methods always feels like something is missing, that is, it doesn't have the attractive aroma and taste of the West."
In addition, the size of the turkey is also a big challenge for Chinese families. An adult turkey can weigh up to 11 kilograms, which is too large for a Chinese family with a rapidly smaller population.
A housewife half-jokingly said: "If we buy a turkey and come back, our whole family may have to eat for half a month, and the refrigerator can't fit it!" This is not practical for today's small families.
What's more, Chinese households generally lack large ovens suitable for cooking whole turkeys. Even restaurants that want to launch turkey dishes are under pressure from both equipment and costs.
A Western restaurant owner admitted: "Buying a special oven requires a lot of manpower just to handle such a large turkey, and the cost is too high."
For most restaurants, it's hard to recoup the cost of such an investment.
The combination of these factors makes it difficult for turkeys to gain a foothold in the Chinese market. Although turkey meat is highly nutritious, rich in protein, and fat is mainly composed of unsaturated fatty acids that are beneficial to health, locally produced chicken still dominates the daily diet of Chinese.
An expert in the Chinese food industry summed it up this way: "The plight of turkeys in the Chinese market reflects the profound impact of differences in food culture. Although globalization has led to an increasingly frequent exchange of cuisines between countries, it is still a long process to change a country's ingrained food preferences.
Turkey still has a long way to go if it wants to gain a foothold in the Chinese market.
Still, with Chinese consumers' growing interest in international cuisine, turkey may still have a chance to find its place in a particular market. Some high-end hotels and western restaurants have already started to launch turkey meals during the festive season, attracting many consumers who are willing to try new things.
Perhaps in the near future, we will see more turkeys on the tables of Chinese families, witnessing another wonderful fusion of Eastern and Western food cultures.
The dilemma of turkeys in the Chinese market is not only reflected in the consumer side, but also faces huge challenges in the production side. The cost of turkey farming is staggeringly high compared to ordinary broilers, which is the main reason why Chinese farmers are reluctant to raise turkeys on a large scale.
First and foremost is the issue of the growth cycle. Regular broilers can be slaughtered in just 2 to 3 months, while turkeys take a full year to reach market standards.
This means that turkeys consume 5 to 6 times more feed than broilers. A farmer who once tried to raise turkeys said with a wry smile: "The cost of raising a turkey is almost as high as raising a piglet!" Such a long growth cycle means that we have to bear more risks and costs.
The second is the issue of space requirements. Turkeys have thick bones and strong limbs that require more space to move. If there is not enough space, they may attack each other, resulting in casualties.
According to expert estimates, turkeys require 6 to 9 times more land area than broilers. As one farming expert noted, "The amount of land needed to raise turkeys on a large scale is simply prohibitive.
In China, where every inch of land is at a premium, this is almost impossible. Especially in densely populated areas, finding a sufficiently large breeding site is a huge challenge.
The high cost of farming has directly led to the high price of turkey meat products in the market. However, due to insufficient consumer demand, it is often difficult for these high-priced products to recover their costs.
A farmer who was once keen on turkey farming said helplessly: "It's raised, but it can't be sold!" In the end, I had to eat it at home. It is obviously unrealistic to continue large-scale farming in such a situation.
This imbalance between supply and demand has made it difficult for China's turkey industry to form a scale. Although some companies have tried to promote turkey farming, they have not been able to make a breakthrough.
In China's vast rural areas, turkeys are still a rarity.
An agricultural economist put it this way: "The dilemma faced by turkey farming in China actually reflects a broader problem of how to introduce and promote new agricultural varieties while maintaining economic efficiency.
The example of turkey shows us that it is not enough to rely on market forces alone, but also to consider many factors such as local food culture, land resources, and breeding technology.
Still, some experts are cautiously optimistic about the future of the turkey industry. They believe that as Chinese consumers' demand for high-protein, low-fat foods grows, turkeys may find their own niche.
However, to achieve this goal, long-term efforts and investment are needed in breeding, feeding technology, marketing and other aspects.
Looking at the very different experiences of turkeys in China and the United States, it is not difficult to see that cultural factors play a pivotal role in this. In the United States, turkey has long gone beyond the simple positioning of ingredients, it carries a deep historical heritage and cultural connotation.
Whenever Thanksgiving comes, the golden and crispy roast turkey is not only a delicacy, but also a symbol of gratitude, reunion and hope, and is an important carrier of emotions and memories for United States.
On the other hand, despite China's long-standing food culture, turkeys have never been able to find their place in it. Chinese people are more inclined to choose local poultry that matches traditional tastes and is familiar with cooking methods.
One Chinese food critic summed it up this way: "For Chinese, turkey is like a foreigner, and although it has its own uniqueness, it has always struggled to integrate into our ingrained eating habits.
This cultural difference is also evident in the festival traditions of the two countries. United States Thanksgiving is inseparable from the turkey, which is one of the central symbols of the holiday. However, in traditional Chinese festivals, there are few cases where they are closely associated with specific foods.
This deep-rooted cultural difference has become the deep-seated reason why turkeys are difficult to take root in the Chinese market.
However, with the deepening of globalization and the increasing frequency of cultural exchanges, the situation of turkeys in China may gradually improve. Some Hotel International and high-end Western restaurants have begun to launch turkey meals during certain festivals, attracting many urban consumers who are willing to try new things.
One F&B industry insider optimistically said: "Although turkey may never become the protagonist of the Chinese table, it has the potential to become a specialty cuisine and add a new color to China's food culture."
The story of the turkey teaches us that food is not only a food necessity, but also an important carrier of culture. Its fate reflects the differences between different cultures, but also shows the possibility of cultural exchange.
Perhaps in the near future, we will see more turkeys on the tables of Chinese families, witnessing another wonderful fusion of Eastern and Western cultures. As one cultural scholar put it: "True cultural exchange is not a simple substitution, but on the basis of maintaining one's own characteristics, absorbing the strengths of others to achieve common prosperity."
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