Top tips for tasty turkey this Xmas

CHRISTMAS dinner is one of the most anticipated meals of the year and you are sure to want to choose the best turkey for you and your loved ones to enjoy on the big day.

Here are a few tips to help you make that meal as magical as possible.

Buy from a trusted source. Whether it is your local butcher, farmers’ market, farm shop or a good supermarket, make sure that you are confident in your choice of supplier.

They should be able to give you details on the turkey you choose — how and where it was reared.

Choose the best turkey that your budget allows. This might be an organic turkey — it will be the most expensive but will also have been reared to the strictest farming standards and this means they should be the most flavoursome.

Free-range turkeys are also a good option — they will have had access to the open air and can be identified by the Freedom Food label.

Battery or factory-reared turkey are the least expensive and most readily available but the conditions they are reared in are less humane, which also has an effect on their taste.

The top turkey breeds are Norfolk Black, Kelly Bronze and Cambridge Bronze.

Look out for these turkeys at your local butcher or farm shop, as they will offer great texture and taste for your festive feast.

And while on the subject of Christmas, here are some interesting facts about this special time of year:

Oliver Cromwell stopped celebration of Christmas during 16471660, as he thought it was immoral to celebrate the holiest day of the year.

The first state in America to recognise Christmas as an official holiday was Alabama in 1836.

Noel is the word that is used in place of Christmas in France. The word was derived from the phrase “les bonnes nouvelles”, which means “the good news” and it refers to the gospel.

In the Ukraine, if you find a spider’s web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to mean good luck.

US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.

In Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.

In the Bible, Matthew’s gospel refers to “wise men” visiting Jesus but does not state there were three.

Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.

An estimated 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.

The abbreviation Xmas isn’t modern or irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.

Some theologians estimate that Jesus was actually born in late September between 6BC and 30AD.