It’s December, Advent has begun, and we can officially start discussing Christmas so I have put together an episode about turkey that is very much of two halves. There’s an interview with Tom Copas, a turkey farmer who really looks after his flock: slow-grown, high welfare, and I have bought many a turkey from him over the years. Before that, I have prepared a little bit on the history of the turkey in Britain, spanning from Tudor times to the 20th century where it went from regal food to Christmas Day staple. Tom and I talked about farming family history, the intricacies of turkey farming, when the term ‘free-range’ is misleading, cooking tips and turkey crackling: amongst many other things.
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Order your Christmas turkey from the Copas Farm shop
Find Copas Turkeys on social media: Twitter/X @CopasTurkeys; Insta: @copasfarmshop or @tomcopas
Podcast episodes pertinent to today’s episode:
Christmas Feasting with Annie Gray
Tudor Cooking & Cuisine with Brigitte Webster
Turkey history references:
At Christmas We Feast: Festive Food Through the Ages (2021) Annie Gray
Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes (2023) Brigitte Webster
The Good Housewife’s Jewel (1596) Thomas Dawson
The Compleat Cook (1662) W. M.
E. Kidder's Receipts of Pastry and Cookery (1741) Edward Kidder
A Christmas Carol (1843) Charles Dickens
Upcoming events:
Find out about upcoming events on the website here.
Neil’s blogs:
Neil’s books:
Before Mrs Beeton: Elizabeth Raffald, England’s Most Influential Housekeeper
Knead to Know: a History of Baking
Don’t forget, there will be postbag episodes in the future, so if you have any questions or queries about today’s episode, or indeed any episode, or have a question about the history of British food please email me at [email protected], or on twitter and BlueSky @neilbuttery, or Instagram and Threads dr_neil_buttery. My DMs are open.
You can also join the British Food: a History Facebook discussion page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/britishfoodhistory
Mentioned in this episode:
The British Food History podcast is currently sponored by Netherton Foundry
Season 10 of The British Food History Podcast is sponsored by Netherton Foundry, producers of top-quality, British-made cookery equipment. Nestled in rural South Shropshire, Netherton Foundry is a family-run business, headed by husband and wife team Neil and Sue Currie, which takes inspiration from the local iron masters of the 18th and 19th centuries to craft traditional cookware from iron, oak and copper using non-toxic materials. Their cookware is built to last, whether it be their famous prospector pans (of which I am a proud owner), crumpet rings or their impressive range of outdoor cookware. Netherton Foundry ships to several countries outside of the UK, including the USA and Canada. Visit netherton-foundry.co.uk to find out more about their wonderful products – approved not just by me but by folk such as Tom Parker-Bowles, Diana Henry and Nigella Lawson.
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