hudsonmagazine.us
Excerpt from November issue.
by Richard Frisbie
If Benjamin
Franklin had his way, and he often did, the turkey would
have
been the emblem of our new nation, not the bald eagle. He
considered
the turkey to be a self-reliant, distinctly American bird,
and
the lowly bald eagle an opportunistic scavenger. Fortunately for the
palates of decades of Americans succeeding him, Benjamin
Franklin’s
reasoned logic did not prevail. Instead, the bald
eagle gained a regal
mantle through expert public relations, if
not a change of habit, and
the turkey became the most important
guest of a seasonal dinner. That’s
a good thing. Imagine
sitting down to a holiday dinner to eat roasted
eagle, or, worse,
never having tasted the sacrosanct and protected
national symbol
- the turkey. What a strange world that would be!
The turkey
is the only bird solely native to America that is
domesticated
for food production in the US. If you can forego the
ubiquitous,
sickly, large-breasted white turkey that dominates the
frozen
food market, you’ll find a selection of tastier breeds being
raised on small farms throughout the Hudson Valley. Known as
heritage or
heirloom breeds, meaning those listed in the 1874
American Poultry
Association's Turkey Standard of Perfection,
they include the Standard
Bronze, Bourbon Red, Narragansett,
Jersey Buff, Slate, Black Spanish,
and White Holland. Later
additions such as Royal Palm, White Midget and
Beltsville Small
White, have been added to the standard list since then.
You’ll
also find broad-breasted pasture-raised standard domestic turkeys
that will taste far better than their frozen, factory-raised
brothers
and sisters.
The Heritage Turkey Foundation
(
http://heritageturkeyfoundation.org)
is a
not-for-profit organization that does not raise any heritage turkeys,
and whose sole objective is to save “the traditional breeds of
turkeys
by returning them to the holiday tables of ordinary
American families.”
They provided the list of heritage breeds
and links to national
producers on their website. That’s fine
if you want UPS to deliver your
holiday bird from the Midwest,
but why not support local farmers and buy
a turkey raised in the
Hudson Valley? That is what the farm-to-table
movement is all
about.
The following is a far-from-complete short list of some
respected farms
and farmers you could contact. They are not
supermarkets where a
startling and deeply discounted array of
frozen carcasses is available
24 hours a day. No, these are small
family farmers who annually plan the
next season’s finite crop,
raise them lovingly and humanely, and harvest
accordingly. Since
you likely know now that you will be serving turkey
over the
Holidays – as nearly everyone does - make arrangements ahead of
time so you know you will have one when you want it.
Heather
Ridge Farm in Preston Hollow, NY.
(http://heather-ridge-farm.com/the-animals/turkeys)
While owner Carol
Clement raises poultry, beef and heritage
breeds of pigs, her turkeys
are a traditional broad-breasted
white, not heritage, but they are
well-fed, pasture-raised birds,
without antibiotics and hormones, that
you’ll be proud to serve
on any occasion.
Brookside Farm in Gardiner, NY.
(http://brookside-farm.com/)
They
produce grass-feed, pasture-raised poultry & livestock
without the use
of hormones, antibiotics or pesticides.
The De
Maria family’s Hemlock Hill Farm in Cortlandt Manor, NY.
(http://hemlockhillfarm.com/)
Dedicated to providing the community with
all natural, wholesome
farm raised products for over 70 years, they are
one of the
oldest family owned working farms in Westchester County.
Northwind
Farms in Tivoli, NY.
(http://www.northwindfarmsallnatural.com/)
Offers all natural whole
turkeys, boneless turkey roasts,
assorted turkey parts, and can also be
found at several regional
farmers markets.
McEnroe Organic Farm, Millerton, NY.
(http://www.mcenroeorganicfarm.com)
Offering certified organic turkeys
pasture-raised on organic
grain.
Turkana Farms in Germantown, NY.
(http://turkanafarms.com)
Using
sustainable agriculture and pasture- and humanely-raised
practices,
Turkana Farms produces heritage breed livestock and
heritage breed
turkeys plus a full range of produce.
Willow
Ridge Farm, Putnam, NY.
(http://www.willow-ridge-farm.com/)
Willow Ridge practices sustainable agriculture and offers
pasture-raised
heritage bourbon red turkeys.
But if the farm
of your choice is out of turkeys or other meats, or it’s
too
much of a hassle to go to the farm, there is an excellent purveyor
of the best meats, all available under one, very local
roof:
Fleisher’s Grass-Fed and Organic Meats, Kingston, NY.
(https://www.fleishers.com)
An old-fashioned butcher shop, Fleisher’s
offers NY and CA
pasture–raised heritage breed turkeys fed an
antibiotic- and
hormone-free vegetarian diet.
And if the above birds are either
sold out or too pricey for your
budget, don’t think you have to
settle for the frozen equivalent of a
hockey puck or TV Dinner at
the nearest supermarket. There’s a reliable
middle ground in a
local purveyor of regional farm products:
Adams Fairacre Farms, is
a local grocery chain with stores in Kingston,
Poughkeepsie,
Newburgh and Wappinger, NY.
(http://adamsfarms.com/)
They
offer their own and national brands of free-range all fresh
turkeys at a
third of the price (or less) than the pasture-raised
heritage breeds of
the individual farms listed above.
So, no
matter what your pleasure or price range, local farmers and farm
markets can supply your holiday turkey.http://www.hopefarmbooks.com
Read
my Hudson Valley/Catskills Examiner
column:http://www.examiner.com/hudson-valleycatskills-in-new-york/richard-frisbie
or
my General travel Examiner
column:http://www.examiner.com/travel-in-new-york/richard-
Image:
lisalamonica.com
Vote for Richard's entry to the magazine
International Living for a competition to become a writer for them.
http://internationalliving.com/2015/11/the-sparkling-streetlights-of-puerto-vallarta/#.Vjon3sfy6XY.facebook
Please support:
Every year, we send an appeal to help the families in Ghent/Chatham that are less fortunate. This year is no different. The Ghent Food Pantry hosts on average around 100 families each month. This Thanksgiving, they plan to provide over 120 families with a Turkey dinner and all of the fixings. The cost for a family of 4 is around $50.00. I encourage each of you to send what you can to help these families in our community--any amount is very much appreciated!
Checks should be make to:
The Ghent Food Pantry
PO Box 98
Ghent, NY 12075-0098
Patti Matheney
GhentCANN
DONATIONS NEEDED FOR THANKSGIVING
and not just turkeys....do you have a good old fashioned can opener? How about some pot holders or some kitchen towels?
We could surely use some sharp knives and BIG spoons.
And if you can...write a check. All the donations are needed and greatly appreciated, and they're tax deductible, so you can please God and Uncle Sam at the same time....
...
Caring Hands
P.O. Box 1099
Kingston, NY 12402
