This Thanksgiving, countless families will sit down at the dinner table and either stuff themselves on turkey or ham. But which one of these main dishes is truly better? The Optimist Editorial Board sat down and discussed the pros and cons concerning these mainstays of Thanksgiving, but after much heated debate we came to an impasse. So now it is up to you to decide which is truly the best.
If someone were to say the word “Thanksgiving,” probably the image that pops into your head is a nice, plump turkey wearing some pilgrim clothes.
That’s because the turkey is the iconic, multigenerational Thanksgiving symbol.
Society has even gone so far as to nickname Thanksgiving “Turkey Day.”
When Norman Rockwell was painting iconic American pictures for covers of the Saturday Evening Post, he painted a family gathering for Thanksgiving dinner. And what was the centerpiece of the table and the painting? You guessed it – a roasted turkey.
The trophy handed out to the winner of the NFL’s annual Thanksgiving Classic is a bronze sculpture of a turkey.
When most families sit down at the dinner table, or in front of the TV, or wherever they celebrate the holiday, the centerpiece and main feature is the turkey.
Having a Thanksgiving with no turkey would be like having Christmas with no decorated tree, Halloween with no costumes or pumpkins, or the Fourth of July without fireworks. You could do it, but why would you?
The turkey gives families the opportunity to spend a day together cooking and preparing a feast. Finally getting to eat all of your hard work is just gravy. Side dishes like cranberry dressing and stuffing are perfect complements to the main turkey meal.
With turkey, you get the choice of white or dark meat – both of which fall apart in your mouth, provided the bird was cooked properly. There are numerous ways to cook a turkey, and when the main feast of the day is done, you can have leftovers for days.
Of course, a full thanksgiving feast would not be complete without all the side dishes and desserts. Rolls, gravy, mashed potatoes and deviled eggs are necessary evils of the meal to round out the food pyramid and our bellies.
Turkey is not only the iconic choice for Thanksgiving, it is also the healthy choice. Turkey is a lean meant, low in fat and high in protein. If you discard the skin, it is probably the healthiest thing on most family’s tables during the meal.
But then there is the ham. With ham, all you get is fatty, clogged arteries. Ham, especially the prepackaged ones many people buy, is high in sodium, fat and cholesterol – thanks to the sugary honey glazes most distributors baste them in.
Admittedly, ham is delicious and succulent and probably the best sidekick a turkey dinner could ask for.
After all, Thanksgiving is a time for family, and many families have children – children whose pallets haven’t matured enough for the taste of a delicious turkey. It is nice to pacify them with sugary sliced ham and cheesy macaroni while they sit at the kid’s table and play with their food, leaving turkey for the adults.
Opposing argument can be found at http://www.acuoptimist.com/2010/11/pig-thanksgivings-next-top-hog/
