CUISINE
Thanksgiving Fads and Facts
P
reparing holiday meals can be a daunting task for working
women. Sometimes, it is necessary to take a few shortcuts
to save time. Mayo Clinic registered dietician Kathryn
Zeratsky helps us sort through the fads and the facts about
holiday cooking.
Thanksgiving turkey: It makes your mouth water, and it makes
you tired, right?
Yes, turkey is a source of tryptophan, but so are a lot of other foods.
Tryptophan is an amino acid found in protein-rich food. So it could be
turkey, but it could be dairy products like milk or eggs. And why do we
end up needing a Thanksgiving Day nap? It probably wasn’t so much
the turkey as it was the quantity of everything you ate.
Can we safely cook a frozen Thanksgiving turkey without
thawing it first?
Yes, you can safely cook a frozen turkey if you take the following
precautions: You can oven-roast a frozen turkey, but don't grill, deep-
fry, microwave or smoke one.
Grilling and deep-frying use high temperatures that will quickly
cook and char the outside, but leave the inside of the bird only partially
cooked, increasing the risk of foodborne illness. Microwaving also isn't
a safe option because it cooks a frozen bird unevenly.
Smoking uses temperatures that are generally too low and take
too long to fully cook a frozen turkey, also increasing the risk of food
poisoning.
Oven bags aren't recommended for frozen turkeys, either. At some
point, you need to open the bag to remove the giblets, and this allows
contaminated juices to spill out. Opening the bag also releases scalding
hot steam that can burn you.
We’ve heard that canned pumpkin is healthier than fresh
pumpkin. Is that true?
Not necessarily. Fresh foods generally have a higher nutrient content
than do cooked or canned foods. But in this case,