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Short Wave

One Woman's Quest For The (Scientifically) Best Turkey

Short Wave

NPR

Nature, News, Astronomy, Science, Daily News, Life Sciences

4.76.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Turkey is the usual centerpiece of the Thanksgiving dinner, but it's all too easy to end up with a dry, tough, flavorless bird. For NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy, it got so bad that several years ago, her family decided to abandon the turkey tradition altogether. Can science help her make a better bird this year? That's what she hopes as she seeks expert advice from food science writers and cookbook authors Nik Sharma and Kenji López-Alt.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

0:04.6

Hey Shortwaveers, Rebecca Ramirez here.

0:08.5

And today I am joined by NPR Health and Science correspondent Maria Gidoy.

0:13.6

Hey Maria, what you got for the pod today?

0:16.0

Rebecca, I'm gonna get real vulnerable here.

0:20.3

I've got a kitchen confession.

0:22.8

I don't do Thanksgiving turkey.

0:24.8

Oh, I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.

0:27.5

No, I mean, I don't need a lot of meat, but in this case, we skip the turkey because

0:32.6

of, I don't know, soul-crushing disappointment.

0:35.8

Oh, no.

0:36.8

I know.

0:37.8

I know.

0:38.8

Several years ago, my family and I decided we just weren't gonna do Thanksgiving turkey

0:43.7

anymore because it was usually dry and just lacked any flavor.

0:48.0

It just didn't taste like anything.

0:49.8

So what's the point of getting up super early and spending hours just laboring and sweating

0:55.8

and stressing in the kitchen if you're just gonna end up with a bland bird?

1:00.8

I mean, I don't need that kind of holiday heartache in my life.

1:04.6

You know, Maria, I feel your pain.

1:07.3

I totally do, but this is a science podcast.

1:11.9

I know, but bad turkeys are a problem that science can actually solve.

...

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