Whether you’re a dab hand in the kitchen or new to cooking up a feast for guests, getting the Christmas meal wrapped up can usually be one of the biggest festive challenges.
Every Christmas morning, cooks up and down the country are faced with turkeys that haven’t defrosted, a mountain of vegetables to peel, sauces and stuffings to prepare. With all this to cope with it’s no wonder that it’s not just the kitchen that gets steamed up!
Preparing the seasonal turkey safely and deliciously is very important to all of us, so this Christmas, South Somerset District Council’s Environmental Health team have been visiting local butchers offering a new Pop Up® disposable cooking thermometer timer device for use with all the turkey’s being sold over the counter this year. The Pop Up® timers are designed to release a red button exactly when the bird has reached its optimum level of doneness at the thickest part of the meat, thus eliminating the annual ‘turkey guesswork’ and assuring a perfectly cooked and safe product.
Along with the Pop Up® device the team will also be delivering to the butchers a Top Ten Turkey Tips food safety guide, designed to help keep customers Christmas festivities free from food poisoning and a little less stressful.
Councillor Peter Seib, Portfolio Holder for Regulatory and Democratic Services at South Somerset District Council said, “We all need a little help when it comes to planning the Christmas lunch as even the most experienced cooks can lose their festive cheer when faced with all the different foods to cook. Getting the turkey cooked just right is paramount. Over-cooked and you never live it down. Under-cooked, well let’s just not go there! When planning for the big day preparation is key and in the heat of the moment don’t forget those good hygiene practices.”
Wayne Pullen from Wayne Pullen Family Butchers in Milborne Port said, “Every Christmas many customers return to my shop with their stories of how they had either over or under done their roast turkey dinner. This year, your local butcher, in partnership with the South Somerset Council Environmental Health team, can hopefully put an end to such sombre anecdotes as each turkey will come ready supplied with a Pop Up® disposable cooking thermometer placed into the meat. A top ten turkey tips guide will also be on offer, so just ask your local butcher all about this. This is a fabulous initiative aiming to ensure that all important seasonal dinner will be served up in perfect order.”
So, if you’re supporting your local South Somerset butcher and ordering your Christmas turkey with them this year, look out for the little red Pop Up® button and have a safe and very merry Christmas.