Facts to Digest While Waiting to Gobble

I once suggested duck for Thanksgiving dinner. You don’t suggest duck to a holiday traditionalist like my wife. We’ll have turkey today. We’ve already got the Christmas turkey in the freezer. That’s because my wife says turkey just doesn’t taste the same if you can’t get it free through supermarket bargains.

My favorite turkey story comes from the movie “The Accidental Tourist,” when the eccentric family gets up before dawn to cook the Thanksgiving bird at 140 degrees. For the record, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends 325 degrees.

There’s a lot to know about turkeys if you really want to get into the swing of Thanksgiving. The National Turkey Federation in Reston, Va., which represents most of the nation’s turkey farmers and processors, can tell you just about anything you’d ever ask.

Here’s a little test of your turkey knowledge. Give a drumstick to the member of your family who answers the most questions correctly. (Answers in the wrap-up.)

1. How many turkeys were produced in the U.S. last year? 200 million? 300 million? 100 million?

2. What do you call the bright red appendage at the neck of a turkey?

3. What is a baby turkey called?

4. How many poults (OK, I gave you one) can a tom turkey produce during a hen’s six-month production cycle? 20? 100? 200? 1,500?

5. What do you call slices of raw turkey breast?

6. What do you call resting a turkey hen for a second laying production?

7. How many pounds of turkey do we eat each year per person? 2 pounds? 5 pounds? 18 pounds? 95 pounds?

8. Which state produces the most turkeys: California, Iowa, North Carolina, Alaska or Minnesota?

9. How long does it take a turkey egg to hatch? Six hours? Six days? 10 days? 28 days?

10. How many turkeys are eaten at Thanksgiving? 10 million? 28 million? 45 million? 100 million?

Fewer Dark Days Ahead: If you take the same size turkey you’ve always cooked and set your oven at the usual temperature, will it take less time or more time to cook it today than it did 10 years ago? The turkey federation did a survey and found most people getting this one wrong. The answer is, it takes less time (how much varies) and here is why: New breeds of turkeys produce a higher proportion of white meat, which cooks faster than dark meat. So beware of overcooking, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture--and be sure to use a meat thermometer.

A Feast for Thousands: Frank Garcia is cooking so many turkeys for today he had to borrow the ovens at the Anaheim Hilton and Towers to get the job done.

This is the ninth year Garcia has offered a free turkey meal at his La Casa Garcia Restaurant, 531 W. Chapman Ave. in Anaheim. Each year he gets more than 10,000 visitors. This year he says he’s ready for 15,000.

“So many people work at just minimum-wage jobs,” he said. “When you don’t make $200 a week and you have a large family, you just can’t afford a turkey.”

Garcia’s turkeys are donated by various groups and organizations, and volunteers do the serving. He’s got 150 people in the kitchen alone.

Non-Football Holiday TV: A lot of people in Cypress will be watching something besides football on TV today. The Cypress High School marching band has been chosen to participate in the annual Macy’s Day Parade in New York City. You can catch the parade at 1 p.m. on NBC (Channel 4).

Football & TV: One of my colleagues overheard me talking with someone on the telephone about Raymond Berry. My friend was ecstatic to learn that Berry will speak at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove on Sunday. Raymond Berry, he exclaimed, was his boyhood hero.

Berry, for you non-football fans, was the fellow catching all those passes from Johnny Unitas when the Baltimore Colts were kings of the National Football League. He later went on to coach the New England Patriots.

Berry is now involved in various business pursuits out of Denver. But he is also a part time spokesman for PI Bear. On Sunday, he’ll bring the stuffed PI Bear with him to the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. The toy PI Bear (for “physically inconvenienced”) sits in a wheelchair. The nonprofit corporation that produces it tries to get it placed in as many classrooms across the country as it can. The idea is to help children get more comfortable with seeing another youngster who must use a wheelchair.

Though I couldn’t reach Berry, who was on the road, I did hear from Dale Haselhorst, director of the group based in Kansas. He told me: “When I was a child, I always just averted my eyes if I saw someone in a wheelchair. I know now that’s wrong. But we didn’t know any better then. We hope our bear can help break down some of those barriers about people in wheelchairs.”

Wrap-Up: Answers: 1. 300 million. 2. Wattle. 3. Poult. (You missed that after my hint?) 4. A whopping 1,500. (My wife objects to the National Turkey Federation raising this question. “Sounds to me like they’re giving the male turkey too much of the credit,” she said.) 5. Cutlets.

Also: 6. Molting. (The federation says some of the answers given in the past have been “vacation” and “double duty.”) 7. 18 pounds. (We’ve got hearty appetites in California. The California Farm Bureau says we’re up to 20 pounds each here.) 8. North Carolina produces the most turkeys. (Go to the end of the line if you said Alaska.) 9. 28 days to hatch. 10. 45 million. (For Christmas it’s 22 million, Easter, 19 million.)

Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by call-ing the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com