In Praise of Turkey Fat

Each year it fascinates me; how the juices from around the turkey - a single liquid - slowly separates into two; a clear jelly of cross-linked proteins, and a solid waxy mass of fat.


Today I took great spoonfuls of the fat and melted it in a roasting dish for today's potatoes, and once again examined that place where the two layers meet - like a discontinuity between sandstone and volcanic ashes in the face of a cliff.

Almost pure protein and then almost pure fat; one sort of solid sitting on top of another. Only when they are cold can these two substances be easily disentangled; the artery-clogging creamy-whiteness of triglycerides from the golden muscle-building chains of amino acids. It seems a little like a metaphor for a couple who have fallen out of love - now they have had time to cool down and think about things they can no longer see the attraction.