NAPERVILLE, Ill., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- 1981 was a year of many
firsts ... the first personal computer from IBM, the debut of MTV,
and the first season for the Butterball(R) Turkey Talk-Line(TM)
(1-800-BUTTERBALL), which has provided holiday peace of mind for
millions of families during the last quarter century. One of the
first national, toll-free consumer help lines, the original
Talk-Line staff of six home economists fielded questions from
11,000 turkey- troubled Americans during its first season in
November 1981. On Thanksgiving Day, the small group fielded
hundreds of calls -- with only a rolodex of notes and their own
knowledge to help them answer the nation's questions. Today,
professionally-trained home economists and nutritionists assist
more than 100,000 callers each year in the United States and Canada
during the holiday season. The Talk-Line's 50 staff members are
capable of answering questions from either English- or
Spanish-speaking callers, and they even respond to questions via
e-mail. "Over the years we've seen people come up with many
different ways to cook their holiday turkey, which has really kept
our jobs interesting!" said Mary Clingman, director of the
Butterball Turkey Talk-Line. As American society and cooking has
evolved, the Talk-Line has kept pace, adding new information and
services to meet the changing needs of holiday cooks. Butterball
Turkey Talk-Line Milestones -- 1981 - Butterball Turkey Talk-Line
debuted with six operators and fielded 11,000 calls -- 1982 - One
year later, the Talk-Line staff quadrupled to 27 -- 1984 -
Talk-Line went electronic, with computerized resource information
and call tracking -- 1991 - Spanish language option added;
Talk-Line received its millionth caller -- 1995 -
http://www.butterball.com/ launched -- 2004 - Spanish-language Web
site launched 25 Years of Turkey Trends While much has changed over
a quarter century, one thing hasn't -- a worry-free Thanksgiving
still begins with Butterball and its Turkey Talk-line. By keeping
up with emerging cooking trends, the Turkey Talk-Line continues to
answer questions timeless or trendy. 1981 Experts Emerge: Realizing
that many people were intimidated by preparing the annual
Thanksgiving dinner, Butterball launched the Butterball Turkey
Talk-Line to connect Americans with trained turkey experts. The
question asked most that year was "How do I roast a picture-perfect
turkey?" The Talk-Line recommended the Open Pan method, which
remains the "gold standard" for preparing the traditional holiday
centerpiece. 1982 Talk-Line Spreads Its Wings: Due to the success
of the inaugural season (11,000 calls!), the Talk-Line bulked up
its staff to 27 in 1982. Though more experts were behind the
phones, calls were still tallied by hand with "tick marks" that the
experts counted one-by- one for days after Thanksgiving to figure
out call volume! 1983 Brown Bag It: From its beginning, the
Talk-Line received calls on roasting turkey in a brown paper bag to
"hold in" the juices. While this technique may be a family
tradition passed down from generation to generation, the Talk-Line
staff recommends the Open Pan Roasting method as the easiest and
safest method. 1984 Low-Temperature Roasting: Early Talk-Line
staffers received many questions on low-temperature roasting as a
way to tenderize birds. However, this method cooks the turkey in
the "danger zone" (below 140 degrees) for too long, potentially
allowing bacteria to grow; therefore, it was not encouraged by the
Talk-Line staff. 1985 Microwaving Mania: How to microwave a whole
turkey was the third most frequently asked Talk-Line question in
1985. At the time, many home economists and consumers thought this
new invention would completely replace the oven. In response,
Butterball staff perfected a microwave turkey cooking method and
created a browning sauce to make the bird look beautifully
golden-brown. 1986 Fresh Interest: During the 80's an increasing
number of women worked outside the home, so many families were
looking for ways to simplify holiday meals.(1) In 1986, questions
to the Talk-Line about Butterball Fresh Turkeys increased
dramatically, since they could go straight into the oven without
time-consuming thawing. 1987 Back to the Basics: With the stock
market crash of 1987, a new generation of adults headed into the
kitchen for the first time.(2) These cooking novices wanted an
easy, basic way to prepare their Thanksgiving turkey -- just what
the Talk-Line focuses on -- thawing, cooking and evaluating
doneness. 1988 Charcoal Grilling and Smoking: Prior to the
prevalence of gas grills, charcoal grills roasted tons of turkey!
Questions ranged from safe operation to marinades to cook time. The
Talk-Line staff was ready, having tested a variety of cooking
methods. 1989 Low-Fat Frenzy: During the late 1980's people began
to reduce dietary fat.(3) Americans cut back on butter and cream in
their Thanksgiving sides, and many nixed the heavy gravy on their
centerpiece turkey. 1990 Oven Bags: The Talk-Line received a
constant stream of calls regarding oven cooking bags in the late
80's and early 90's. While oven bags may save on clean-up time, the
Talk-Line staff still found the Open Pan method could be used for
all sizes of turkeys and gave a beautiful golden-brown appearance.
1991 In Love with Latin: The Latino population grew at a rate
higher than that of the entire U.S. population in 1991 (53 percent
Latino growth to 9.5 percent U.S. growth). Their cuisine caught on,
too -- salsas, chilies and other traditional Latin American flavors
spiced up traditional Thanksgiving foods. The Talk-Line adapted to
this trend as well, offering guidance for Spanish-speaking callers
for the first time. 1992 Help for All: The Talk-Line launched two
innovations in 1992: 1-800-TDD-3848 opened to help hearing- and
speech-impaired callers, and the Talk-Line number became open to
Canadians. 1993 Food Safety Hits Home: In the early 90's a new top
question emerged -- "How do I thaw a turkey so it's safe to eat?"
The number two question involved safe handling (wash hands, don't
cross contaminate and use a meat thermometer), and the fourth was
about safe storage (refrigerate within two hours of serving). 1994
Open Pan Heats Up: In 1994, Butterball conducted an exhaustive
study on open pan roasting to confirm optimal cooking times for
today's modern turkeys.(4) Results showed that modern turkeys
cooked faster, sometimes by as much as 30 minutes. Butterball
roasting time guidelines were revised. 1995 Butterball Goes Online:
As more Americans began to rely on the Internet for their
information, Butterball launched http://www.butterball.com/ .
During November and December, the site allowed consumers to e-mail
the Talk-Line's home economists -- taking the Talk-Line to a new
level. 1996 Turkey, Turkey Everywhere: In the mid-90's, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture found that people were turning to turkey
for more than Thanksgiving. Yearly turkey consumption increased to
18.8 pounds per person and turkey production rose to more than 5.2
billion pounds, largely due to the growth of processed turkey
products like lunch meats.(5) 1997 Why Fry?: The Talk-Line started
receiving many calls about deep frying turkey in 1997. Due to
concerns about the safety of deep frying equipment, the Talk-Line
does not recommend this method of preparation. 1998 Cyber-cooks
Creation: To meet the ever-growing needs of its online audience,
the Talk-Line spent 1998 developing online versions of Butterball
University -- the turkey seminars all Talk-Line staff must complete
in person each year. These online cooking classes covered thawing,
carving and storing, among other topics. 1999 Brining: Brining, or
soaking a turkey in salt water, started popping up on many
Talk-Line calls. Since frozen Butterball turkeys are pre-basted to
maintain juiciness, they don't need to be brined or basted at home.
2000 Easy Please!: During the 90's, the number of meals eaten at
home decreased by 14 percent. The trend continued in the new
millennium as leisure time steadily declined.(6) In response,
Butterball developed easy-to-prepare, one-dish recipes and held a
national contest for the best one-dish meal recipes. 2001
Fast-Forward to Fusion: Chefs boldly experimented with fusion
cuisine-traditional holiday meals were mixed with Cajun tastes,
American regional approaches and international inspirations. To
help families create these fresh new tastes,
http://www.butterball.com/ added several culturally-inspired
recipes. 2002 Convection: With hot air currents that cook food more
quickly, convection ovens are making their way into more homes and
are roasting more turkeys each Talk-Line season. Cooks with this
new technology in their kitchens often turn to the Talk-Line for
help. 2003 Men at Work -- in the Kitchen: Between 1986 and 2003,
the percentage of calls from men nearly doubled, showing that men
were taking a more active role in holiday help. A Butterball survey
revealed that 58 percent of American men helped their wives or
girlfriends with Thanksgiving meal preparation. 2004 Healthy
Holiday: Given the popularity of the Atkins diet, Zone diet and
South Beach diet among others, Americans spent the 2003 holiday
cutting out extra carbs, fats and calories. Americans recognized
that as a perfect protein, turkey was the healthiest, easiest part
of their holiday meals. 2005 Countertop Craze: What's old is new
again! Countertop rotisseries, crock pots and electric roasters are
back in retro-style for 2005. With oven space at a premium during
holiday meal prep, many people are looking for ways to outsource
the turkey to the counter. The Talk-Line talks callers through the
pros and cons of each cooking method and appliance. A Chance for
All to Celebrate From Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2005, turkey fans
across America can help celebrate the Talk-Line's 25th Anniversary.
The "Butterball's Biggest Fan Contest" at
http://www.butterball.com/ asks Web site visitors to explain why
they're a top turkey lover by submitting a brief essay and photo
that demonstrates their passion for poultry. Butterball will award
one grand prize winner new high-end kitchen appliances -- either a
refrigerator and built-in oven, or a range. Twenty-five runners-up
will each receive a Butterball gift check worth $15. Complete
information, entry forms and rules and regulations will be
available at http://www.butterball.com/ beginning Oct. 1, 2005.
About Butterball and ConAgra Foods Butterball, a brand of ConAgra
Foods, Inc., is the nation's leading brand of turkey. Based in
Naperville, Ill., Butterball has served consumers for 50 years with
a history of quality and consumer trust. For more information
regarding Butterball, other related products and mouth-watering
turkey recipes, visit the Butterball Web site at
http://www.butterball.com/ . ConAgra Foods, Inc. (NYSE:CAG) is one
of North America's largest packaged food companies, serving
consumer grocery retailers, as well as restaurants and other
foodservice establishments. Popular ConAgra Foods consumer brands
include: ACT II, Armour, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Brown 'N Serve,
Butterball, Chef Boyardee, Cook's, Crunch 'n Munch, DAVID, Decker,
Eckrich, Egg Beaters, Fleischmann's, Golden Cuisine, Gulden's,
Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt's, Kid Cuisine, Knott's Berry
Farm, La Choy, Lamb Weston, Libby's, Lightlife, Lunch Makers, MaMa
Rosa's, Manwich, Marie Callender's, Orville Redenbacher's, PAM,
Parkay, Pemmican, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Rosarita, Ro*Tel, Slim Jim,
Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp's, Wesson, Wolf and many others.
For more information, visit http://www.conagrafoods.com/ . 1
FoodReview, http://www.ers.usda.gov/ , Volume 23, Issue 1,
January-April 2000. 2 Baltimore City Paper,
http://www.citypaper.com/ , February 27, 2002. 3 Journal of Family
and Consumer Sciences, Winter 1997. 4 Study of 150 turkeys
conducted in Butterball Test Kitchens, 1994. 5 United States
Department of Agriculture, 1995. 6 CNN Food Central, January 1,
2000. For more information, contact Anne Marie Bonness 312.616.1601
DATASOURCE: ConAgra Foods, Inc. CONTACT: Anne Marie Bonness for
ConAgra Foods, Inc., +1-312-616-1601, Web site:
http://www.conagrafoods.com/ http://www.butterball.com/
http://www.ers.usda.gov/ http://www.citypaper.com/
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