The historical experiments of stuffing poultry with fruit go back to a time where it was commonly believed that acids were necessary in the creation of batteries and therefore electricity. Many, having read Frankenstein, performed their own experiments to see whether birds could be reanimated with plums in the oven. This unsuccessful endeavour gives us the term ‘Plum Duff’. The traditional stuffing we use on turkeys at Christmas today is actually based on the scientific workings of Josiah Cooke who invented the sage and onion battery back in 1707, when he mixed sage, onion, chestnut, a lemon and a few herbs to cause a plucked chicken to dance about doing ‘A Hokeye Cokeye’ with entertaining nods and winks to the prospective diners. Even more impressive when you consider its head was in a bucket by the fire.
