Most Americans bought frozen turkeys for Thanksgiving in the 1990s. Frozen birds were the standard supermarket choice because producers could process them well ahead of the holiday, store them for months, and distribute large quantities nationwide.
Fresh turkeys were available, but they were harder to supply consistently and usually cost more. Contemporary grocery-industry reporting from the 1990s described frozen birds as the sales leader, even as interest in fresh turkeys increased. The word “fresh” also caused confusion: under U.S. labeling rules, it meant the turkey had not been frozen, not that it had been slaughtered immediately before purchase.
The main practical difference was preparation. A frozen turkey needed several days to thaw safely in a refrigerator, while a fresh turkey could be cooked without that step. Neither label guaranteed better flavor; cooking method, brining, size, and avoiding overcooking mattered more. The familiar Thanksgiving turkey tradition predates supermarkets, but modern cold-storage technology made frozen birds the dominant mass-market option.