Thanksgiving Foods
As we look forward to the traditional Thanksgiving foods of the holiday meal, it is entertaining to consider the differences between the actual foods served at the original Thanksgiving meal as opposed to our menu.
Historians have reported that while several wild game dishes were likely on the menu for the first Thanksgiving, the only two that are positively documented are venison and wild fowl, which might have included wild turkey, but likely would have been duck or goose.
White potatoes were originally from South America and sweet potatoes were grown in Spain and extremely expensive. Neither of these were part of the English or Native American diet in 1621, at the time of the first Thanksgiving meal.
While hard flint “Indian” corn was indeed a staple item for the native Indians and served at most meals, therefore likely was one of the original Thanksgiving foods, it was generally cooked and ground into the consistency of a porridge and served warm or cold.
Food historians conclude that a variety of both dried and fresh vegetables were available to the Pilgrims and Native American tribes at the time of the first Thanksgiving feast, hence the tradition of celebrating thanks for the bountiful harvest of Thanksgiving foods. The produce available would have included parsnips, collards, carrots, parsley, turnips, spinach, and cabbages, as well as sage, thyme, marjoram and onions which were primarily used for seasoning. Dried beans and wild blueberries may have also been on the harvest menu as well as cranberries, pumpkins, grapes and nuts.
Desserts and sweet sauces of any kind were simply not possible as part of the list of original Thanksgiving foods. The pilgrims did not have sugar or ovens for baking, so sweet cranberry sauces and pumpkin pies were out. Pumpkin and squash are native to North America, and were readily available to the first settlers, but food historians suggest that they were typically sliced and fried, rather than pureed into pie filling as we hold as tradtion. Apple pie was also not on the menu. Apples are not native to North America and did not arrive on the continent until roughly 1630.
As the transitional list of Thanksgiving foods evolves, it’s hard to say how we arrived at the menu commonly used today. Most families are still adding regional side dishes to the traditional menu and inserting the flair of their heritage as part of the blessings and observances of this important family holiday.