Foods of the First Feast
Traditional meals & historic noteworthy facts.
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A Feast of Celebration
Thanksgiving is celebrated each November in the United States and each October in Canada. People traditionally gather around the dinner table flanked by friends and extended members of their families to give thanks for the blessings they enjoyed throughout the year as they dig into a delicious feast.
Turkey is typically the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal. Although turkey can be a delicious and nutritious addition to the table, individuals looking to expand their culinary horizons may want to borrow from the other foods believed to have been shared among the Plymouth Colony Pilgrims and Wampanoag natives during the 1621 feast that inspired Thanksgiving.
Waterfowl
Wild turkey were available in abundance in the New World, but historians believe that, during the first Thanksgiving meal, participants likely feasted on waterfowl instead of turkey. In fact, turkey wasn’t common Thanksgiving fare until after 1800. Waterfowl, according to National Geographic, includes ducks, mallards, swans, and geese. Those looking to experiment can take a break from turkey and make duck the centerpiece of their meals this Thanksgiving.
Seafood
Plymouth, Massachusetts, is located where Cape Cod Bay and the Atlantic Ocean meet. As a result, indigenous people and the pilgrims likely relied on the bounties afforded by the ocean for their sustenance. Documentation of the first Thanksgiving by pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow indicates lobster, fish and clams were likely served. People who enjoy seafood or those who prefer to abstain from meat or poultry can embrace seafood at their Thanksgiving gathering.
Fruits and vegetables
Fruits native to the region where the first Thanksgiving took place included blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, and cranberries. Cranberry sauce was an unlikely menu option because sugar that traveled over on the Mayflower was probably depleted by November 1621, according to History.com. Also, cooks didn’t begin boiling cranberries with sugar until about 50 years later. To recreate the first Thanksgiving, enjoy raw fruit as a tasty dessert, which can be healthier than sugar-laden sauces.
Vegetables to enjoy include onions, beans, spinach, cabbage, carrots, and corn. Corn was likely turned into cornmeal and pounded into a thick corn porridge. Experimenting with a cornmeal recipe can liven up this year’s festivities.
Turnips
Plant roots found in 1621 included parsnips and turnips, and not the popular potatoes that often accompany turkey at modern Thanksgiving gatherings. The potato was not yet popular enough among the English to warrant space on the Mayflower as it made its way to present-day North America. Purées of parsnips and turnips can be delectable on their own or used as a basis for a Thanksgiving soup.
Pumpkin custard
Although pumpkins and other gourds were available in the New World, baking was not yet popularized because of the lack of wheat flour. Instead, it is possible pilgrims would hollow out gourds, add spices with milk and honey, and then roll the gourds in hot flames to form a sort of custard. Home cooks can replicate a pumpkin custard in their kitchens and serve it in lieu of pumpkin pie.
Here are some interesting facts about the Thanksgiving celebration
1. American Thanksgiving is largely modeled on a 17th century harvest feast shared by the English settlers and the Wampanoag tribe.
2. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October. It is based on European harvest festivals.
3. The National Turkey Federation says around 45 million turkeys will be eaten on Thanksgiving, which equates to about 720 million pounds of turkey being consumed (with the average turkey size being 16 pounds).
4. The Butterball hotline answers roughly 100,000 calls every year on its turkey question hotline.
5. In 1953, the Swanson company overestimated the number of frozen turkeys it would sell for the holiday season by 26 tons. Rather than waste the meat, Swanson sliced it up, repackaged it and created the first frozen TV dinners.
6. Thanksgiving in America may be older than many recognize. While Thanksgiving is largely tied to the 17th century settlers, the National Parks Service says in 1565 Spanish settlers in St. Augustine (now Florida) celebrated by having a meal to which they invited the native Seloy tribe. The Spanish served pork stew, sea biscuits, red wine, and garbanzo beans. Some say the Seloy contributed turkey, venison and maize.
7. Thanksgiving didn’t become a civic holiday until Abraham Lincoln made it one after the Civil War tragedy. Thanksgiving was declared a national holiday on October 20, 1864.
8. The Pilgrims did not refer to themselves as “pilgrims.” They used the word “separatists” as they were separating themselves from a larger belief system.
9. In addition to Canada and the United States, Grenada, Liberia, the Philippines, Saint Lucia, and the Netherlands celebrate their own versions of Thanksgiving.
10. Each year, the American president “pardons” a turkey from slaughter on Thanksgiving. This tradition dates back to when Abraham Lincoln’s son was upset that his family’s turkey that was going to be killed for Thanksgiving dinner.
11. According to the U.S. Calorie Control Council (CCC), an average American may consume 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day.
12. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual tradition. People line the parade route in New York City or tune in to watch the parade on television. It originated in 1924 and the famed balloons were added in 1927.
13. Apple pie is the pie of choice for Thanksgiving, even though pumpkin pie is prevalent this time of year.
Many traditions have been borne of the holiday, and it is a favorite time of year for many people.