Thanksgiving Misgivings

~If you thought that our traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, and vegetables followed by pumpkin pie and/or apple pie and other sweets mirrors the original Thanksgiving, you'd be wrong. Although historians don't know everything that was served at that first feast, they do know two items for sure: venison and wild fowl (which could have been wild turkey, crane, swan, goose, duck - even eagle!). Through their knowledge of what was available to the pilgrims, they can make educated guesses about what might or might not have comprised the rest of the meal. Possible dishes served by the pilgrims include seafood like eel, clams and lobster; grains such as Indian corn and wheat flour; fruits including grapes and plums; vegetables like carrots, onions, beans and pumpkin; walnuts, acorns and chestnuts; herbs including liverwort, parsnips, dried currants, and leeks. NOT on the menu were any kind of potatoes, ham (there's no evidence of pigs having been butchered by colonists), cranberry sauce (sugar supplies from England had dwindled by this time), corn on the cob (corn was dried by harvest time), or pies (there were no ovens for baking).

Meats were more important than vegetables in the 1600s, contrary to today's dietary disciplines. The colonists' diets were heavier in fats, but this was necessary because their active lifestyles created a greater need for protein. A colonist was much more likely to die from illness than from a heart attack.

It's an interesting aside that in the 17th century, what you ate depended upon your social status. The most important people had the best food placed near them, and they only ate what was placed by them. Serving dishes weren't passed around as they are today. Also, there were no forks, only spoons, knives . . . and fingers. Large cloth napkins were used for finger wiping and also for picking up hot foods. (Betcha Uncle Harold's table manners don't look so bad in comparison!)

With that, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, a fruitful harvest, and a lively round of dinnertime conversation.

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