The First Thanksgiving: What was on the Menu?

 Most Americans know something about the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621. It was a joint effort made by the European colonists at Plymouth and the local Native Americans, the Wompanoag. The celebration  lasted for several days, and it included games, dances, singing, foot races, and shooting competitions.

The 1621 event was actually more of a harvest celebration than one of thanksgiving. The colonists were so glad that the recent drought was over that they felt like partying. Historians believe that the Native Americans weren’t actually invited to the feast. They just showed up to investigate what all the shooting was about. Once they realized the Europeans were killing game for a feast, they got in on the action and added their own contributions.

What we don’t know for sure was exactly what was on the dinner menu for that first Thanksgiving.

Historians are certain of only two elements to the meal: wild fowl and venison. This information is from Edward Winslow’s A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth:

"Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon our governor, and upon the captain, and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Okay. We know they had deer meat, and the wild fowl probably included wild turkeys, cranes, eagles, swans, partridges, geese, and a variety of ducks. What else did they find on the dinner table?

Much of the meal most likely consisted of seafood. We know that the local waters provided fish like cod and bass, which could have been eaten fresh or dried and cured with salt. The ocean and adjacent rivers also provided lobster, oysters, mussels, clams, and eel. Seals also frequented the waters near Plymouth, and they provided a food source, as well. Rabbits from nearby fields and woods probably ended up on the table, too.

Most historians state that the colonists had brought chickens, pigs, and goats with them on their voyage to the New World, but we don’t know how many of these were left after that first winter. If any hens were still alive by the autumn of 1621, the first Thanksgiving could have included eggs. If any of the goats had survived, cheese could have graced the dinner table, also.

Most of the grain they had was in the form of corn, which by that time of the year would have been dried and ground into meal. The corn meal could have been used for simple breads, and it was almost certainly used as a thickening agent in other dishes, like stews, puddings, and sauces.

Likely vegetables would have included pumpkins, which were generally made into a stew. Other vegetables available were dried beans and peas, along with cool weather crops like lettuces, collards, turnips, spinach, parsnips, radishes, squashes, cabbages, carrots, and onions.

Fruits available at the time were white and red grapes and plums, along with blueberries, which would have been dried. The Wompanoags and the colonists sometimes used cranberries in their cooking to add tartness, but they almost certainly weren’t made into jelly – the pilgrims had brought sugar with them from Europe, but it was most likely gone by the time of the feast. If any sugar remained in their stores, it would have been too highly prized to use for jelly. The fruits might have been sweetened with honey or maple syrup, however.

The meal was probably rounded out with walnuts, hickory nuts, chestnuts, and acorns from the nearby forests.

Most of the dishes were probably seasoned with salt, cinnamon, ginger, liverwort, leeks, nutmeg, and pepper. The colonists probably still had stores of olive oil left from their stores. In addition, the Native Americans perhaps added dried native herbs and roots to otherwise bland dishes to season them.

If you want to have a real traditional Thanksgiving this year, forget about the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies, and cakes. Instead, serve eels, roasted crane, dried beans, and stewed pumpkin. And no football games on TV, either. Challenge your pals to a foot race for traditional entertainment. This way, you’re sure to be relieved of your hosting responsibilities next Thanksgiving!