First Thanksgiving Feast
First Thanksgiving Feast – There is no way to know for sure if the customary turkey was a part of the first Thanksgiving feast. The only two items that were on that first thanksgiving table that historians are sure about were venison and wild fowl. These menu items were mentioned in the most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" from a journal of one of the pilgrims at Plymouth, Edward Winslow written in 1621.
We do know that the autumn colors of New England are stunning and I like to believe that the Pilgrims had a deep appreciation for nature’s beauty. It is nature’s beauty that inspires the decoration of my holiday table . Some of my favorite fall flowers are sunflowers, roses and daisies. I love oak leaf accents, apples and of course candle light.
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Historians don’t know for sure what the “full bounty” consisted of, other than wild fowl and venison, but they do know that the pilgrims weren’t eating large amounts of pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. Here is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast.
Here are some Foods That May have been served at that first Thanksgiving feast:
• Seafood: Lobster, Cod, Eel and Clams
• Wild Fowl: Wild Turkey, Goose, Partridge, Duck, Crane, Swan and Eagles
• Meat: Seal and Venison
• Vegetables: Pumpkin, Beans, Peas, Onions, Peas, Lettuce, Carrots and Radishes
• Fruit: Grapes and Plums
• Grain: Indian corn and Wheat Flour
• Nuts: Chestnuts, Walnuts and Acorns
• Herbs and Seasonings: Olive Oil, Leeks, Dried Currants, Liverwort and Parsnips
And here is a list of what we know was not on that first Thanksgiving Table:
Amazingly, the following list of foods, what most people consider the modern Thanksgiving meal, did not appear on the pilgrims’ first Thanksgiving feast table:
• Cranberry Sauce: The colonists had cranberries but there was no sugar at this time.
• Pumpkin Pie: Was not a recipe that existed at this point in time, although the pilgrims had recipes for stewed pumpkin.
• Ham: There is nothing to suggest that the colonists had butchered a pig by this time, although they did bring pigs with them from Britain.
• Sweet Potatoes/Potatoes: Neither of these vegetables were common.
• Corn on the Cob: Corn was kept dried out by this time of the year.
• Milk: there were no cows on the Mayflower. It is however possible that the colonists made cheese with goats milk.
• Chicken/Eggs: The colonists brought hens from England with them, but it’s hard to know how many they were left by this point or whether the hens were still laying eggs.
For more interesting facts and lore or simply some good ideas for Thanksgiving Centerpieces please visit our home page at www.thanksgivingcenterpiece.org
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Other Interesting Post On The Thanksgiving Feast
Growing up, I was taught that the practice of Thanksgiving had originated in the United States in the year 1621, with the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians attending.
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Thanksgiving History! In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.
turkey How much do you know about the Thanksgiving holiday? What are the origins of this annual celebration? Take the Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz and test your knowledge of Thanksgiving history and lore.
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Indians that took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the autumn of 1621.
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