The First Thanksgiving Feast

Food, History 3 Minutes

(I went in search of what the Pilgrims ate at the first Thanksgiving and came across this article by Mark Fleming at the newengland.com website.)

The Thanksgiving meal is remarkably consistent in its elements: the turkey, the stuffing, the sweet potatoes, the cranberry sauce. Barring ethical, health, or religious objections, it is pretty much the same meal for everyone, around the country, and through the years of their lives. We stick with the basics and simply change the seasonings.

But what about that first Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621 (historians don’t know the exact date, but place it sometime between September 21 and November 9), when British settlers hosted the first documented harvest celebration? What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving, and how similar is it to the traditional American Thanksgiving meal today?

Here’s how Edward Winslow described the first Thanksgiving feast in a letter to a friend:

“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 fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst 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 we brought to the plantation and bestowed on 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.”

What They (Likely) Did Have at the First Thanksgiving

  • Venison
  • Fowl (geese and duck)
  • Corn
  • Nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, beechnuts)
  • Shellfish

So venison was a major ingredient, as well as fowl, but that likely included geese and ducks. Turkeys are a possibility, but were not a common food in that time. Pilgrims grew onions and herbs. Cranberries and currants would have been growing wild in the area, and watercress may have still been available if the hard frosts had held off, but there’s no record of them having been served. In fact, the meal was probably quite meat-heavy.

Likewise, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts were abundant, as were sunchokes. Shellfish were common, so they probably played a part, as did beans, pumpkins, squashes, and corn (served in the form of bread or porridge), thanks to the Wampanoags.

It’s possible, but unlikely, that there was turkey at the first Thanksgiving.

What They (Definitely) Did Not Have at the First Thanksgiving

  • A turkey centerpiece
  • Potatoes (white or sweet)
  • Bread stuffing or pie (wheat flour was rare)
  • Sugar
  • Aunt Lena’s green bean casserole

But how about bringing a little more truly traditional flavor back to your table? Back in 2003, we consulted with historians at Plimoth Plantation, the Wampanoag and English settlers living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and asked writer Jane Walsh to devise a menu that incorporated some of the foods that would have been served at the first Thanksgiving. We didn’t eliminate any favorites or try to go sugar-free. We skipped the venison. Really, like everyone else who will gather around a table on the fourth Thursday in November this year, we simply changed the seasonings.

Thanksgiving Recipes | Tradition with a Twist

Watercress-Currant Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Stuffing of Jerusalem Artichokes, Currants, and Grapes
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie with Sweet Walnut Crust

Historically-Inspired Thanksgiving Recipes

The Wampanoag and English settlers may not have had access to all of the ingredients included in these recipes, but by including pheasant, goose, or venison in your Thanksgiving menu, you’re at least paying tribute to a meat they likely enjoyed back in 1621. Chestnuts and native corn were common, too. Here are a few dishes to get you further inspired — both reader-submitted and from the Yankee recipe archives.

Venison Tenderloin
Roast Goose
Chestnut Croquettes
New England Succotash

This post was first published in 2012 and has been updated.

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Published by pat frederick

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244 thoughts on “The First Thanksgiving Feast”

  1. REALPOTUS was right all along…rapists and violent criminals coming across the porous border
    entire article
    The Biden administration controversially moved to significantly narrow ICE’s enforcement priorities. Guidance issued in 2021 limited ICE to focus on aggravated felons, national security threats, and recent border crossers. That guidance coincided with a sharp drop in deportations and arrests of illegal immigrants.

    But listening to AOC to defund ICE was not a good idea!

    Earlier this year, in response to a lawsuit from Republican states, that guidance was blocked. However, while that guidance was in effect, ICE has conducted similar operations to bring in and remove sex offenders and there were 3,415 sexual assault offenses associated with arrests it made in FY 2021.

    Last month, the agency announced it had arrested over 170 illegal immigrants who had multiple DUI convictions in a similar operation.

    But it seems that sex offenders are what we get when illegals enter our country through the southern border!

    From Townhall:

    Taking place from October 22 to November 4, the ICE operation rounded up 138 “unlawfully present noncitizens convicted of sex offenses” — that is, illegal immigrants who’d already committed sex crimes against Americans — many of whom already had orders for removal from the United States.

    A partial list of the illegal immigrants rounded up by ICE shows that their ages ranged from 29 to 65 and countries of origin included Mexico, Guatemala, Haiti, Cameroon, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The individuals were captured across the country, from California to New York and Texas to Illinois.

    Additionally, agents arrested a Bolivian in New York with a conviction of first-degree rape, a Mexican in Texas with a conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child, and a Nicaraguan in California with convictions for assault with intent to rape, second-degree robbery, and rape with force/violence/fear of bodily injury.

    We had to conduct a nationwide operation to round up illegal aliens who have committed sex crimes IN THE UNITED STATES. With millions of illegal border crossings each year now, who knows how many more of these predators are hanging out in our cities and towns?

    https://defiantamerica.com/heres-how-many-illegal-alien-sex-predators-ice-just-captured-they-were-all-hiding-in-american-communities/

    Liked by 1 person

  2. I don’t usually do it this early since it’s not usually this cold yet….but my floors are now covered in blankets and towels, at least as much is possible…..my annual regret of installing all wood floors….must walk carefully or you’ll trip! LOL – but I’m used to it. Jake, of course, loves it – blankets and towels slide much easier than rugs during his once-daily zoomie!!! Sometimes even twice! Then he flops down on it and gets it all messed up before running back down the hall….sigh….cats….worse than kids!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. LOL…when my granddaughter was younger, we had contests sliding down the hallway (wood floor) in our socks. my SIL wanted to join in, so he tried it and FELL…she and i laughed and laughed…(he wasn’t hurt)

      Liked by 1 person

  5. here’s a good question…

    gunrunner03
    gunrunner03
    November 19, 2022 12:33 pm

    Note to MTG: What’s the Republican plan to reverse the expansion of the Capital police presence outside of the Capital promulgated by Nancy Pelosi? Will the new Speaker ask for the resignation of all senior Capital police leadership (house cleaning)?

    Liked by 2 people

        1. I am having trouble keeping up with the 4 stores I do sell to…and my SIL told us about a new little general store on the way to the farm… he passes it every morning. so my DIL went there and brought one of everything she plus pics of what she didn’t have–and he placed an order for Christmas stuff. I didn’t have anything available so I’ve been spending the last few days cutting and sewing like crazy–
          next year I can plan on making a little extra of everything and hopefully keep ahead!
          I imagine if inflation continues tho, things should slow down

          Liked by 1 person

  8. H/T D
    “LIVE: At least 2 dead as snowstorm buries western NY under 6 feet of snow and counting

    Emergency crews have rescued numerous stranded motorists in a “river of white” on roadways across the region as officials order a travel ban for all of Buffalo with snowfall totals eclipsing the 6-foot mark — and more snow is on the way.”

    https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/live-news/live-updates-lake-effect-snow-buffalo-new-york/1278774

    Liked by 1 person

    1. 1 HOUR AGO Buffalo breaks daily maximum snowfall record
      By Thomas Leffler, AccuWeather digital journalist

      Buffalo’s burial by snowfall this week became record-breaking on Saturday. According to the National Weather Service office in Buffalo, the record daily maximum snowfall has been broken, with 16.1 inches falling in the city Saturday. The previous record was 7.6 inches, which was set in 2014 during the historic and deadly ‘Snowvember’ event that dropped close to 7 feet of snow across parts of western New York from Nov. 17-21, 2014.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. 0
    Reply
    Bubby
    Bubby
    November 19, 2022 1:47 pm

    https://www.naturalnews.com/2022-11-18-biden-climate-agenda-benefits-china-not-americans.html

    FTA “ The implementation of so-called “green” energy policies is not about cleaning up the environment and creating a better world. It is about shifting power into the hands of communist China, which is exactly what the Biden regime is trying to do.

    Steve Yates, a former deputy national security adviser who worked in the White House from 2001-2005, says the transition away from fossil fuels is helping China maintain its monopoly on the supply chain of rare earth minerals, which are needed to produce “green” batteries and other materials for electric vehicles (EVs). Rare earth minerals are also a key component in solar panels, which have also been branded as “clean” and “green” despite the fact that China guzzles lots of fossil fuels in order to manufacture and sell them to the West.

    Each incremental policy that Biden and his people implement brings with it decreased access to fossil fuels. Take the U.S.’s ratification of the Montreal Protocol, which promises to reduce the use of refrigerant chemicals by 80 percent over the next three decades.”

    ChiComs have police stations here now. Next up ChiCom military bases! “I’m not joking, no joke”!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Agree 100% – and don’t forget all the different categories of “green cards” and such – seriously dial those back, too! Corporations use those to depress US wages and sneak past any immigration limits.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. NF: Premium article @ TheEpochTimes:

    “In Court FDA NOW Says Telling People Not to Take Ivermectin for COVID-19 Was “Just a Recommendation” [killJAB] — We are in the “rewriting history to save your ass” segment of this genocide.”

    Super Spreader
    14 min ago
    “Don’t give an inch. Nothing. Call out their lies. No Amnesty. They are guilty and will be held accountable. Crimes against humanity are punishable by death and they will be judged.”

    EXCERPT: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) telling people to “stop” taking ivermectin for COVID-19 was informal and just a recommendation, government lawyers argued during a recent hearing.

    “The cited statements were not directives. They were not mandatory. They were recommendations. They said what parties should do. They said, for example, why you should not take ivermectin to treat COVID-19. They did not say you may not do it, you must not do it. They did not say it’s prohibited or it’s unlawful. They also did not say that doctors may not prescribe ivermectin,” Isaac Belfer, one of the lawyers, told the court during the Nov. 1 hearing in federal court in Texas.

    “They use informal language, that is true,” he also said, adding that, “it’s conversational but not mandatory.”

    The hearing was held in a case brought by three doctors who say the FDA illegally interfered with their ability to prescribe medicine to their patients when it issued statements on ivermectin, an anti-parasitic that has shown positive results in some trials against COVID-19.”

    [full story]

    https://mole.substack.com/p/in-court-fda-now-says-telling-people

    Liked by 3 people

  14. Liked by 1 person

          1. oh yeah…but i think it puts it in perspective…where’s the deep rut leading up to the pentagon? did they find the wings or did they just disintegrate?

            Liked by 1 person

  20. Democrats in Maricopa County are curing ballots after the deadline – and claiming they called the voter BEFORE the deadline and the voter just got back to them. This is illegal.

    We will file another suit to count only legal votes. We followed the rules, they didn’t.

    — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) November 19, 2022

    If voting disaster in Maricopa was inverted—if pro-MAGA election officials were unable to count mailed Dem ballots—armed FBI agents would be on scene in minutes, nets would carry primetime Biden speech on Democracy’s end, media would be in 24/7 meltdown. Biggest story in country.

    — Stephen Miller (@StephenM) November 19, 2022

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Hmmm…haven’t found the Pentagon footage yet but did run across this bookmark – these witnesses all say it was a gray or black military plane with no windows, possibly a drone – did not look like commercial airliners:

    9/11 – THE FOOTAGE THEY DIDN’T LET YOU SEE TWICE (9/11 2001 Documentary)

    Liked by 3 people

  23. Troublemaker10
    November 19, 2022 5:28 pm

    SKB: How possibly can u prepare for 2 years and have 48% have tech malfunction?

    Wren: Our attorney just sent a letter that the co that these machines that failed is a co out of Japan & they recalled these machines in ‘21. Maricopa was absolutely aware of this fact. @CarolineWren pic.twitter.com/dIwEzm8mHo

    — Grace Chong 🇺🇸 (@gc22gc) November 19, 2022

    Liked by 2 people

  37. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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