mental_floss magazine
SUBSCRIBE >
GIFT SUBSCRIPTIONS >
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS >
subscriber services >
When Americans sit down with their families for Thanksgiving dinner, most of us will probably gorge ourselves on the same traditional Thanksgiving menu, with turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie taking up the most real estate on our plates. How did these dishes become the national “what you eat on Thanksgiving” options, though? Are they holdovers from the First Thanksgiving, or did they gradually sneak in?
The Pilgrims may not have had turkey
Turkey may not have been on the menu at the 1621 celebration by the Pilgrims of Plymouth that is widely considered the First Thanksgiving (though fans of Virginia’s Berkeley Plantation might quibble with the “First” part). There were definitely wild turkeys in the Plymouth area, as colonist William Bradford noted in his journal. However, the best existing account of the Pilgrims’ harvest feast comes from colonist Edward Winslow, author of Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Winslow’s first-hand account of the First Thanksgiving included no explicit mention of turkey. He does, however, mention the Pilgrims gathering “wild fowl” for the meal, although that could just as likely have meant ducks or geese.
So why do we chow down on turkey, then?
It helps to know a bit about the history of Thanksgiving. While the idea of giving thanks and celebrating the harvest was popular in certain parts of the country, it was by no means an annual national holiday. Presidents would occasionally declare a Thanksgiving Day celebration, but the holiday hadn’t completely caught on nationwide. Many of these early celebrations included turkey; Alexander Hamilton once remarked that, “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.”
When Bradford’s journals were reprinted in 1856 after being lost for a century, they found a receptive audience with advocates who wanted Thanksgiving turned into a national holiday. Since Bradford wrote of how the colonists had hunted wild turkeys during the autumn of 1621 and since turkey is a uniquely American (and scrumptious) bird, it gained traction as the Thanksgiving meal of choice for Americans after Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863.
Moreover, there were pragmatic reasons for eating turkey rather than, say, chicken at a feast like Thanksgiving. The birds are large enough that they can feed a table full of hungry family members, and unlike chickens or cows, they didn’t serve much utilitarian purpose like laying eggs or making milk. Unlike pork, turkey wasn’t so common that it didn’t seem like a suitable choice for a special occasion, either. An interesting 2007 piece in Slate discussed these reasons for turkey’s prominence, but also made another intriguing point. The publication of A Christmas Carol in 1843 may have helped force along the turkey’s cause as a holiday delicacy when Scrooge magnanimously sends the Cratchit family a Christmas turkey.
There was no cranberry sauce, either
While the cranberries the Pilgrims needed were probably easy to come by, making cranberry sauce requires sugar. Sugar was a rare luxury at the time of First Thanksgiving, so while revelers may have eaten cranberries it’s unlikely that the feast featured the tasty sauce. What’s more, it’s not even entirely clear that cranberry sauce had been invented yet. It’s not until 1663 that visitors to the area started commenting on a sweet sauce made of boiled cranberries that accompanied meat. There’s the same problem with potatoes. Neither sweet potatoes nor white potatoes were available to the colonists in 1621, so the Pilgrims definitely didn’t feast on everyone’s favorite tubers.
They did have plenty of venison, though
Winslow mentions in his writings that the governor sent out a party of four men to do some fowling for the feast, but the Pilgrims and Wampanoag also enjoyed five deer as part of their feasting. The meat supposedly arrived at the celebration as a gift from the Wampanoag king Massasoit. On top of the venison, other meats probably included lots of fish and shellfish, which were staples of the Pilgrims’ diets. So if you want to wolf down a lobster or some oysters in lieu of turkey on Thursday, nobody can fault you for being historically inaccurate.
And pumpkin pie didn’t cap things off
It may be the flagship dessert at modern Thanksgiving dinners, but pumpkin pie didn’t make an appearance at the First Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims probably lacked the butter and flour needed to make a pie crust, and it’s not clear that they even had an oven in which they could have baked a pumpkin pie. That doesn’t mean pumpkins weren’t available for the meal, though; they were probably served after being baked in the coals of a fire or stewed. Pumpkin pie became a popular dish on 17th-century American tables, though, and it might have shown up for Thanksgiving as early as the second celebration of the holiday in 1623.
See Also…
6 Food Challenges for the Super Competitive (or Super Hungry)
*
The Secrets Behind Your Favorite Toys
*
3 Controversial Maps
*
12 Oddly Specific Museums Preserving Our History
*
5 Famous Actors and the Roles They Turned Down
*
The Men Behind Your Favorite Liquors
Great post. I’m starving!
Since my sister finally bought a house big enough to fit the entire family, this is the first year in ten years that I’m not responsible for Thanksgiving dinner. That’s one of many things I’m thankful for this year!
posted by Bonnie on 11-25-2008 at 10:09 am
I live halfway around the world in the UAE where there is neither Thanksgiving nor turkey.
Thankfully, there is also no Detroit Lions…
posted by D-Mac on 11-25-2008 at 11:13 am
Fitting post, considering I just returned from the grocery store to get all my Turkey Day items. I also have to get going on my pumpkin pie. I make the filling from scratch (real pumpkin, no canned), but I have yet to be able to make a decent crust, so Pillsbury is my saviour.
posted by Amy D on 11-25-2008 at 12:38 pm
@Amy D: Pie crust is as much about technique as it is about the recipe. Mix the flour & salt together, then cut in the shortening (best if it’s cold, but I use Crisco sticks right out of the cupboard and it works fine for me). They say you can use your fingers to mix the shortening into the dry mixture but you tend to overwork it and warm it up too much that way, so a pastry cutter is your friend. Add very cold water a very little at a time. I roll out pie crusts between two sheets of waxed paper and that makes life a little easier. Good luck!
posted by Rachel on 11-25-2008 at 12:51 pm
Great post. I just picked up my turkey and I will be cooking our on the grill’s rotisserie again this year. So easy and tasted great.
@ Amy - I like lots of whipped cream on my pie… Thanks
posted by bucsfan on 11-25-2008 at 1:14 pm
On pie crust: make sure everything is very cold… shortning, bowl, rolling pin, beaters, etc. Makes it stay together when rolling.
Yummm.
posted by Amy on 11-25-2008 at 1:28 pm
What started out as dinner for 8, quickly became dinner for 16. On my way tomorrow morning to get the rest of the dinner “stuff”.
Thanks for reminding me about the cranberries!! I don’t eat it and tend to forget. However, the cranberry jelly in the can just freaks me out. I think I might actually like fresh cranberry sauce. I just can’t get past the canned stuff, which is all we’ve ever had. Gotta love that gelatinous lump with the can imprints still on it. Oh - and that sound it makes when it comes out of the can. How disgusting is that? Anyway, anyone have good recipes for a cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries? I might be able to deal with that a little better…
posted by bzzyb on 11-25-2008 at 1:30 pm
bzzyb,
i believe there is a recipe for cranberry sauce included in the article “on cranberries” on mentalfloss.
im not a fan of cranberries myself, unless they are in juice form mixed with vodka…
posted by tiffany on 11-25-2008 at 2:06 pm
@bzzyb - Check Stacy’s “on Cranberries” blog today for a link to a recipe. There are lots of variations, but this is one case where the most basic is really very good.
posted by Betsy on 11-25-2008 at 2:08 pm
Cranberry sauces are pretty easy. This year I’m making this one:
Cranberry Sauce with Currants and Champagne:
Pur 3/4 c. Champagne into a medium pot and add 1 c. sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Dump in 12 oz. fresh cranberries and 3 T. currants. Bring back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature.
posted by Laura on 11-25-2008 at 2:38 pm
I am known to everyone as the pie lady. This is my pie crust recipe. best recipe ever.
2.5 cups AP flour
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (it has to be real butter!) Cut into 1/2 inch cubes and refrigerated for a bit before using.
1 teaspoon salt (omit if you are using salted butter)
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch the dry ingredients and butter together. Once you have a bowl of flaky looking stuff, add:
2-5 tablespoons ice cold water
and the secret ingredient:
1 tablespoon white vinegar
Use a pastry cutter to cut together the dough. Add the water 1 tbsp at a time so that you don’t end up with dough that is too sticky.
Form the dough into a ball as soon as it starts to stick together. Do NOT over work the dough. This makes it tough. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap or drop it in a ziploc and refrigerate for 1 hour to a couple of days.
When you’re ready to roll the dough, make sure you flour your surface and rolling pin. Take half the dough and roll out. Do not worry that it looks more like Africa than a circle. You will never get a good circle. You will see the lumps of butter in the dough. This is a good thing, this is what makes it flaky. Roll it out as thin as you like (I roll mine very thin). Fold the dough in half and lift onto your pie plate. Make sure to rotate and flip the dough often so that it does not stick to the rolling surface.
Now, you may have some weird gaps or whatever because the dough does not roll out in a circle. If this is the case, REPAIR DO NOT RE-ROLL!!! Cut around the pie plate (I usually cut on the counter so that I have about an inch and a half overhang). Use the scraps from the edges to make any repairs. Tuck your edges and flute, or whatever decorative edge you may do. However, do not just cut it around the pie plate. The decorative edge serves a purpose. It anchors the dough to the pie plate so that it does not shrink too much.
Put pie plate into freezer. I usually freeze it about 15 minutes while I make the filling.
This recipe makes 2 9-10′ pie crusts. If you’re making a double crust pie, make sure to glaze with an egg wash.
posted by jennifer on 11-25-2008 at 3:25 pm
Thanks everyone!! I posted my cranberry tirade prior to Stacy’s post. However, I am very thankful for that and all the other recipes you all shared! This just made my day and maybe started a new Thanksgiving tradition for me!
posted by bzzyb on 11-25-2008 at 3:53 pm
Cooks Illustrated recommends replacing the ice water in your pie crust recipe with chilled vodka. It moistens the dough and enables the starches to bind together, but evaporates during the cooking process — leaving your crust nice and flaky without being doughy.
I love that trick!
posted by knittinandnoodlin on 11-25-2008 at 4:04 pm
Oh my god. I love the canned, jellied cranberry sauce. My friend calls it “Cranberry Steak”.
posted by Kay on 11-25-2008 at 7:21 pm
Hold up…turkeys lay eggs why are they not utilitarian as chickens? Less eggs/less often? Not tasty? Confused by that part.
posted by kelly on 11-25-2008 at 11:07 pm
Mm…I always made a pumpkin cheesecake for T-day. Much creamier and a better crust.
posted by Dawn on 11-26-2008 at 4:15 am