The History of Thanksgiving Foods

By Alex Giannotti

Everybody knows the iconic food items of Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, stuffing, etc., but do you know where these traditional items come from or why we eat them?

Well, at the first Thanksgiving back in 1621, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag settlers ate turkeys along with many other birds and some deer. Their meal also included many locally grown vegetables such as onions, beans, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, carrots, and corn. They also ate blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, and cranberries which many Americans still eat today. Some “untraditional” items on the menu were lobster, fish, and shellfish. Even though 78% of the women on the Mayflower died en route, there were still about 90 Wampanoag tribe members and 50 colonists to eat this expansive meal. So today, I’m going to explore the history of the evolution of a couple of America’s favorite Thanksgiving foods.

Turkey

As I said before, turkey has been a Thanksgiving staple since day one, but when it was first put on the Thanksgiving table, it was very bland. This stayed the same until 1792 when they began to add herbs and nuts to their turkey for extra flavor. However, the Wampanoags were not the first to introduce Europe to turkey, the Spaniards did it first. The bird became one of the first popular American foods in Europe. 

Cranberry Sauce

One of the most popular fruits Europeans chose to eat with their meats were “krannberees” (German) or cranberries. Although it was first discovered in Europe, the cranberry did not gain much popularity until the New World discovery. The cranberry was not made into a sauce-like substance until 1672 when Native Americans and English colonists began to boil cranberries with sugar and water. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

I believe there are two ways to eat your sweet potato casserole: topped with marshmallows or topped with brown sugar. These concoctions did not come about until the late 1800s. Adding a sweet topping to baked mashed sweet potatoes did not gain popularity until 1917 when a cookbook added a marshmallow-topped casserole recipe. 

Pumpkin Pie

Pies, beginning with vegetables, have been around since 1500s, but pumpkins were not cultivated into pies until 1600s with the New World. The dish became a Thanksgiving staple in the 1800s.