There has been a lot on the news about supply chain issues when it comes to food for Thanksgiving. Want to know who knew all about supply chain issues? The Pilgrims, that’s who! When they arrived in New England in November 1620, they were well past the time they could grow any food, and their supplies were running low. That first winter the colony lost almost half of their population due to starvation and disease. That’s why after a year of scarcity they truly had something to celebrate with their first bountiful harvest in 1621! However, they were very far from home, so traditional favorites weren’t readily available. Pilgrims just couldn’t run out to their local grocery store to pick up a few ingredients lacking in their cupboards. Instead they improvised with new and exotic foods some of which they never would have even tasted back in England and Holland. So as we prepare the celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the First Thanksgiving, perhaps we should follow the Pilgrims’ example and add new foods to our Thanksgiving menu too?

So what did the Pilgrims serve at that first feast shared with the Wampanoags? Well once again we have to go to the only two surviving primary sources from the time period, Edward Winslow’s Mourt’s Relations, and William Bradford’s Of Plimoth Plantation, to piece together what their feast may have included, because spoiler alert – neither described the menu from that day. According to Winslow, “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 labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week.” William Bradford briefly commented that autumn, “there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many.” So there may have been wild turkeys on the menu that day. However, it is more probable that the Pilgrims feasted on ducks, geese, pigeons and swans which were more common staples to their diet. Now before you start wondering how they stuffed a pigeon with delicious bread stuffing, they didn’t. Herbs, onions, and nuts probably would have been used to add extra flavoring, but definitely not bread. Also the wild fowl may not necessarily have been roasted, but perhaps boiled instead. And hold the gravy, the Pilgrims used other “sauces” including mustard which was popular in England during this time.

But enough about what we expect to see at the first Thanksgiving, the truth is their table was laden with food we don’t often choose for our Thanksgiving feasts. Seafood was most likely featured on the menu in large quantities. A significant amount of the Pilgrims’ diet consisted of seafood. As Edward Winslow explained, “Our bay is full of lobsters all the summer and affordeth variety of other fish; in September we can take a hogshead of eels in a night with small labor, and can dig them out of their beds all the winter. We have mussels… at our doors.” Also let us not forget that they settled in an area called “Cape Cod” well before they even landed there. So fish and shellfish were in abundance. Winslow went on to comment though, “Oysters we have none near, but we can have them brought by the Indians when we will.”

In fact, although we can only speculate if the Wampanoags brought oysters, we do know they brought another featured food for this meat laden feast. For you see the first Thanksgiving could be called a potluck by our standards today, and the Wampanoags arrived with 5 deer! Therefore venison roasted over a fire was definitely on the menu during their three day celebration. It may also have been used to make a hearty stew.

Now we didn’t forget this first Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration. So of course vegetables were served, including onions, beans, lettuce, spinach, cabbage, carrots and peas. But before you go looking for the creamed corn or even corn on the cob, if you were at the first Thanksgiving you would have been enjoying it in the form of a cornmeal served as a mushy porridge, with perhaps a bit of molasses as seasoning. Also don’t expect to see a heaping portion of mashed potatoes at the first Thanksgiving feast, or even a single baked potato for that matter. Potatoes are not native to New England, or even England for that matter, and were just being introduced to the Spanish diet at that time from South America. There could have been root vegetables of turnips and groundnuts instead. Their diets were far from bland though, with popular English herbs of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme also being grown in their gardens.

However, cranberry sauce was another staple of today that was absent from this feast 400 years ago. The Pilgrims may have been familiar with the tart taste of this native plant. But they definitely weren’t wasting precious sugar to boil it into the jelly we know today. In fact, the Pilgrims’ supply of sugar had been completely depleted by the time of the this feast which took place sometime between September and November. Along with the menu, the date was never actually recorded, but historians say it is safe to assume it was closer to the time of the harvest in September than when we celebrate it today. Although cranberries may or may not been served, we can assume that other native berries were enjoyed that day including blueberries, plums, grapes, gooseberries, and raspberries. And have no fear! There was pumpkin! But not served in a pie. Remember – no sugar, nor was there wheat flour for the crust. Although we know pumpkin was available, we don’t know how it was served that day. Later accounts describe pumpkins being hollowed out, then filled with milk, honey, and spices and roasted over a fire to become a delicious custard. Although neither Winslow or Bradford mentioned if this dessert or any dessert for that matter, was served at that first Thanksgiving.

Therefore, instead of searching for the perfect turkey, or grumbling about the shortages and the prices of other Thanksgiving staples, perhaps this year follow the Pilgrims’ example and try something new! After 400 years, it is about time we return to our roots and enjoy an old fashion Thanksgiving. For more information about the first Thanksgiving, and the diet of the Pilgrims and Wampanoags, we highly recommend visiting the Plimoth Patuxet Museums.