A Bit Of History

The History Channel does a bit of myth busting about Thanksgiving. There are a lot of interesting facts over there, as always, but the one about what the Pilgrims and the Indians (native Americans if you prefer) ate is quite interesting. Also the way they ate the feast is not what everyone believes. First of all, they had no forks.

What foods topped the table at the first harvest feast? Historians aren't completely certain about the full bounty, but it's safe to say the pilgrims weren't gobbling up pumpkin pie or playing with their mashed potatoes. Following is a list of the foods that were available to the colonists at the time of the 1621 feast. However, the only two items that historians know for sure were on the menu are venison and wild fowl, which are mentioned in primary sources. The most detailed description of the "First Thanksgiving" comes from Edward Winslow from A Journal of the Pilgrims at Plymouth, in 1621:

"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 fruit of our labors. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, among 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 they brought to the plantation and bestowed upon 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 partakersof our plenty.

Few if any vegetables, a low carb diet, indeed. Food wasn't served in individual portions but simply placed on the table. It's a bunch of interesting little factoids that contradict a lot of the perceptions of what actually occurred. But it didn't happen quite the way some people want to teach it, either.