2 of 12

Write now Article Tools

The first Thanksgiving dinner was prepared with what foods were available in the New England area. Corn bread baked Indian style, as well as squash and pumpkins which are good winter keepers would have been plentiful. No doubt, Squanto, their Indian guide who spoke English and could communicate well with them, showed them how to grow these vine foods among their corn crops thus utilizing their available gardening space.

Wild turkeys were plentiful and were easily caught and this was the main course served. Since probably around one hundred guests attended, possibly more, many turkeys would have been needed. Cranberries grow well in the New England area around bogs and lakes and these were gathered and made into puddings and pies. Apples most likely found their way into the feast although whether they were fried or made into apple butter and used for cake fillings is not known.

Surely the Pilgrims would have been hard at work drying and preserving all the available fruits and berries during their harvest time. These would have been available for the first Thanksgiving feast as desserts. Sweet bread cakes with apple butter spread on them and stacked has been an early American treat among rural country fold for generations. Could this not have originated with the early settlers?

Persimmon pudding may have made an entrance here. At this time of year they would be about right to gather and run through a sieve to get enough pulp to make into a fine pudding. Or more likely, the easier method of simply having a large container of them ready to be eaten as is. Juicy and plump and sweetened by the first frost, they would have made a delightful treat for the children as well as the adults.

For drinks there would have been beer. This was a favorite drink of the Pilgrims and is what they drank on their journey over on the Mayflower. Those handy in its brewing would have been busy prior to the dinner getting together a supply of this. Whether or not the berries would have been made into wine for drinking or simply dried and used for medicine is up for speculation. Anticipating a long winter they would have been busy gathering all available food and preserving it as they were taught by the Indians.

And too, the ideas and the methods of food preservation they brought with them to the New World would have made an entry into this feast. Teaching and learning of each other's ways, theirs being taught to the Indians as well as learning of their neighbor's ways was all part of the camaraderie of this first Thanksgiving. It was a time of feasting and giving thanks and being neighborly.

The friendship brought about by the treaty signed by Governor Bradford and Chief Massasoit - Wampanoag leader - lasted about fifty years. Their celebration continues today. To learn more details about the first thanksgiving check out online - or visit - the Plimoth Plantation, at Plymouth, Massachusetts. This is where the knowledge of that first feast resides. This day is recreated each year and to get a place held for you, get your reservations in early. (This article may not coincide with their menu! It is simply my own thoughts thrown out for consideration.)

Learn more about this author, EMoore.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Thanksgiving facts: Food of the first Thanksgiving?
We want to hear your view. Write now!