by Susan E. Carr

Created on: October 31, 2009   Last Updated: March 13, 2011

What the piilgrims ate when they arrived in American is sometimes a matter of speciulation and a list of food items the pilgrims brought with them to America is less than detailed.  It is however suggested and presumed that items would have included common food items brought from England.

Once in America, the focus of the pilgrim diet appears to have been a variety of different meats. It is known that the Pilgrims did not bring meat with them originally, but that the Indians introduced them to their own main food source, venison. Venison would become a staple as well as ducks, geese and rabbit and of course, "wild turkey". From time to time they also managed to kill partridge or quail.

A common and very accessible food was fish such as cod and bass, which could easily be preserved, or shellfish including lobster. Both meats and fish would be made into soups and stews. According to Edward Winslow (Plymouth 1621) they even ate "succulent eels". It is also known from the records of Edward Winslow that the pilgrims had an abundance of herrings (alewives) and were taught by the Indians to use them as fertilizer.

The Pilgrims eventually began to dry hams and produced kitchen gardens containing herbs called "sallet herbes". Their diets were high in protein as well as fat, necessary for good health in their hard working lifestyle. Although surprising, the pilgrims used spices and the cooking was "spicy" with the addition of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and dried fruit in meat sauces. Meats were evenly roasted over fire pits, a tedious job since someone was assigned to "turn the spit". Meats and fowl were also boiled and made into stews and soups, requiring far less work.

Corn referred to as "Indian" corn quickly became a staple food item, one that in some instances would save the pilgrims from starvation. Cornbread was made from hominy. "Cheate Bread" was a sourdough type of bread baked into round loaves. The Indians were instrumental in teaching the pilgrims how to plant other crops such as barley and peas, since many of the English seeds they had brought with them did not produce or thrive.

The pilgrims would not have had a variety of vegetables, but it seems did boil onions with raisons, sugar, egg and vinegar. Spinach was boiled and served with currants, butter, sugar and vinegar. Pumpkins were diced and stewed and eaten as a vegetable. They grew leeks and beans, carrots, cabbage and radishes, as well as watercress. Eventually, cheese

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