Every third Thursday of November Americans traditionally sit down with friends and family around a table to enjoy a feast that celebrates what they are grateful for. However, where did the traditional foods that we enjoy today such as turkey, potatoes, and candied yams originate from?
The iconic tale of the “Pilgrims and Indians” first Thanksgiving is based more on myth than fact. There may have been a harvest festival (get-together) in 1621 among the English colonists and the Wampanoag Native Americans to exchange crops and livestock; however, it was more out of a sense of practicality than the romanticized version that we have been taught in elementary school.
Venison and other wild birds (such as duck & geese) were truly the only meat that is historically confirmed to have been part of the 1621 “pilgrim feast”. Gradually as the years passed, the turkey became the centerpiece of the holiday as it continues to be today.
Pumpkins and cranberries are both Northeastern crops that are ready to enjoy in fall therefore making their inclusion into the feast ideal.
Today, we enjoy spoonfuls of mashed potatoes with gravy; however, in colonial times, the potatoes were probably served whole. The potato, which originated in South America (Peru), was taken to Europe by the Spanish explores. From there, it was brought to North America by Scottish-Irish settlers. Many other dishes based out of potatoes have evolved through the years were the only hindrance is the cooks imagination.
The sweet potato that leads us to the delightful candied yams that many of us enjoy originated in the West Indies. There, the enslaved African Americans who were forced into working the sugarcane plantations, were given small plots of land that were inadequate for producing sugarcane to grow food for themselves. They grew sweet potatoes and the “sugar-boiling men” who harvested the sugarcane boiled it down into molasses. They would pour the molasses on top of the sweet potatoes creating the original version of the candied yams.
When we sit down this Thanksgiving we should not only be grateful for the people that we love who are there for us to laugh with, cry with, and give a hug of encouragement when we need one; but, we should also be grateful that we live in a country in which we can celebrate gratefulness with a slice of pumpkin pie and whip cream. The perfect ending to an eventful day.