The first Thanksgiving: Today's fare is a far cry from the 1621 celebration

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

PLYMOUTH, Mass.— The Thanksgiving dinner you'll eat tomorrow is a far cry from the actual feast eaten by the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621.

An English housewife prepares a goose and mussels to serve at the harvest celebration. Plimoth Plantation

Pumpkin? Probably.

Roast turkey? Maybe.

Mussels? Right.

There are a few things historians are pretty sure of: There were no mashed potatoes, apple pies or TV football games.

At the Plimoth Plantation, a historic replica of the first New England settlement about an hour's drive from Boston, visitors can have a "real" Thanksgiving feast based on what researchers surmise was really served. The living history museum (spelled "Plimoth" the way the first settlers did) puts a more politically correct spin on the event.

Instead of the usual praise for the Pilgrims, it also gives the point of view of the Wampanoag Indians, whose descendants aren't so thankful that white men invaded their homeland. (Since 1970, some Native Americans meet at the statue of Chief Massasoit on Thanksgiving Day for a national day of mourning.)

In October, a group of food journalists traveled to Plimoth and shared in an authentic Thanksgiving dinner, served by the plantation's interpreters, who dressed and acted the part of colonists from the 1620s.

The menu: roast goose, roast duck, venison sobaheg (stew), mussels, stewed pompion (pumpkin), a pottage of cabbage and leeks, nasaump (dried corn pounded and boiled with clam broth and dried berries), corn pudding and "burnt" wine or water. (After sampling it, some diners expressed thanks for the modern-day version that their palates are more accustomed to.)

Plimoth historians say the only real description of the feast between the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621 comes from a lone paragraph in a letter from colonist Edward Winslow. It reads:

"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. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some 90 men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which the brought to the plantation and bestowed on 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 partakers of plenty."

According to custom, the Wampanoag men were served first, beginning with the elders. Plimoth Plantation

So, we know there was venison and fowl — the Plimoth folks say it was more likely goose and duck than turkey, although early colonists wrote that wild turkey was plentiful. Other foods mentioned by colonists are eels, mussels, oysters, grapes and plums, and "Indian corn." An interpreter at the Wampanoag village, tending a fire that was roasting a goose, said skunk was considered a delicacy.
So what else was likely on the menu?

Lobsters were so plentiful that when the first colonists came, "there was a time when the only thing you could have was a lobster and a cup of water. And then for a change, a cup of water and a lobster," said a Plimoth interpreter, who was cutting up pumpkin to fry over her hearth fire.

Sobaheg is the Wampanoag word for stew. It could include venison, fish, beaver, bear, moose, or whatever was taken in hunting. It was mixed with beans, boiled maize (corn), roots, squash, acorns, chestnuts and walnuts. Dried cranberries may have been used in it, too.

Pumpkin: Squash and "pompion" were native to New England, and the dish Stewed Pompion is described in the 1672 book "New Englands Rarities Discovered" as "The Ancient New England Standing Dish." The term "standing dish" implies that it was probably served often, if not at every meal, according to National Geographic Society's article titled "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving." But, there was probably no pumpkin pie, because sugar was scarce, and it's unlikely that the new colony had ingredients for a pie crust or an oven in which to bake it. Apples hadn't made it to America yet, so there probably were no apple pies, either.

Ducks, geese and venison were served at feast. Plimoth Plantation

Corn: The colorful, hard-flint dried corn was a staple for the Wampanoag and soon became a fixture in the cooking pots of New Plymouth. One colonist wrote, "Our Indian corn, even the coarsest, maketh as pleasant a meat as rice."

Cranberries: They're native to North America, but due to the scarcity of sugar, it's unlikely they were sweetened in a cranberry sauce. If they were served at the harvest celebration, it was in Wampanoag dishes, or possibly in the sauce for the duck, concludes Kathleen A. Curtin, Plimoth's food historian. "It would be 50 years before an Englishman mentioned boiling this New England berry with sugar for a 'sauce to eat with meat.'"

Vegetables: These were called "herbs" and included parsnips, collards, carrots, parsley, turnips, spinach, cabbage, sage, thyme, marjoram and onions. Dried beans and wild blueberries may also have been available. "Succotash," the term for the modern-day corn and bean medley, actually comes from the Wampanoag, according to "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving."

Although potatoes had been discovered in South America and were being grown in Europe, by 1621, they were still virtually unknown to the average 17th-century Englishman, according to Curtin. She also pointed out that the main meal was eaten midday, not in the later afternoon or evening as we do now.

Before the mid-1800s, the Thanksgiving holiday held mainly in New England wasn't connected to the 1621 feast between the Pilgrims and the Indians, according to Plimoth historians. The Puritans traditionally held special days of fasting followed by festive rejoicing. In 1623 — probably in July — they held a Thanksgiving Day to show gratitude for rain after a drought.

Pumpkins, corn, sunflowers, ducks, grapes and cherries are part of the celebration. Plimoth Plantation

The governor of each colony or state declared a day of thanksgiving each autumn for general blessings, and the colonies also declared a Thanksgiving Day in 1777 to celebrate the American victory over the British at Saratoga. Native Americans always had traditional ceremonies to give thanks for successful harvests and other good fortune.

But in 1841, historian Alexander Young found Edward Winslow's account of the three-day feast between the Indians and the first colonists and labeled it the First Thanksgiving. In 1846, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, began campaigning for a nationwide annual Thanksgiving Day, which President Abraham Lincoln declared in 1863.

It's more likely that today's "traditional" dishes actually came from the Civil War and Victorian eras, not from the Pilgrims, according to Laura Schenone, author of a new historical volume, "A Thousand Years Over a Hot Stove" (Norton, 2003, $35). She wrote that Lincoln "asked the nation to be thankful for the bounties of nature and to come together, North and South, for a single unifying day. The holiday that Sarah envisioned became an icon of American life."

So maybe historical accuracy of the food isn't as important as the spirit in which its eaten. The idea of sharing food, and gratitude for health, wealth, friends and family, echoes Edward Winslow's parting words written almost 400 years ago: "Yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of plenty."

STEWED POMPION

Cooking a meal at the time of the first Thanksgiving was physical labor, with heavy cast iron pots hung over a fire in the small homes. Valerie Phillips, Deseret Morning News

4 cups of cooked pumpkin or squash, roughly mashed
3 tablespoons butter
2 to 3 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir and heat all the ingredients together. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve hot. — "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving," by National Geographic

AUTUMN VENISON SOBAHEG

The original recipe doesn't mention salt, but you may want to add 1 1/2 teaspoons to suit modern-day palates.

1 cup dried beans (any kidney-shaped beans)
1 cup coarse corn grits
1 pound venison, cut into bite-size pieces
2 1/2 quarts water (10 cups)
1 cup winter squash (acorn, hubbard or sweet dumpling), peeled and cubed
1 cup Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and cubed (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts, chestnuts or sunflower seeds, pounded or ground to a flour

Combine beans, corn, venison and water in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and turn down to a low simmer. Cook for several hours. Stir the stew occasionally to prevent sticking. When beans and venison are tender, stir in the squash and Jerusalem artichokes and simmer gently until they are done, about 30 minutes. Add nut flour, stirring until thoroughly blended. Makes 4 dinner-size servings or 8 smaller servings. — "Plimoth Life," by the Plimoth Plantation

NASAUMP

This is a traditional Wampanoag porridge.

1 quart water
1 1/2 cups coarse grits or hominy
Options: 1 cup clam broth and 1/2 cup chopped green onions or 1 cup fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries

A roasting goose and pot of pumpkin cook over the fire in the Wampanoag village of Plimoth Plantation, the same way they were cooked in 1621.

Valerie Phillips, Deseret Morning News
Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Gradually add the hominy, stirring, until it comes back to a boil. Turn down the heat to low and cook gently for 10 minutes, stirring. (If you are adding clam broth and green onions or fruit, you can do so at this point.) The dish can also be reheated in a covered, buttered baking dish in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. You may need to add a bit more water. — "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving," by National Geographic

TO BOIL A WILDE DUCK

This recipe is from a 1615 English cookbook. The transplanted English cooks may have used similar techniques but made do with what ingredients they had available, such as cranberries instead of "barberries."

Trusse and parboyle it, and then halfe roast it, then carve it and save the gravey; take store of Onyons, Parsley, sliced Ginger, and Pepper; put the gravie into a Pipkin with washt currins, large Mace, Barberryes, a quart of Claret Wine; let all boyle well together, scumme it cleane, put in Butter and Sugar. — "The Newe Booke of Cookery," by John Murrell

E-MAIL: vphillips@desnews.com