Originating from the famous Harvest Feast of 1621 shared by Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people, Thanksgiving has evolved over time to become what it is today. Through the influence of many people and variations of the story, Americans have developed many Thanksgiving traditions and foods they celebrate with every year. Today we’re going to talk about two of the foods we all know and love as traditional Thanksgiving foods. 

 Many people assume that since we have turkey as such a prominent part of our Thanksgiving meals now, that it always has been that way. That, however, is not true. While the Wampanoag people and Pilgrims reportedly did eat a type of bird at the Harvest Feast of 1621, Edward Winslow only described it as “fowl,” which could have been any type of bird. It was also likely a side dish as the Wampanoag people allegedly brought five venison, which we can presume was the main bulk of the feast. 

So, no, the tradition of eating turkey has not been around since the beginning of the fall harvest tradition. Instead, it came about later through the influence of one Sarah Josepha Hale, or the “Fairy Godmother of Thanksgiving.” Hale was a major advocate for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday, depicting it as a feast with a turkey as the centerpiece. Her writings paid off, with President Abraham Lincoln finally declaring Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, helping her traditions and depictions to become a more popular reality. Using turkey as the main dish wasn’t just for aesthetic appeal either, it was extremely accessible. The United States was abundant in turkey, especially in the 19th century when eating turkeys on Thanksgiving was finally extremely popular. They were easy to raise and did not produce anything else that would be useful to humans, making them the most ideal source of meat. So while the tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgiving has not been around since the beginning of the harvest, it has been incorporated into our traditions over the years, becoming a central part of Thanksgiving celebrations all around America. 

Breadcrumbs, aromatics, herbs, broth, sometimes meat. These are all components of one of the most famous Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes, stuffing. Some love it, some hate it; either way, it has a permanent place on our Thanksgiving tables and an interesting history to go with it. Stuffing, like turkey, did not originate from the original Thanksgiving feast; instead, it dates back to ancient Rome, around the 1st century AD. The earliest recipe was found in a cookbook from that time, “De re Coquinaria”. The Pilgrims at the Harvest Feast were likely familiar with the tradition of stuffing meat for flavor, but bread and other ingredients used in stuffing were scarce back then. It is likely that instead of the stuffing we know today, they stuffed their meat with any herbs or food they could find. So while it wasn’t exactly the same, this is probably how stuffing became incorporated into Thanksgiving specifically. Over time, as with most foods and products, the ingredients changed based on what was available at the time. Around the 15th century, bread became more popular as an ingredient in stuffing, forming it into what we know it as today. As time went on, the idea of serving the stuffing outside the turkey gained popularity, especially once instant stuffing was invented and put on the market in the 1970s. 

It certainly is interesting to see how the foods we eat on Thanksgiving have evolved over the years- from a recipe in ancient Rome and a Harvest Feast in 1621, to what we put on our dinner tables today.

Article by Noa Gitelson