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Keep The Holiday Fires Burning
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Foods The Pilgrims Had Available
Still, educated guesses can be made based on the stores that the Pilgrims had with them, and what we know about both Indian and English meals. Among the things they may have eaten were: 1) Fish: Cod and bass are mentioned. The English also ate eel . Its a good assumption that other fish available in the area, such as shad and bluefish also were eaten. Still, the Pilgrims were no fishermen, and the Speedwell, a boat which was left in England, was supposed to have been their fishing vessel. 2) Shellfish: These aren't mentioned in the documents referring to the first Thanksgiving, but other accounts from the time mention them. Clams, lobster, mussels and oysters are native to the area, and were eaten by the Indians. 3) Birds: The Pilgrims mention fowl and turkeys. Fowl probably included goose, duck, crane, and partridge. Other Pilgrim era documents mention swans and eagles, wo its likely that they ate these also. The birds would have been roasted, not baked, for the Pilgrims had no ovens. 4) Deer: Vension was plentiful, and a favorite of the Indians. It would have been roasted on a fire. 5) Planted Crops: In the spring of 1621, the Pilgrims reported having planted twenty six acres of crops: twenty of corn, six of barley and some peas. The peas did not survive. If they followed Indian practices, and the advice of Squanto and Samoset, they also might have planted squash, including pumpkin, radishes, carrots, onions and cabbage. 6) Gathered Crops: As with the Indians, the Pilgrims could have gathered a great deal of food from the forests, including walnuts, chestnuts, hickory nuts, wild carrots, and other roots, raspberries, strawberries, wild plums and cherries and blueberries. None of the berries would have been in season, so if they had them, they would have been dried. 7) Supplies from England: Although the Pilgrims had brought with them a number of supplies from England, there would have been very little of these left after the first winter and spring, for these were the only foods that they had to eat. A letter from Captain John Smith offers a contemporary list of the supplies that a well-organized expedition would have with them, including: "Fine wheat flour, close and well packed, rice, currants, sugar, Prunes, Cinnamon, Ginger, Pepper, Cloves, Green Ginger, Oil, Butter, Holland Cheese, Wine Vinegar, canarie Sack, Aqua Vitae., Fine Wines, Pure water, Lemon Juice [for Scurvy], white Biscuit, Oatmeal, bacon, Dried Neat's Tongues, Beefe, packed in vinegar, Legs of Mutton, minced and stewed, close-packed with tried sewet or butter in earthen pots." 8) Seasonings: In spite of the reputation for English food being bland, spices at the time were very much in fashion. It's likely that they had a store of the spices John Smith recommended, including salt and pepper, cinnamon, ginger and the like. The also would have been able to season their food with onions. Continue to find out about "traditional" Thanksgiving foods the Pilgrims didn' t have. Go Back to Thanksgiving Meal Historical Evidence - |