In fact, the meal was probably quite
meat-heavy
. Likewise, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts were abundant, as were sunchokes. Shellfish were common, so they probably played a part, as did beans, pumpkins, squashes, and corn (served in the form of bread or porridge), thanks to the Wampanoags.
What did the first pilgrims eat?
In addition to wildfowl and deer, the colonists and Wampanoag probably ate
eels and shellfish
, such as lobster, clams and mussels. “They were drying shellfish and smoking other sorts of fish,” says Wall.
What kind of food did pilgrims eat?
The traditional meal includes
turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, glazed carrots, green bean casserole, macaroni and cheese, rolls
—you name it. All the things the first Pilgrims and the native Wampanoag ate back in the year 1621, right?
What did the Pilgrims eat and drink?
So what did the Pilgrims eat and drink while on their journey to the New World? They most likely had
dried meat and fish, cheese, dried fruit, biscuits, grains, flour, and dried beans and peas
. When their water supply became unfit to drink, the Pilgrims drank beer.
What did pilgrims actually eat on Thanksgiving?
Turkey, of course, was served (and has been the main entrée for almost 400 years). However, it was wild, not domestic, that the Pilgrims and Indians consumed. They also ate
venison
from the five deer that the Indians brought to the celebration, as well as duck and geese. Fish.
What 3 foods were eaten at the first Thanksgiving?
There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. They describe a feast of
freshly killed deer
, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.
What did they drink on the Mayflower?
Due to the unsafe drinking water, passengers on the Mayflower drank
beer
as a main hydration source — each person was rationed a gallon per day. They started to run out as the ship approached Plymouth Rock.
What’s the real history of Thanksgiving?
In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an
autumn harvest feast
that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states.
Why do we eat turkey on Thanksgiving?
For meat,
the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl
.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese. …
What did the Pilgrims do to the natives?
What they found when they arrived was a village that had been decimated by disease. While the Wampanoags considered the site a cursed place of death and tragedy, the Pilgrims saw the
deaths of the natives as a sign from God that this was where they should settle
. And so began Plimoth Plantation.
Did pilgrims drink alcohol?
Beer, cider and spirits
, with alcohol levels that kept bacteria at bay, were safe choices. Pilgrims packing for the journey on the Mayflower, which would last 66 days, had been urged to bring provisions including beer, cider and “aqua-vitae,” or distilled spirits.
What did the Pilgrims eat on a daily basis?
It was usually made into butter or cheese, or
cooked with to make tasty grain porridges
. Just like us today, the Pilgrims usually ate three meals a day. There was probably a thick porridge or bread made from Indian corn and some kind of meat, fowl or fish.
Did the Pilgrims eat fish?
The natives dried fish and smoked shellfish, as well as ate other fish, shrimp, oysters, and crabs. So, it’s very likely that
the natives present at the first Thanksgiving provided seafood for the pilgrims to
eat.
What difficulties did the Pilgrims face?
The weather was much colder than what the Pilgrims had prepared for and the first winter was devastating. The Pilgrims
struggled to build homes
, and many families crowded into the few homes that were built. Food was scarce, and many Pilgrims starved to death that first winter.
What did the Pilgrims have for breakfast?
During the Mayflower’s voyage, the Pilgrims’ main diet would have consisted primarily of a
cracker-like biscuit (“hard tack”)
, salt pork, dried meats including cow tongue, various pickled foods, oatmeal and other cereal grains, and fish. The primary beverage for everyone, including children, was beer.
What foods were not served at the first Thanksgiving?
- A turkey centerpiece.
- Potatoes (white or sweet)
- Bread stuffing or pie (wheat flour was rare)
- Sugar.
- Aunt Lena’s green bean casserole.
