The First Thanksgiving Menu

Little is known about the first Thanksgiving dinner in the Plymouth Colony in October 1621. The feast was attended by some 50 English colonists and about 90 native Wampanoag men in what is now Massachusetts.

We do know that the Wampanoag killed five deer for the feast, and that the colonists shot wild fowl, which may have been geese, ducks, or turkey. Some forms of Indian corn were also served.

Jennifer Monac, spokesperson for the living-history museum Plymoth Plantation said the feasters likely supplemented their venison and fowl with fish, lobster, clams, nuts, and wheat flour, as well as vegetables such as pumpkin, squash, carrots, and peas.

"This was the time of year when they were really feasting. There were lots of vegetables because the harvest would recently have been brought in."

Traditional Thanksgiving fare that certainly wasn't on the table: potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.

If you want to eat like a Pilgrim, try some of the Plymoth Plantation's recipes, including stewed pompion (pumpkin) or traditional Wampanoag succotash.

Here is the entire article from National Geographic News.

Happy Thanksgiving