Have you ever wondered what foods were actually eaten at the first Thanksgiving? Historians maintain that our view of the first Thanksgiving may be more of a romanticized memory than hard fact. The holiday as we know it today is more representative of our country’s New England roots than the actual meal our founders probably enjoyed. Those curious about this first feast can be assured it was markedly different from what we eat today.

According to common convention, the first Thanksgiving was a feast of friendship that took place between the Massachusetts Bay Colony Pilgrims and the Wampanoag People, but many of the details have been lost to history. We do know that an autumnal harvest feast attended by both groups took place for three days in the early fall of 1621. Historical documents tell us that the first winter for the Pilgrims was a difficult one and it is believed that this gathering was a celebration of survival. The only confirmed dish served at the first Thanksgiving was venison, but evidence suggests there may also have been waterfowl including duck and goose, and perhaps wild turkey.

Today, a typical modern Thanksgiving table will likely include mashed and sweet potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce. These foods would not have been present at the first Thanksgiving, although dried cranberries might have been part of a stuffing as they were native to New England. Potatoes were not commonly prepared at that time.

Historians have reconstructed a plausible menu that, in addition to the meats and fowl mentioned above, also includes seafood like eel, cod, clams and lobster—given Plymouth’s proximity to the bay. The proposed menu also likely consisted of corn meal, walnuts, chestnuts and herbs (which could have been combined as a stuffing) as well as fruits and vegetables such as grapes, plums, onions, beans, peas, and carrots. Pumpkin might also have been eaten, although pumpkin pie—as we enjoy today—would have been unlikely as sugar had not yet been imported from England.

The first Thanksgiving represents a truly “cool” Thanksgiving- the foods were produced, caught or hunted locally and there were likely very few imports. Today it may be difficult to replicate a Thanksgiving as “cool” as the first. Yet in our modern world, at a time when globalization and international trade means you can eat pineapple and sushi for Thanksgiving, people still hold on to traditional foods that are native and local. So while our modern meal might not truly resemble the “First Thanksgiving” meal, we have retained the value of that harvest feast – a celebration of the hard work that goes into producing our food and honoring the time to sit and enjoy it together. This Thanksgiving take the time to plan out a “cool” and “green” holiday filled with seasonal, local and organic products and be sure to give thanks to our country’s founders and find new ways to give thanks for our food, hearth, health and family.