In November, my mailbox is full of subscriptions to many of the best food magazines in the country. Every single one of them has a turkey on the cover. The fact that they all come back to the same dish (along with a bunch of “new” side dishes) on America’s biggest eating (and family) day of the year amazes me. It must be very hard to come up with new and interesting recipes for one of the oldest, most common, and most traditional meals of all time every year. But: Where’s the Fish? Where’s the Seafood? I often wonder why seafood isn’t more popular on America’s biggest feast day. So I decide to investigate what happened on the First Thanksgiving. The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag held a three-day feast called “Thanksgiving” in the fall of 1621 to celebrate the victory of the colony over the enemy, their friendship with the natives, and their first successful harvest. In reality, both the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who lived in the Plymouth Colony were right on Cape Cod Bay. In the 1620s, the bay was literally overflowing with fish and shellfish. There were reports of lobsters being so plentiful that they could be picked up by hand along the beaches and codfish being so thick in the water that they could be caught in baskets. We know how important seafood was to the Pilgrim’s survival.
The First Thanksgiving in 1621 was a 3-day harvest celebration shared between the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians. While turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie are Thanksgiving staples today, the spread at the original feast was very different Seafood like lobster and mussels were abundant in New England and likely served But there’s debate over whether lobster was actually on the menu back in 1621.
As a lover of lobster, I decided to dive into the history books to find out if this tasty crustacean was part of that first Thanksgiving meal
What We Know About the First Thanksgiving
The First Thanksgiving was a 3-day festival held in Plymouth Colony to celebrate the autumn harvest. The Pilgrims had survived a brutal winter after arriving in the New World, and they invited the Wampanoag Indians who had taught them farming skills to join their celebration.
Primary records from Edward Winslow, an attendee at the feast, describe mass preparations. Four Pilgrims went “fowling” for birds while the Wampanoag brought five deer to roast. With no sugar stocks left, the meal likely consisted of hearty meats, vegetables like onions and cabbage, and native fruits like berries and plums.
Winslow’s account provides clues about the abundance of seafood. But he never explicitly mentioned lobster being served. So let’s examine more about lobster’s role in the region’s history.
Lobster in Early Colonial New England
The Native Americans called the lobster “suckan” and used them to fertilize their fields. They also cooked lobsters by wrapping them in seaweed and baking them under sea rocks. This technique inspired what we now know as the New England clambake.
Lobster was so plentiful in the 1600s that piles of lobsters would wash ashore, ready to be collected by hand. They were considered a poverty food that even indentured servants resisted eating. In Massachusetts Bay Colony, servants’ contracts had to include a limit on how often they could be fed lobster.
So while the Native Americans appreciated lobster, the Pilgrims likely still considered them bottom-feeders unworthy of eating. Records show early colonists mainly used lobster as bait for fishing cod.
Clues That Lobster May Have Been Served
Despite lobster’s low status, here are some hints it could have been included in the autumn feast:
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The harvest celebration lasted for 3 full days. This could have allowed for lobster trapping and cooking.
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Lobster was a plentiful regional food source that would have been easy to obtain.
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The Wampanoag cooked lobster and may have brought some to share.
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Winslow marveled at the abundance of seafood like mussels and eels. So the Pilgrims weren’t completely averse to ocean fare.
Reasons Lobster May Not Have Been Part of the Menu
On the flip side, there are some convincing reasons why lobster might not have been on the table:
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No primary accounts mention lobster specifically.
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The Pilgrims still looked down on eating lobster. So they may have avoided it even if available.
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Preparing lobster required trapping and lengthy cooking that may not have been practical for the occasion.
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With abundant deer and fowl, lobster wouldn’t have been needed to provide sufficient meat.
When Did Lobster Become a Delicacy?
While the Pilgrims snubbed it, lobster grew popular in the colonies within decades. As cod stocks declined, lobster became a valuable commodity. Prices rose and lobster gained esteem as a luxury food.
Thomas Jefferson loved lobster and had it shipped to him when he was Minister to France. European diners also developed a taste for the once lowly crustacean. America soon became known for its delectable lobsters.
By the mid-1800s, lobster was considered a delicacy and decadent restaurants served lobster dishes. When Thanksgiving became a national holiday in 1863, roasted lobster and lobster croquettes were featured on holiday menus.
Verdict: Possible but Unlikely
After weighing the evidence, it seems possible but unlikely that lobster was an original Thanksgiving menu item. The abundance of easier food sources make it improbable the Pilgrims expended effort cooking lobster for the 3-day harvest celebration.
However, we can definitively say lobster was plentiful in the region and became popular within decades. By the time Thanksgiving was made a national holiday, lobster was widely enjoyed as a delicacy.
So while lobster may not have been in attendance back in 1621, it certainly dresses up Thanksgiving tables today. How do you like to serve lobster for Thanksgiving dinner? Share your favorite recipes and traditions in the comments!
Bringing home the hold days
So this year, honor our Pilgrim forefathers by putting some New England lobster and seafood on the table. Perhaps it will start a new tradition in your home that is actually closer to The First Thanksgiving. To inspire you, we’ve included our own exclusive Thanksgiving Seafood Recipes booklet, you can download it here:
Happy Thanksgiving! Sources:
- Winslow, Edward. An account of the Pilgrims at Plymouth called “A Letter Sent from New England” Ed: Dwight B. Heath. New York: Corinth Books, 1963. page 82.
- http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/first-thanksgiving-meal
- http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Ask-an-Expert-What-was-on-the-menu-at-the-first-Thanksgiving.html?c=y&page=1
Seafood, an important staple at the first Thanksgiving
For this reason, most food historians are sure that seafood was a big part of the First Thanksgiving menu. Mussels thrived in New England and could be harvested easily off inshore rocks. Along the coast of Massachusetts, there would have been lots of clam and oyster beds and a lot of lobsters that lived close to shore. Striped bass would have been plentiful and commonly follow baitfish right into the bays. People in history think that smoked and dried seafood was common at the time, so it’s likely that all of them were at the feast. 2 It’s funny that there were no potatoes, cranberry relish, or pumpkin pies because an oven hadn’t even been built yet, nor had there been any cranberry relish because it didn’t have any sugar. The best part? The main bird that was probably served was a duck, goose, or even swan or pigeon. So why did seafood disappear from the menu over the years? Some people think that when Lincoln made it a national holiday (he may have thought it would help people heal after the terrible Battle of Gettysburg in the Civil War in 1863) the menus started to reflect recipes from cookbooks from the 1860s instead of the actual menu from 1621. A poet, editor, and author named Sarah Josepha Hale is often seen as the main person who pushed for Thanksgiving to be a national holiday. Hale also edited the popular women’s magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book and a lot of cookbooks. In her cookbooks, she put out a lot of recipes that made Thanksgiving menus more popular in the years to come. In fact, these recipes, which are a mix of New England tradition and Victorian food styles, may have had a big effect on the traditional menu we all think of today, 200 years later. She didn’t eat the fish or lobster either, mostly because it wasn’t available outside of coastal areas like New England.
Boi why they having lobster for thanksgiving
Did Native Americans eat lobster on Thanksgiving?
While turkey is the staple for Thanksgiving today, it may not have been on the menu during what is considered the First Thanksgiving. The First Thanksgiving meal eaten by pilgrims in November 1621 included lobster. They also ate fruits and vegetables brought by Native Americans, mussels, bass, clams, and oysters.
Do you eat lobster on Thanksgiving?
Back in 1621, lobsters were so plentiful that you could grab them by the hand straight out of the ocean at low tide. Today, lobster might not be a food associated with a traditional Thanksgiving menu, but it should be!
What did pilgrims eat on Thanksgiving 1621?
The First Thanksgiving meal eaten by pilgrims in November 1621 included lobster. They also ate fruits and vegetables brought by Native Americans, mussels, bass, clams, and oysters. Back in 1621, lobsters were so plentiful that you could grab them by the hand straight out of the ocean at low tide.
Should you eat lobster on Thanksgiving 2020?
Thanksgiving 2020 was never going to be conventional. So, why not celebrate with an unconventional meal? This year, gatherings will be much smaller. A perfect time to test out the new (yet, old) pilgrim tradition of eating lobster on Thanksgiving.