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The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is Thanksgiving dinner, a large meal generally centered on a large roasted turkey. Thanksgiving is the largest eating event in the United States as measured by retail sales of food and beverages and by estimates of individual food intake.[1][2]
| Thanksgiving meal | |
|---|---|
 Servicemen in 1918 having a Thanksgiving dinner | |
| Type | Cultural, Western |
| Frequency | Annual |
Along with attending church services, Thanksgiving dinner remained a central part of celebrations from the holiday's early establishment in North America.[3] In a 2015 Harris Poll, Thanksgiving was the second most popular holiday in the United States (after Christmas), and turkey was the most popular holiday food, regardless of region, generation, gender, or race.[4] At Thanksgiving dinner, turkey is served with a variety of side dishes that can vary from traditional, such as mashed potatoes, stuffing, and cranberry sauce,[5] to ones that reflect regional or cultural heritage.[6]
Given that days of thanksgiving revolve around giving thanks, the saying of grace before Thanksgiving dinner is a traditional feature of the feast.[7] Many of the dishes in a traditional Thanksgiving dinner are made from ingredients native to the Americas, including turkey, potato, sweet potato, corn (maize), squash (including pumpkin), green bean, and cranberry. The Pilgrims may have learned about some of these foods from Native Americans, but others were not available to the early settlers. The tradition of eating them at Thanksgiving likely reflects their affordability for later Americans.[8] Early North American settlers did eat turkey, but the lavish feasts that are frequently ascribed to Thanksgiving in the 17th century were a creation of nineteenth-century writers who sought to popularize a unifying holiday in which all Americans could share.[9]
Thanksgiving Day was made a national holiday in the mid-19th century, and the importance of the day and its centerpiece family meal has become a widely observed American tradition, with the meal consisting of roast turkey (or substitute) and many sides being central part of the holiday. The first frozen TV dinner was a Thanksgiving dinner triggered by a glut of turkey's in the year 1953.
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The tradition of Thanksgiving dinner has often been associated in popular culture with New England. New England Puritans proclaimed days of thanksgiving to commemorate many specific events. Such days were marked by religious observances, prayer, and sometimes fasting. Church records of the time do not mention food or feasting as being part of such events. A single exception records that following church services in 1636, there was "then making merry to the creatures, the poorer sort being invited of the richer."[9]
On December 11, 1621, Governor Edward Winslow of the Plymouth Colony wrote a letter in hopes of attracting more colonists. In it, he described a three-day feast shared by the Plymouth settlers and the local Wampanoag tribe. Winslow sent out four men who provided a variety of fowls, sufficient to feed the colony for a week, while Massasoit's hunters killed five deer. In the 19th century, this event became associated with the idea of a Thanksgiving feast. In a footnote in 1841, Alexander Young claimed that this event "was the first thanksgiving, the harvest festival of New England".[9] Jamestown, Virginia, and other locations have also been suggested as sites of the "First Thanksgiving".[9]
Most of what was served, however, according to some historians, as referenced in a letter from Edward Winslow written on 11 December 1621, would have been seafood, including lobster, fish, eels, mussels and oysters. Mussels in particular were abundant in New England and could be easily harvested because they clung to rocks along the shoreline.[10]
One of the most persistent advocates for Thanksgiving as a national holiday was writer Sarah Josepha Hale.[9] Although she advocated for Thanksgiving in editorials in Godey's Lady's Book from 1837 onwards, Hale did not associate the Pilgrims with Thanksgiving until a brief mention in 1865. In "America's Thanksgiving Hymn", published in 1872, she credited the Pilgrims as being "free to do and pray, And keep in sober gladness Their first Thanksgiving Day". Hale did not suggest that the Pilgrim thanksgiving included feasting.[11]
Other writers were less discerning. Jane G. Austin published a fictional account of the Pilgrims, Standish of Standish, in 1889. Austin described the Pilgrims a year after their arrival as feasting on turkey stuffed with beechnuts, other types of fowl, venison, boiled beef and other roasts, oysters, clam chowder, plum-porridge, hasty pudding, sea biscuit, manchet bread, butter, treacle, mustard, turnips, salad, grapes, plums, popcorn, ale, and root beer. Austin's lavish description disregarded the historical record and the deaths due to starvation and malnutrition that occurred in the Plymouth Colony that winter. Nonetheless, her account was extremely popular. It was repeated by other writers, adapted for plays and public events, and adopted by school curricula. The writings of Austin and others helped to establish the inaccurate image of the Pilgrim Thanksgiving feast in popular culture and make it a part of the national identity of the United States.[9]
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The use of roasted turkey in the United States for Thanksgiving precedes Abraham Lincoln's nationalization of the holiday in 1863. In her 1827 novel Northwood; or, a Tale of New England, Sarah Josepha Hale devoted an entire chapter to Thanksgiving dinner, emphasizing many of the foods that are now considered traditional. Although many other meats are mentioned, "the roasted turkey took precedence on this occasion, being placed at the head of the table; and well did it become its lordly stations, sending forth the rich odour of its savoury stuffing". The tradition of eating Turkey on Thanksgiving dates back to its role as an easily accessible and practical food source during early harvest celebrations.[12] For dessert, "the celebrated pumpkin pie...occupied the most distinguished niche" and was described as "an indispensable part of a good and true Yankee Thanksgiving".[9]
The White House Cook Book, published in 1887 by Fanny Lemira Gillette, had the following menu: oysters on half shell, cream of chicken soup, fried smelts, sauce tartare, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, baked squash, boiled onions, parsnip fritters, olives, chicken salad, venison pastry, pumpkin pie, mince pie, charlotte russe, almond ice cream, lemon jelly, hickory nut cake, cheese, fruits, and coffee.[13]
A Thanksgiving Day dinner served to the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935 included pickles, green olives, celery, roast turkey, oyster stew, cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, dressing, creamed asparagus tips, snowflake potatoes, baked carrots, hot rolls, fruit salad, mince pie, fruitcake, candies, grapes, apples, clams, fish, and many other foods, along with French drip coffee, cigars, and cigarettes.[14]
Sugar, among other food commodities, was rationed from 1942 to 1946.[15] In 1947, as part of a voluntary rationing campaign, the Truman administration attempted to promote "Poultryless Thursdays", discouraging Americans from eating poultry or egg products on Thursdays. Because Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday, this meant that turkey and pumpkin pie, two Thanksgiving staples, would be discouraged (pumpkin pie because it contains eggs). The National Poultry and Egg Board furiously lobbied the President to cease promoting the plan, culminating in an agreement at the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation shortly before Thanksgiving in 1947. Turkey was no longer discouraged, but Eggless Thursdays remained for the rest of the year, meaning no pumpkin pie was served at the White House dinner that year.[16]
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Thanksgiving dinner is tied to the genesis of the first TV Dinner/Frozen dinner in the 1950s: In 1953, the company Swanson had hundreds of tons of turkey left over after thanksgiving due to an overestimation of demand. The solution came by harnessing a frozen meat technology that had been in development since the 1920s, and the proposal was to use the leftover turkeys in a pre-made frozen thanksgiving dinner. The meal was frozen with the food in a partitioned aluminum tray that could then be re-heated, and the meal would have Turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and peas. The product skyrocketed in popularity and capitalized on the rise of television;fast preparation meant families could eat by the television more easily and this became a social Trend in the United States.[17] The dinner's were not simply frozen, but used a flash freezing technology that prevents the formation of ice crystals that alter the texture of meat. Flash freezing was developed in the 1920s after man observed Eskimos throwing fish on ice, and then the technology was later adopted by airlines, when the turkey glut appeared this was the technologies for the pre-made dinners. [18]
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Turkey
Turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, to the point that Thanksgiving is sometimes colloquially called "Turkey Day". In fact, $983 million has been spent on turkeys alone in 2024.[19] Alexander Hamilton proclaimed that "no citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day",[20][21] and Benjamin Franklin had high regard for the wild turkey as an American icon.[22][23] As Thanksgiving Day rose in popularity during the 1800s, so too did the turkey. By 1857, turkey had become part of the traditional dinner in New England.[21]
The domestic turkey eaten now is very different from the wild turkey known to the Pilgrims, Hamilton, and Franklin. Wild turkeys are native to the Americas and evolved around 5 million years ago. At least five subspecies are still found in 48 states, Mexico, and Canada.[24] Today, the southern Mexico subspecies Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo is almost extinct,[24] but in the early 16th century it was taken to Europe from Mexico by the Spanish. Its descendants later returned to America.[21] Twentieth century commercial varieties of turkey were bred from these European descendants.
The Beltsville Small White turkey was bred by the USDA at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center in Maryland in response to consumer demand for a small (8-15 pound) turkey with more white meat and no dark feathers. It was introduced commercially in 1947 and dominated the market for nearly 20 years.[25][26] The Small White was supplanted by the Broad Breasted White turkey, bred specifically for large feasts such as Thanksgiving. These turkeys can grow to over 40 pounds, but the breed must be artificially bred and suffers from health problems due to its size.[27] It is estimated that more than 99% of the American turkeys eaten are Broad Breasted Whites.[28] In 2006, American turkey growers were expected to raise 270 million turkeys, to be processed into five billion pounds of turkey meat valued at almost $8 billion, with one third of all turkey consumption occurring in the Thanksgiving-Christmas season (and a fifth of the overall total coming from Thanksgiving alone),[29] and a per capita consumption of almost 18 pounds (8.2 kg).[30]
Thanksgiving turkey is sometimes stuffed with a traditional savory bread pudding and roasted. Sage is the standard herb added to the stuffing, along with chopped onions and celery.[31][32] Other ingredients, such as chopped chestnuts or other tree nuts, crumbled sausage or bacon, carrots, cranberries, raisins, and/or apples, may be added to stuffing. If the mixture is cooked outside the bird, a stock is generally added to prevent it from drying out.[32] A number of cultural and regional factors affect whether this is referred to as "stuffing" or "dressing".[33][34] Turkeys may be deep-fried instead of roasted due to the shorter preparation time, but this method carries higher safety risks.[35]
The consumption of turkey on Thanksgiving is so ingrained in American culture that each year since 1947, the National Turkey Federation (and, as far back as 1873, commercial turkey farmers) has presented a live turkey to the president of the United States prior to each Thanksgiving.[36] These turkeys were initially slaughtered and eaten for the president's Thanksgiving dinner; since 1989, the presented turkeys have typically been given a mock pardon to great fanfare and sent to a park to live out the rest of their usually short natural lives.[37] However the first "pardon" to a turkey was given by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, and there is a monument in Hartford, Connecticut, to this one.[38]
Giblet gravy
A traditional side called giblet gravy can be made from the turkey. The giblet is not a specific bird organ, but several that are traditional for the butcher to include in a small bag of turkey parts like the liver, kidney, gizzard, heart, and neck. These can be cooked to create the gravy for a meal.[39] The gravy can also be made using chicken broth and other ingredients as a base, or from the actual turkey, but not from the giblet.[40] The gravy can be prepared in advance, then reheated on the day.[40] In addition to the turkey giblet, drippings from cooking the turkey can be an ingredient, both of which have a turkey flavor.[41] Thanksgiving gravy is usually a balance of being "thick but pourable" with silky texture and complex flavor.[41] The giblet can also be used to make a stock or as part of the stuffing.[42]
Alternatives to turkey
Entrees other than turkey are sometimes served at Thanksgiving dinner, either alongside the turkey or in place of it as the main dish, depending on preference or availability. Baked ham is served at Thanksgiving in many households.[43] Roasted goose, duck, or chicken, foods that were traditional European centerpieces of Christmas dinners, are sometimes served in place of a Thanksgiving turkey.[44] Italian Americans might serve capon as the main course to the Thanksgiving meal.[45] Irish Americans might have prime rib as their centerpiece; since beef in Ireland was once a rarity, families would save up money for this dish to signify newfound prosperity and hope.
Sometimes, fowl native to the region where the meal is taking place are used; for example, Texas Monthly magazine suggested quail as a main dish.[46] In a few areas on the West Coast, Dungeness crab is common as an alternate main dish, as crab season starts in early November.[47] Similarly, Thanksgiving falls within deer hunting season in the Northeastern United States, so venison is forever a centerpiece.[48] In Alaskan villages, whale meat is sometimes eaten.[49]
John Madden, a longtime commentator on televised NFL Thanksgiving Day games, advocated for turducken: deboned turkey, duck and chicken nested inside each other and then cooked.[50][51]
At the other end of the spectrum, vegetarians or vegans may choose a tofu, seitan, or lentil-based substitute such as tofurkey,[52] or serve vegetable-based dishes such as stuffed squash, which are more often considered sides.[53] Vegetarian menus for Thanksgiving date back to at least 1897, when they were discussed by the Vegetarian Club of the University of Chicago.[54]
Due to the impacts of immigration in the United States, an international approach to Thanksgiving has become common. Basic Thanksgiving dishes can be transformed by using flavors, techniques, and traditions from immigrants' own cuisines. Others celebrate the holiday with a variety of standard and multicultural dishes, particularly when there is a crowd to be fed, as guests' tastes can vary.[55][56][57]
A live raccoon was sent from Mississippi to the White House intended to be served for the 1926 Thanksgiving feast. Calvin and Grace Coolidge decided to keep her as a pet instead and named her Rebecca.[58]
When a turkey is skipped entirely, as well as a substitute, this is sometimes called a sidesgiving.[59]
- Turkey alternatives
Roast chicken
Honey glazed ham
Roast goose
Turducken, sliced to show layers within
Stuffed Tofurkey
Vegan Thanksgiving plate
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Many offerings are typically served alongside the main dish. Copious leftovers are also common following the meal proper. Traditional Thanksgiving foods are sometimes specific to the day, and although some of the dishes might be seen at any semi-formal meal in the United States, the Thanksgiving dinner often has something of a ritual or traditional quality to it.[60] A Thanksgiving dinner consiting entirely of sides with no main meat like a turkey has been called a "sidesgiving" or turkeyless thanksgiving.[59] Sidesgiving is not necessarily implied to be vegetation, but they can be.[61]
Many Americans would regard Thanksgiving dinner as incomplete without stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, and cranberry sauce.[62] A recipe for cranberry sauce to be served with turkey appeared in the first American cookbook, American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons.[63] Commonly served vegetable dishes include mashed winter squash, turnips, and sweet potatoes, the latter often prepared with sweeteners such as brown sugar, molasses, or marshmallows. All three can be served mashed or roasted.[64] Other vegetables served may include carrots or parsnips, beets, radishes, asparagus, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and creamed corn.[65][66][67][62]
Green beans are frequently served, in particular, green bean casserole. The recipe was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly for the Campbell Soup Company to promote use of its canned cream of mushroom soup. It has since become a Thanksgiving standard.[68][69]
- Side dishes for Thanksgiving Dinner
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing (or dressing)
Cranberry sauce
Green bean casserole
Brussels sprouts with bacon
Steamed corn
Steamed peas with butter
Creamed spinach with bacon
Candied yams
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A fresh salad may be included, especially on the West Coast.[70][71] A charcuterie board or relish tray, with various cheese, cured meats, crackers, pickles, olives, onions or peppers, is often included either with the meal itself or as a pre-meal appetizer.[72] Bread rolls, biscuits, or cornbread, the latter particularly in the South and parts of New England, may also be served,[62] and macaroni and cheese is a common side dish in some Southern coastal areas.[62]
Soups may also be served for thanksgiving dinner, especially as an appetizer and example of this is chestnut soup,[73] creamy shrimp, carrot, or butternut soup.[74] Other thanksgiving dinner appetizers include a light salad or more complicated hors d'oeuvres like a mushroom turnover pastry.[74]
Family recipes can be cherished by families for their sentimental taste, and even slight variations can be a cause for disputes and the meals recipes can serve as a platform for family rivalries.[75]
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For dessert, various pies are usually served. Harriet Beecher Stowe described pie as "an English institution, which, transplanted on American soil, forthwith ran rampant and burst forth into an untold variety of genera and species."[63] Pumpkin pie is widely regarded as the most popular and most traditional, but apple pie and pecan pie are also common favorites.[76] Sweet potato pie, mince pie, cherry pie, and chocolate cream pie are served as well.[63][31] Its common to serve the pie slice with whipped cream or ice cream, or alternatively a non-dairy substitute.[77] Cookies with fall flavors include variations on pumpkin, carmel apple, gingersnap, and cranberry-oatmeal.[78]
- Desserts for Thanksgiving Dinner
Pumpkin pie with cinnamon crust
Apple pie
Pecan pie
Cherry Pie
Sweet potato pie
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The beverages at Thanksgiving can vary as much as the side dishes, often depending on who is present at the table and their tastes. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, it was usual for Americans to consume hard cider and alcoholic punches. Prohibition in the 1920s restricted legal Thanksgiving options to milk, water, and lemonade.[63]: 57 Pitchers of sweet tea were often found on Southern tables even before prohibition and remain popular.[79] Coffee or hot chocolate are also frequently served at the end of Thanksgiving dinner.
Spirits or cocktails may be offered before the main meal.[80] On the dinner table, unfermented apple cider (still or sparkling) or wine are often served.[81] Beaujolais nouveau is sometimes served; the beverage has been marketed as a Thanksgiving drink since the producers of the wine (which is made available only for a short window each year) set the annual release date to be one week before Thanksgiving beginning in 1985, and it is said to pair well with the wide variety of food served for Thanksgiving dinner.[82] Thanksgiving marks the initial peak for seasonal consumption of eggnog, which is followed by a larger peak at Christmas.[83]
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There are many regional differences as to what gets served for Thanksgiving dinner. Each state and region has its own preferences,[71][62][84] starting with the stuffing or dressing traditionally served with the turkey. The common version is some form of mixture of white bread cubes, sage, onion, celery and parsley.[31] Southerners generally make their dressing from cornbread, while those in other parts of the country may opt for wheat, rye, or sourdough bread as the base.[32][33] The addition of ingredients such as oysters, apples, chestnuts, raisins, and sausage or the turkey's giblets may also reflect regional and historic differences.[31]
Other dishes likewise reflect the regional, cultural, or ethnic backgrounds of those who have come together for the meal. Many African Americans and Southerners serve baked macaroni and cheese and collard greens, along with chitterlings and sweet potato pie.[85] Sauerkraut is sometimes served in the Mid-Atlantic, especially by Baltimoreans of German and Eastern European descent.[86] Many Midwesterners (such as Minnesotans) and Pacific Northwest residents of Norwegian or Scandinavian descent set the table with lefse.[87] Italian Americans often include antipasti, pasta, and lasagna dishes.[88][89]
Mexican Americans may serve their turkey with mole and roasted corn.[90] One Mexican-American celebrity cook, rubs their turkey with banana leaves and a spicy paste from Yucutan, and makes a chorizo, pecan, apple, and cornbread stuffing/dressing.[91] In Puerto Rico, the Thanksgiving meal is completed with arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), pasteles (root tamales), and potato salad. Turkey in Puerto Rico is often stuffed with mofongo.[92][93] Cuban Americans traditionally serve the turkey alongside a small roasted pork and include white rice and black beans or kidney beans.[94] In Hawaii, the day ties in with traditional Hawaiian period from November to January called Makahiki which, in a similar vein as Thanksgiving Day, was a period of giving thanks to God for "blessing," peace, or good crops, and an important part of this was feasts that featured roast pork, fish, sweet potatoes, nuts, and other vegetables.[95] The similarity to the American one in colonial New England has similar origins of those living off the land happy to have a good crop and peace. Although celebration of American Thanksgiving dinner started in the 19th century on the islands, in 1946 Aloha Festivals became formalized, and Thanksgiving dinner can now be celebrated twice during this period.[95]
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Because of the amount of food, preparation for the Thanksgiving meal may begin early in the day or during the days prior. The turkey generally takes hours to prepare, cook, and rest before serving. Many side dishes can be at least partially prepared in advance, and pies may be popular desserts in part because they can be baked days or weeks in advance and stored.[63][96][97][98] It is common for family members and friends from different households to bring dishes to a joint meal.[99]
The meal is often served in the early or middle afternoon.[60] Maria Parloa, an early New England domestic scientist[100] cautioned against eating too early in the day, because of the increased pressure on the cook:[101]
"During the week preceding Thanksgiving the New England housekeeper is a busy woman. All over the country, but especially in New England, men and women look forward to the holiday as a time for going to old homes,--a family day.... Remember that the chief aim is to produce happiness, and that many of the company will not be wholly happy if the mistress of the household must pass a good part of the day in the kitchen. On this account the greater the preparations made in advance the better, so as to relieve the housekeeper of as many duties and as much anxiety as possible of the holiday."[101]
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It is common during this time for increased donations and charity drives to support providing a Thanksgiving meal to those in need, such as unhoused people and shelters.[102] Nonprofits such as the Salvation Army run drives to collect basic Thanksgiving dinner food items such as canned foods, stuffing mix, butter, eggs, and turkey or chicken.[102][103] Some food banks will distribute free turkeys to help people trying to assemble a Thanksgiving dinner;[104] for example, San Diego Food Bank gave out 14,000 turkeys in 2024. Also, some may volunteer to help others have Thanksgiving dinner on that day.[105]
In his 1955 Thanksgiving Day proclamation, President Dwight D. Eisenhower encouraged Americans to use their Thanksgiving for helping those with less. In 1945, on the first Thanksgiving after the end of WWII, he testified before Congress asking for more food aid to Europe.[106]
- List of dining events
- Friendsgiving (typically a potluck-based gathering near Thanksgiving Day oriented towards friends)
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