Yesterday’s Thanksgiving feast that was held at many homes throughout the United States is often assumed to be all about turkey (and overeating.) My family went on the Turkey Trot held by the local Boys & Girls club in the early morning. The New York Times and our local paper recently ran articles about how wild turkeys were outfoxing many a hunter in pursuit of natural game. And there has been lots of discussions recently about the political correctness of Tofurkey.
But a homework assignment for a botany course I am taking at the New York Botanical Garden made me realize that while turkey may be the centerpiece of many a Thanksgiving meal, the vast majority of what we ingest (over 90% by ingredients, in fact) are plants. The following list shows all the contributions that plants made to our meal yesterday.
Appetizer: Multigrain bread (wheat, flax, sesame, sunflower, brown sugar); Feta pesto cheese spread (basil, olive oil); stuffed olives (olives, red pepper).
Beverages: Wine (chardonnay and Riesling grapes); apple cider (apples); cranberry juice (cranberries); Tea (chamomile, green, blueberry); coffee (coffee); Irish Whisky (malted barley, wheat, rye, oats).
Turkey: Marinade (Red wine (grapes), rosemary, sage, thyme, pepper, onions, garlic); stuffing (wheat, barley, corn, sage, rosemary, thyme, pepper, celery, onions); Gravy (corn starch, cream sherry, plant-based drippings from turkey).
Side dishes: Soufflé (potatoes); peas; squash (butternut squash with cinnamon); apple salad (apples, green peppers, celery); leafy salad (sorrel, radishes, parsley, arugula, chard, kale, romaine lettuce, beet greens, butter crunch lettuce, spinach); dressing (olive oil, white vinegar, red pepper, carrots, parsley, pepper, oregano, dill, bay leaf); cranberry sauce (cranberries, orange, sugar); bread (wheat).
Dessert: Apple pie (apples, cinnamon, sugar (cane and/or beets), flour (wheat), nutmeg); pumpkin pie (pumpkin, cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, flour); Whipped cream (vanilla, powered sugar)
The turkey is merely the dominant symbol of Thanksgiving as it is still unclear if it was served during the “original” Thanksgiving feast (which is a subject of speculation as to when and where.) Regardless, it is highly likely that some type of fowl was served alongside a bounty of vegetables and fruits.
When I consider our list of Thanksgiving foods there are lots of spices that would have never been available to the Pilgrims such as cinnamon, nutmeg and rosemary. (Not to mention salt, which is not a plant but a mineral.) The Thanksgivings of nearly 400 years ago would be a relatively flavorless affair when compared to what we have today.
Today is a cloudy day where half the family is hitting stores in support of Black Friday crowd and the other half just sitting around resting, thankful they have a day to themselves. I go out to the garden and check my greens. The red-veined and green sorrel as well as the parsley are still showing no signs of dormancy. The chard is growing and should be ready for harvest in the next week. The romaine are forming nice heads as are the kyona mizuna. I have much to be thankful for.
