The first Thanksgiving: Today's fare is a far cry from the 1621 celebration

So, we know there was venison and fowl — the Plimoth folks say it was more likely goose and duck than turkey, although early colonists wrote that wild turkey was plentiful. Other foods mentioned by colonists are eels, mussels, oysters, grapes and plums, and "Indian corn." An interpreter at the Wampanoag village, tending a fire that was roasting a goose, said skunk was considered a delicacy.

So what else was likely on the menu?

Lobsters were so plentiful that when the first colonists came, "there was a time when the only thing you could have was a lobster and a cup of water. And then for a change, a cup of water and a lobster," said a Plimoth interpreter, who was cutting up pumpkin to fry over her hearth fire.

Sobaheg is the Wampanoag word for stew. It could include venison, fish, beaver, bear, moose, or whatever was taken in hunting. It was mixed with beans, boiled maize (corn), roots, squash, acorns, chestnuts and walnuts. Dried cranberries may have been used in it, too.

Pumpkin: Squash and "pompion" were native to New England, and the dish Stewed Pompion is described in the 1672 book "New Englands Rarities Discovered" as "The Ancient New England Standing Dish." The term "standing dish" implies that it was probably served often, if not at every meal, according to National Geographic Society's article titled "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving." But, there was probably no pumpkin pie, because sugar was scarce, and it's unlikely that the new colony had ingredients for a pie crust or an oven in which to bake it. Apples hadn't made it to America yet, so there probably were no apple pies, either.

Corn: The colorful, hard-flint dried corn was a staple for the Wampanoag and soon became a fixture in the cooking pots of New Plymouth. One colonist wrote, "Our Indian corn, even the coarsest, maketh as pleasant a meat as rice."

Cranberries: They're native to North America, but due to the scarcity of sugar, it's unlikely they were sweetened in a cranberry sauce. If they were served at the harvest celebration, it was in Wampanoag dishes, or possibly in the sauce for the duck, concludes Kathleen A. Curtin, Plimoth's food historian. "It would be 50 years before an Englishman mentioned boiling this New England berry with sugar for a 'sauce to eat with meat.'"

Vegetables: These were called "herbs" and included parsnips, collards, carrots, parsley, turnips, spinach, cabbage, sage, thyme, marjoram and onions. Dried beans and wild blueberries may also have been available. "Succotash," the term for the modern-day corn and bean medley, actually comes from the Wampanoag, according to "1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving."