Page 16 - Town Crier November 2016 Rev C

ISSUE NUMBER 161 NOVEMBER 2016
THE TOWN CRIER

Pass the… eel?
By Beth Winship

It’s almost that time of the year again where families will sit around the table after hours of hard work in the
kitchen, preparing what is most likely the biggest meal they will prepare all year. I personally look forward to my
mom’s brown sugar glazed ham each November and watching football with my brothers on the couch. Other tradi-
tional items on our carte du jour includes the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce and every type
of pie imaginable.
However, the food that we eat today on this special holiday is not the same as what the pilgrims ate that very
first Thanksgiving many, many years ago (395 years to be exact). Most of these foods many of us have never even
heard of, but here’s a few that stick out to me the most.
Wildfowl, and shellfish: Wildfowl? No, that’s not a term for the chickens used in chicken fighting. While
there was no delicious turkey, some of its smaller cousins such as goose and duck were still on the menu back then.
But to me, ducklings are cute friends for Easter, not food for Thanksgiving. Today, we think of a big ole turkey as the
centerpiece of any traditional Thanksgiving meal. Admittedly, I’m thinking about the good ones we “hunt” out at gro-
cery store, days in advance - no outdoor turkey shootouts for me. It is also said that these pioneers ate eel and various
types of shellfish, something that I have personally never seen, nor do I want to, at my dinner table. EELS, guys!
When I think about my favorite foods, slimy isn’t exactly an adjective I want to associate their tastes with.
Potatoes: Another big difference of meals then and now was the lack of any type of potato. This means no
mashed or roasted potatoes, no white or sweet potatoes, the horror! The potato is basically the “me” of vegetables. It is
one of the most versatile vegetables used in the kitchen, you can have them mashed, roasted, and even with marshmal-
lows on top. Who wouldn’t want them at their Thanksgiving feast?
Dessert: An even bigger disappointment was the absence of pies! What was there to look forward to after the
meal if there wasn’t the sweet, delicious pie? The Smithsonian reports that the first Thanksgiving probably consisted
of mostly “meat, meat, and more meat,” but what about sweets? Someone should research when the first “sweet tooth”
gene originated, because the pilgrims obviously lacked it. Or, at least, they’ve never
tasted my dad’s pumpkin pie, made with the Winship family recipe. If they did,
there wouldn’t be any “no dessert” monotony.
Contrary to popular belief, though, the food definitely is not the most im-
portant part of Thanksgiving. No, I don’t mean the Black Friday shopping after-
wards, though that’s very important too. Thanksgiving is a day to surround yourself
with those you love and to be thankful for everything that you have been blessed
with in your life. To forget about the material things and focus on the people in your
life. Don’t worry though, I’m still a big fan of the food and football.
Let us take a minute and be thankful for the food we have on our table and that it
isn’t porridge. In all seriousness, I’ll save those moments of remembering a bland-
food filled table for nursery rhymes and history lessons with the little cousins. In
fact, when Thanksgiving comes around this year, I’ll stick with looking around the
table, soaking in the love from my family. And Mom’s cherry pie wouldn’t hurt
either.

Bio: Hello! My name is Beth Winship and I am a senior marketing major at Clem-
son University. I am originally from Excelsior, Minnesota and came to Clemson
wanting to experience a traditional southern school. I am graduating this Decem-
ber and will be moving to Macon, Georgia. My hobbies include traveling, cooking,
and experiencing new things.

16