Turkey Day!

How much do you know about the first Thanksgiving?

Published on November 28, 2024

Credit: Claudio Schwarz

The last Thursday of November marks one of America’s favorite holidays: Thanksgiving. This iconic celebration is not only a time for delicious food and time well-spent with family and loved ones, but it is also a holiday that makes us think about what it means to be an American. With that in mind, we have selected a few fun and interesting facts about Thanksgiving to help you embrace the holiday spirit. Enjoy!

The First Thanksgiving

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We’ll start at the very beginning with the first Thanksgiving. Most historians mark 1621 as the year of the first Thanksgiving dinner, hosted by the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts, to celebrate the good harvest held that year. In order to thank them for their assistance during the scarcity of the previous winter, the Pilgrims shared the celebration with the Wampanoag tribe.

Having said that, some historians argue that the earliest precursor to Thanksgiving happened in 1619 when 38 English settlers arrived in what is now the Commonwealth of Virginia. Their arrival was immediately followed by a religious celebration, designated as an annual observance, to serve as "a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

Turkey

Credit: Gabriel Garcia Marengo

But what’s Thanksgiving without its undisputed star? For decades, American families have served turkey as the centerpiece of their Thanksgiving dinners. After all, the holiday is so closely associated with this bird that many call this holiday by the unofficial nickname "Turkey Day." Such is America’s fascination with turkeys that an estimated 46 million are prepared each year.

Interestingly, while nowadays turkey definitively takes center stage in almost every American table, the truth is that this beloved farm bird wasn’t featured in the first Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, the inaugural feast featured fruits, vegetables, fish such as cod and bass, and meats like venison.

Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade

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While Thanksgiving is undeniably a time to spend with family, there are still a few things all Americans can enjoy about it. Case in point: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade through the streets of New York City. Nearly 100 years have passed since the first time this legendary parade took place in 1924, making it the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade, after Philadelphia's.

Macy’s Parade traditionally runs from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, moving throughout Manhattan streets and ending outside Macy's Herald Square. Its most memorable moments usually come from its delightful and iconic floats, with Peanut’s Snoopy standing out as one of the most beloved characters to hover over the excited crowds.

Presidential turkey pardons

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We have been dealing with some age-old traditions up to this point, so let’s now focus on a relatively recent one. While the annual ceremony known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation, on which the U.S. president is presented a live turkey by the National Turkey Federation, dates back to the 1940s, we are instead talking about the tradition known as the turkey pardon.

While President Reagan is often credited as the first to formally pardon a presidential turkey, previous presidents also spared the lives of their gifted poultry: For instance, both President Kennedy and Carter returned their turkeys to live on farms or in petting zoos. Having said that, the tradition became a widely recognized tradition during the presidency of George H.W. Bush, with every president after him issuing pardons on their turkeys.

Biggest travel day of the year

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Thanksgiving tends to be a busy time for everyone: with so much food to cook and decorations to prepare, everyone has to pitch in and do their part. But your dinner table is definitively not the only busy place around—Thanksgiving tends to be the busiest time of the year for air travel since millions of Americans go back home to spend time with their loved ones.

To be fair, the busiest travel days are typically the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday after, as these are the days when most people hit the road or take to the skies. It’s estimated that approximately 31% of Americans travel for Thanksgiving.

Side dishes

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Turkey might be synonymous with this holiday, but we all know that a truly memorable Thanksgiving table is brimming with delicious dishes. So, let’s take some time to pay homage to the myriad of incredible side dishes that accompany us every Thanksgiving.

The usual favorites include yams, green bean casserole, and cranberry sauce, but the truth is that each family introduces their own unique twists and preferences to the table. We’ll leave you the next few lines to reminisce about those amazing dishes that would make your Thanksgiving extra special.

Thanksgiving Football Games

Credit: Riley McCullough

As long as traditions go, this one seems timeless: Who doesn’t remember tossing around the old pigskin while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to be ready? Football and Thanksgiving have been synonymous throughout modern American history, whether through a friendly game of flag football or by watching professional games broadcast on TV.

Since its creation in 1920, the NFL has played games on Thanksgiving Day. Traditionally, two of these games have been hosted by the Detroit Lions since 1934, and by the Dallas Cowboys since 1966. This tradition comes from the days before the formation of the NFL when college football games were a hallmark of the November season.

Lincoln and Thanksgiving

Credit: Janne Simoes

As we mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving dates back to many years before the founding of our country. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that this holiday was declared a National Holiday, proclaimed by the Great Emancipator himself, President Lincoln.

During the turmoil of the American Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation establishing a National Thanksgiving Holiday would henceforth be celebrated on the 26th of November 1863, the last Thursday of November that year. In this document, the president stated that the gifts of God to the United States should be "gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people."

Thomas Jefferson and the years without Thanksgiving

Credit: J. Amill Santiago

Hear us out: By no means are we trying to besmirch the good name of our 3rd President with this entry. However, it should be said that, during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, no federal Thanksgiving holiday was declared. Was Thomas Jefferson some sort of Thanksgiving Grinch, that tried to keep this holiday all for himself? Far from it. Like much of what this country owes to this Founding Father, this had to do with Jefferson’s strong ideals.

Before President Lincoln declared a federal Thanksgiving Day, U.S. Presidents had to declare the holiday annually. Because Thanksgiving included prayers to thank God for His blessings, Jefferson considered that declaring a National Thanksgiving would be against his belief of separating church and state.

A time to be thankful

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We’ll close this article by highlighting what we believe to be the most important part of this holiday. As we mentioned earlier, Thanksgiving is a time for being thankful for the many things going on in our lives.

The ways in which people express their gratitude vary. Some choose this time to give back to their fellow Americans and sign up to help provide a Thanksgiving meal for those in need. In any case, we believe that the most important thing is to let your loved ones and your community know in what ways they have made a difference this year.

VENTURE BEYOND THE MICROWAVE

"To broil or not to broil": 10 cooking verbs and their meanings

Published on November 28, 2024

Credit: Annie Spratt

From the ancient technique of holding a food item with a stick over an open flame to the intricate ways of modern cuisine, the art of cooking has many forms. And while some of us are happy sticking to a couple of those techniques, the most experienced or adventurous cooks can use a whole lot more of these methods for their preparations. Take a look at some of the most used cooking methods and see which ones you use!

Poaching

Credit: Nima Naseri

If you have ever eaten poached eggs, then you know what we are talking about. Poaching is a gentle cooking method that submerges food in hot liquid between 140 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The low heat works well for delicate items, preserving moisture and flavor without needing fat or oil.

Poaching is a common method of cooking eggs that results in a soft, tender egg white and creamy yolk. It's more health-conscious than pan frying since you don't need oil. You can use broth, wine, or aromatics as the poaching liquid, which adds flavor to boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The finished product is tender chicken that can be cubed, sliced, or shredded.

Simmering

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A more intense variant than poaching, simmering is a gentle method of cooking food that utilizes higher temperatures than poaching, usually between 180 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature range lies below the boiling point and produces tiny bubbles.

To achieve a simmer, bring water to the boiling point and lower the temperature. Simmering produces cooked rice with a light, fluffy texture. You can also choose tough cuts of meat that will release fat and collagen as they simmer, like chuck roast.

Steaming

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In case you didn’t know it, steam can cook food. To steam food, boil water continuously to produce a steady steam cloud. The steam surrounds food and cooks it evenly while retaining moisture. You can also use a pot and steamer basket, a microwave, or wrap food in foil and cook it in the oven.

You can steam most vegetables with excellent results. Sturdy vegetables like beets, carrots, and potatoes take a bit longer than delicate foods like leafy greens. As for fish and seafood, you can cook a more flavorful fish by adding broth or wine instead of water.

Boiling

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Boiling simply involves submerging food in water heated to the boiling point of 212 degrees Fahrenheit. The boiling water produces large bubbles, which keeps food in motion while they cook. The expression "slow boil" means that the water has just started to bubble slowly but is not quite heated to the boiling temperature. A full boil occurs at the boiling point, appearing as fast-moving, rolling bubbles.

Pasta is one of the most commonly boiled foods. The hot water cooks the pasta quickly, allowing chefs to remove it from the water before starches break down to prevent a mushy texture.

Baking

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A somewhat similar cooking method to roasting, baking uses indirect heat to surround foods and cook from all sides. However, roasting refers to cooking meats or vegetables, and baking indicates making bread, rolls, and cakes. Additionally, baking usually uses lower temperatures than roasting.

Baking transforms wet dough or batter into a final product with a firm texture. You can also bake pizzas in a hot oven to form the crust, harden the dough, and melt the cheese.

Grilling

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The cooking method of choice for outdoor barbecues, grilling is similar to broiling because grills use radiant heat to cook food quickly. Most grilling equipment features an open grate with a heat source beneath the food.

Flip food items to cook on both sides and adjust the grill's temperature to get grill marks from the hot grate or rack. A grilling favorite, hamburger meat is moist and cooks well on a hot grate. The high heat sears the outside of the burger for a delicious charred flavor.

Roasting

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The meatier cousin of baking, roasting is performed inside an oven and uses indirect heat that cooks from all sides for even browning. Choose low temperatures of 200 degrees to 350 degrees Fahrenheit to roast tough cuts of meat, or higher temperatures that reach up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for more tender cuts.

Roasting cooks large cuts of meat slowly and evenly. Prime rib, beef tenderloin, pork butt or shoulder, and pork loin all benefit from roasting.

Frying

Credit: Joshua Hoehne

Possibly not the healthiest cooking method on this list, frying is a popular technique that involves immersing food in hot oil or fat. The hot oil cooks the food quickly, creating a crisp exterior while retaining moisture.

There are different types of frying techniques, including shallow frying, deep frying, and stir-frying. Pan-frying cooks food in a shallow layer of oil, while deep-frying cooks food by completely submerging it in hot oil. For the best final product, use the right oil, maintain the proper temperature, and avoid overcrowding the pan.

Broiling

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Similarly to grilling, broiling cooks food by transferring extremely high heat onto food items, usually directed from a radiant above the food that cooks on one side at a time. Browning can occur quickly in this process, sealing juices and flavor inside and leaving a crisp exterior.

Because this cooking method is fast, use a timer and check food frequently so it doesn't become burnt or overcooked. In commercial kitchens, you can broil items using a salamander or broiler oven.

Stewing

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Stewing completely submerges food in hot liquid. Use small cuts of meat in a stew, which are slow-cooked at low heat. As the stew cooks, fibrous vegetables break down while the meat's fat and collagen melt away. This leads to a thick, flavorful gravy filled with tender meat and soft vegetables.

Meats that are rich in collagen and fat do well in a stew pot. Vegetables add depth to stews. Onions, carrots, potatoes, and celery are commonly used ingredients.