Ag Instructor Vic Martin: Origin of Thanksgiving Staple Foods

Great Bend Tribune
Published November 20, 2016

Thanksgiving is this Thursday.ÌýWe have just finished up the elections.ÌýCommodity prices could be better.ÌýWe all need a break.ÌýSo today, instead of discussing deep issues in agriculture or the latest problem, let’s take a break and focus on something we can almost all agree on – Thanksgiving dinner.ÌýIt is, outside of Independence Day, the most American of holidays. But, whereÌýdid our feast really come from?ÌýWith apologies for any family or regional traditions.

  • Baked goods – The wheat in most of your bread and rolls comes from the Middle East via the Ukraine.ÌýGood old Turkey Red wheat brought overÌýin the 1870s.
  • Potatoes – Your mashed potatoes originally came from Peru where they were domesticated around 7,000 years ago.ÌýAlthough there are wild relatives found from the United States south through South America.
  • Sweet potatoes – Again Central or South America approximately 5,000 years ago.Ìý
  • Corn – The corn on your table is thought to have originated in Mexico at about the same time as sweet potatoes.Ìý There is some dispute about exactly where.
  • Green beans – Again this originates from Central/South America.
  • Onions – A staple in many dishes, onions originated in central Asia although perhaps as far west as Iran.
  • Apples - The apples in your All-American apple pie came from central Asia.
  • Cherries – We’re not quite sure but maybe Asia Minor, but maybe elsewhere in the Northern hemisphere.Ìý Luther Burbank produced the first hybrid cherry tree of what we thinkÌýof as cherries today.
  • Pumpkin – They are about 7,000 years old and thought to have originated in northern Mexico.
  • Cranberries – A food that actually is native to the U.S.Ìýand used by early settlers.
  • Ham – While not as popular as Turkey, that ham comes from pigs which originated from multiple places from different wild boar populations but ultimately central Asia.
  • Turkey – The ultimate staple for Thanksgiving dinner actual is from here and was found throughout northern Mexico east through the Midwest up through southeastern Canada.

Of course there are different regional food associated with the holiday but that covers most of the basics.Ìý Interestingly enough, that most American of all feasts lacks many foods actually from our country.Ìý Here’s wishing everything a very Happy Thanksgiving.