Thanksgiving is just around the corner and though the turkey (or ham) might take top billing, everyone knows the sides are the true stars of the table.
What would our national holiday be without stuffing and sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, green beans and rolls?
Some dishes were likely prominent from the beginning, if not at the dinner celebrated by English colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans in 1621, then at the harvest festivals that took place across the country until coming together in one official American celebration, according to NBC News.
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The first celebration featured venison, fowl and fish, according to Tennessee Tech University. Turkey, goose, chicken could all have found a place on the table, while mincemeat pies were probably another favorite. And cranberries and pumpkins are fall crops in the Northeast, so they would have been ready for a late-year feast.
According to Tennessee Tech associate history professor Troy Smith, General Ulysses S. Grant decided that cranberry sauce was to be served to the Union troops for Thanksgiving in 1864.
Over the years, new dishes were added to the tradition. Southerners who at first left the Thanksgiving observance to the North brought cornbread dressing as they call stuffing. Other dishes were late arrivals, the famous green-bean casserole, for example.
What’s your favorite? Which side dish means Thanksgiving to you? Which can you do without? Use the interactive below to see how your favorites stack up against the most popular holiday foods across America.
Source: YouGov
