Thanksgiving Turkey Connects Past and Future Dining Traditions

Turkey continues to headline Thanksgiving. (Cover Photo Courtesy: Unsplash)

Turkey on Thanksgiving is a historic staple across American households during the holiday season. On the holiday dating back to the arrival of the Pilgrims, eating turkey marks a constant throughout generations and received recognition from American historical figures such as Alexander Hamilton.

Turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, gravy, and stuffing all find places on the Thanksgiving dinner table. While staples say the same, the combinations that will fill stomachs around the country are open to change. With numerous taste changes and dietary evolutions, the classic bird and other Thanksgiving necessities still fly off of the shelves at similar rates to the past.

Staples such as turkey, mashed potatoes, vegetables and stuffing still dominate the November dinner plate. (Photo: Tim Crowley)

“The whole week leading up to Thanksgiving is crazy,” said Eddie Gardner, a Trader Joe’s employee in Ridgewood, New Jersey. “We have all of our new holiday items that come in, so obviously, those go pretty quickly. That’s probably one of the best selling times of the year for us.”

“We do sell a form of stuffing that people like a lot,” Gardner said. “At this time of year, our frozen mashed potatoes are a top seller. We do have a lot of desserts that fly off the shelves, especially our frozen pies. Those are some of the main things that people go to.”

Turkeys continue to provide an influx of money into grocery stores when November and December roll around. Sales around the country continue to rise nationally during the holiday season, as shown in a recent data collection from IRI. The birds will consistently be centerpieces across dinnertimes on a late Thursday afternoon in November. Sales in the weeks leading up to the holiday season reflect that assertion.

“Obviously, the big turkeys, those come into stock a few days beforehand,” Gardner said. “It’s mainly the two birds, turkey and chicken, going off the shelves.”

Turkey sales remain prevalent across chain grocery stores. (Photo Courtesy: Unsplash)

Graphic Courtesy: Tim Crowley

At the same time, a variety of modern-day circumstances present new alternatives to the traditional Thanksgiving menu. Dinner genres such as barbeque are popping up around the holiday with new appeals to the tastebuds at the gatherings of friends and family.

"That’s the way we roll now,” said Jill Bercovitch, a Massachusetts resident. “Ribs, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, mac & cheese, sweet potatoes, cornbread, no greens because no one likes those, pecan pie bars for dinner. That’s the new Thanksgiving in our house.”

Growing up, food was never the priority around family Thanksgiving for Bercovitch. This mindset did not tie down one meal as a holiday tradition. As time goes on and families develop, new traditions can easily form. Instead of sticking with Thanksgiving norms, Berkovitch enacted a new tradition that fit very well with the tastebuds of her family in recent years.

“It was never about turkey, stuffing, and things like that,” Bercovitch said. “Then, I married into a family that had very traditional turkeys. We did that for years. Last year, we ended up in North Carolina for Thanksgiving. When in the South, why not do barbeque for Thanksgiving?”

Spreads of barbeque offer a change in taste and an alternative to Thanksgiving culinary tradition. (Photo Courtesy: Jill Bercovitch)

Changing the norms of what families eat on Thanksgiving may not be totally widespread as illustrated through current turkey sales, but examples such as Bercovitch and her family could make an impact. Despite each of these trends, the future of Thanksgiving foods could end up somewhere in the middle of turkeys and incorporation of new holiday dining traditions. While some families change their holiday menu based on simple food preferences, cultural backgrounds can also play a role in which foods find their way to the table.

“I think it is a well-understood phenomenon that people of different cultures will serve a turkey at a Thanksgiving meal and then accompany it with their own foods,” said Sharryn Kasmir, an anthropology professor at Hofstra University. “If you are coming from an Indian family, you will have a turkey on the table and also food from the Northern Indian provinces. Similarly, Italian families may serve lasagna on Thanksgiving.”

Options on the dinner table are more open to interpretation in recent Thanksgivings. (Photo Courtesy: Unsplash)

While turkeys are wildly popular in modern holidays, a new realm of combinations on the table will evolve moving forward. To what extent dinner combinations develop is unknown for the time being. Could there be a revolution into a new style of holiday meals? Or will turkeys continue to reign over Thanksgiving?

"It all depends,” Bercovitch asserted. “For most other people that I know, it is more about being together. It is not so much what you are eating. It is more about spending time together, especially post-COVID. What does it matter what you are eating?”

Food will always be a centerpiece at this connective November holiday. What it is that is eaten can continue to evolve in the coming years. Turkey traditionalists and families such as the Bercovitch’s both present meal plans that could overlap and mix and match combinations to serve the optimal Thanksgiving meal based on taste preferences among a variety of culinary circumstances.

While turkey is still a mainstay, new cooking methods and vibrant flavors allow the poultry to evolve with modern traditions. (Photo Credit: Jill Bercovitch)