The Arrival of the Pilgrims
QUICK! HIDE THE BEER
As one could imagine, the trip on the Mayflower was not exactly a high-end culinary experience. We will spare you the gruesome details of the food and not-so-fine dining conditions. Trust us, you do not want to hear about it.
The ship left England in September of 1620 and arrived in November that same year. On board were 102 passengers. One child was born during the trip and one passenger passed away. The group consisted of a mix of Separatists, indentured servants, and orphans looking to start anew in America. They were paid by The Virginia Company to establish a new British colony in Virginia, but that didn’t go exactly as planned. The intention was to arrive in New York, but weather forced a landing in Cape Cod. Eventually, they made their way to Plimoth and dropped anchor on December 18, 1620.
The Mayflower captain and crew were eager to head back home to England and even more anxious to get the passengers away from the beer they were stockpiling for the return trip. As a result, the new colonists were forced to get the hell off the boat and figure out where to set up camp. Well, they ran out of beer anyway since, due to widespread illness, the Mayflower and its crew were unable to head back until April 5, 1621.
In the seventeenth century, words were spelled phonetically with many variations for the same word. Whereas the original spelling of Plimoth is with an “i,” according to the history books, the modern spelling with a “y” was adapted to differentiate the Plimoth Plantation Museum from the town of Plymouth.
The passengers and crew made the most of what they had and choked down dishes such as:
Ship cakes or ship biscuits: large, round, hard biscuits made of flour and water
Dried peas
Ox tongue
Lobscouse: soup made with dried peas and salted beef
Burgoo: a boiled mix of hot oatmeal and molasses
Upon their arrival, they did discover mussels, but, uh, ate a little too much. We will leave it at that. We have put together a lovely, well-portioned mussel recipe for you instead.
WAIT . . . YOU CAN EAT THAT?
It is important to note that these people did not know how to survive in very foreign lands. The first few months were filled with harsh conditions, sickness, food shortages, fear of Native American attacks, and lack of resources, tools, and hunting skills. Foods that were native to the land were difficult to understand and prepare as the Pilgrims had never seen them before. This included corn; pumpkins; squash; various nuts, herbs, and berries; as well as venison and . . . mussels.