Thanksgiving Vegetable Fun Facts

Joanne K., Pitt County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, visions of culinary treats dance in our heads! Not least of which are the tasty fall vegetables gracing the holiday table—mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, corn on the cob, squash casserole, cranberry relish, and pumpkin pie. Truth be told, many folks look forward more to savoring the side dishes than the turkey!

Did you know that most of these vegetables originated in Central and South America?

Native to the Andean Mountains in Peru, potatoes were grown by early Andean civilizations including the Incas. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived in South America in the 1500s, they discovered indigenous people growing potatoes which they took back to Europe. In the 1700s, potatoes were introduced to the U.S. by Scotch-Irish immigrants. Potatoes have become an important crop worldwide due to their high nutrient value. High in fiber and potassium they contain vitamins C and B6 and protein. Unless slathered in sour cream or fried, they are fat free!

Potatoes have more potassium than bananas—'Kennebec' potatoes. Victor M. Vicente Selvas, Public Domain Mark 1.0

Sweet potatoes were a staple in Depression-era diets—USDA CC BY 2.0

Sweet potatoes are another Central and South American native. Beyond sweet potato casserole, they are in pies, fries, and chips. Frequently called yams in the U.S., they are not truly yams. Native to Africa and Asia, yams grow to be several feet long weighing as much as 50 pounds. While not used much in the U.S., they are a popular staple in Latin American cuisines.

Green beans also originated in Central and South America and were grown by Native Americans in North America. They were cultivated as part of the practice of "three sisters" in which beans, corn, and squash were grown together more than 6,000 years ago. Corn supports the bean vines. Beans add nitrogen to the soil, and as it grows, squash suppresses weeds and holds moisture in the soil. For Native Americans, these three crops were important for food and trade.

Green beans were called string beans until breeders developed the stringless bean—David Adam Kess, CC BY-SA 4.0\

Corn kernel color doesn't indicate sweetness so no color is sweeter than
another—15-sweetcorn_alice_henneman_ccby20

More than 8,000 years ago, corn, known as maize, was grown in Mexico. It was developed from teosinte, a wild grass found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. It reached the southwestern U.S. about 4,000 years ago becoming a staple in Native American diets. Through cultivation, sweet corn developed different colors and sweetness levels and produced multicolored Indian corn for fall decorations.

All squash are native to North and South America and were essential ingredients in the Native American diet. Early colonists and explorers sent squash seeds back to Europe where they were hybridized leading to the wide variety of squash available today. Some varieties were developed for better taste and longer storage while others for ornamentation. Thanks to hybridization we now have the wide color variations, bumpy skins, and wildly different squash shapes for autumn decorations.

A wide variety of squash can be grown in a home garden—Tony Austin, Flickr CC BY 2.0

The earliest recipes for pumpkin pie came from Europe — Kathleen Moore CC BY 2.0

As a member of the Cucurbita genus, pumpkins are related to squash and have been growing in North America for more than 5,000 years first in Central America. Because they have seeds, they are classified botanically as a fruit and are served as pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. But they are also commonly used as a roasted, baked, or steamed vegetable in stews, soups, and casseroles. In recent years, though, pumpkin-spice has become the signature flavor of fall from lattes to donuts to cookies and more. And we can't forget their starring role as Jack-O-Lanterns at Halloween!

Cranberries are one of the few fruits native to North America. While some cranberry species are native to Europe, Asia, and North America, the one most frequently eaten grows only in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Cranberries were first used as food by Native Americans to make pemmican by mixing cranberries, dried meat, and fat into cakes with a long storage life. They also used them in traditional healing rituals and as a dye. Cranberry relish or sauce is a staple of the Thanksgiving table, but cranberries have many other uses. Dried they appear in salads, snacks, baking, and granola. Raw berries are used in baking breads and desserts.  Cranberry juice and pills are used medicinally particularly for urinary health.

The tartness of cranberries balances the richness of other Thanksgiving foods—image.jpeg.ndsu

As you enjoy the holiday feast with family and friends, you'll be celebrating the sharing of these delicious native foods that have nourished people for thousands of years.

Happy Thanksgiving!