The REAL History of Thanksgiving (Online)
Taught by Sarah Lohman
Sarah Lohman is a culinary historian and the author of the bestselling books Endangered Eating: America’s Vanishing Foods and Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine. She focuses on the history of food as a way to access the stories of diverse Americans. Endangered Eating was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, and was named one of the Best Books of 2023 by Amazon’s Editors, Food & Wine, and Adam Gopnik on the Milk Street podcast. It was a finalist for the Nach Waxman Prize for Food & Drink Scholarship and winner of the Ohioana Library Book Prize for Nonfiction. Lohman’s work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and NPR. Lohman has lectured across the country, from the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington, DC to The Culinary Historians of Southern California
Thanksgiving started back in the day of the Pilgrims...right?
In this talk, we'll cover the whole history of the most American holiday, from what really happened in Plymouth, Indigenous perspectives, and the rush of nostalgia that made Thanksgiving a national holiday in the 19th century.
And in every time period, we'll look at menus from Thanksgivings past and trace the origins of your favorite Thanksgiving foods. You'll find out why it can't be thanksgiving without a turkey AND a chicken pie, and which Thanksgiving side dish is the most recent addition to the holiday canon.
