[Sca-cooks] OOP - Green beans was Turkey, again!

[Daniel Myers]

On Monday, November 25, 2002, at 11:43 PM, A F Murphy wrote:

> Does anyone know how or when (or why!) green beans became practically
> as
> much a part of the feast as the cranberry sauce? They're in half the
> listed menus, frequently as the casserole. They're not particularly
> seasonal, I can't think of any connection, they don't go better with
> turkey than any other green vegetable... Most of the other traditional
> accompaniments are seasonal.
>
> I guess I'm curious because they weren't part of our tradition, and I'm
> not sure I've ever eaten the casserole!

While I'm sure that the "traditional" green bean casserole recipe was a
purely commercial tactic, I suspect that cooking green beans for
Thanksgiving goes back much farther.  Like most of the other foods
traditionally served - turkey, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin -
green beans are a new world food, and this holiday is meant to be
distinctly American (though it seems to have worked its way into all
sorts of odd places now - I get a real kick out of watching the Iron
Chefs cooking Thanksgiving dinner).

- Doc


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  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/
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