As Thanksgiving approaches, a big part for the season, besides celebrating being grateful, is the food. Families all around America gather and share traditions. Your grandma might make her famous casserole for the 40th year in a row. The thing about Thanksgiving food is most people either love or hate it. 

When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, most of the students at Nanuet could agree on one thing; the majority said that their favorite dish is mashed potatoes. Another fan favorite is sweet potatoes with marshmallows. And of course, students mentioned their love for popular sides like stuffing, corn, biscuits, and green beans. 

Students also brought up their least favorite Thanksgiving foods. A dish that was mentioned a lot was cranberry sauce, creamed onions, ham, creamed spinach, and turkey. 

Turkey has proven to be largely controversial, because although it’s such a staple and an iconic part of the usual Thanksgiving dinner, Nanuet students brought up the idea that turkey is overrated. Thanksgiving hosts commonly use turkey as the centerpiece of the table, but many expressed that people should stop pretending turkey is good.

Junior Ava Margiotta seems to be very passionate about this topic.

“I have this vivid memory of every Thanksgiving meal I’ve eaten since I was little having a huge turkey sitting on the counter waiting to be put into the oven,” she said. “It’s almost unappetizing seeing an uncooked bird with it’s guts ripped out.”

She is not alone. Junior JR Morgan also explained his hatred for turkey.

“No shade to my dad because he’s a great cook,” he said, “but I hate turkey. The flavor isn’t good to me. I would rather eat any other meat on Thanksgiving.” 

So why do we pretend to love eating turkey on Thanksgiving when most of us probably eat it only one day out of the year? Evidently everyone has their own taste buds and their own opinions because a few students disagree with the claim that turkey is overrated.

According to junior Leah Swanwick, not eating turkey on Thanksgiving is “criminal.”

“Eating turkey on Thanksgiving is like putting on your shoes before leaving the house for my family,” she said. “I love turkey and eating it, especially on Thanksgiving. “It’s such a nostalgic feeling every time.”

Whether you can’t get enough of Thanksgiving food or you despise it, we can all agree food is the most important part of the holiday.