How America Celebrated Thanksgiving—and Beyond—During the Gilded Age

From tomato-glazed turkey to superstitious pudding, a look at festive feasts and traditions during America’s Golden Era.

Thanksgiving was one of the most carefully planned meals of the year, and tables were lavishly set with fine crystal and seasonal decor. Note a peculiar display in the background: A cut glass vase of fresh celery, considered a status symbol due to the difficulty of growing it. Photography by Heather Raub/FrontRoom Images; food styling by Dan Macey/Dantasticfood

Everyone has family traditions when it comes to food around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But if you really want to take your dinner guests back in time—and create a new tradition of your own—you might consider some ideas and recipes from those who dined in luxury ages ago.

Becky Libourel Diamond is an author who loves re-creating foods from historical recipes—and discovering the stories that go with them. Her new book, “The Gilded Age Cookbook: Recipes and Stories From America’s Golden Era,” combines recipes from a bygone era with history, diving into how the well-heeled crowd between the years of 1868 and 1900 made many meals an event.