Pumpkin pie

Pumpkin pie is a dessert pie with a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter. In the United States and Canada, it is usually prepared for Thanksgiving,[1] and other occasions when pumpkin is in season.

Pumpkin pie
TypePie
CourseDessert
Place of originCanada, United States, United Kingdom
Main ingredientsPie shell, pumpkin, eggs, condensed milk, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, ginger

The pie filling ranges in color from orange to brown and is baked in a single pie shell, rarely with a top crust. The pie is generally flavored with cinnamon, powdered ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Allspice is also commonly used and can replace the clove and nutmeg, as its flavor is similar to both combined. Cardamom and vanilla are also sometimes used as batter spices. The spice mixture is called pumpkin pie spice.

The pie is often made from canned pumpkin or packaged pumpkin pie filling (spices included), mainly from varieties of Cucurbita moschata.

Preparation
Pumpkin pie filling being made

Pies made from pumpkins use pie pumpkins which measure about 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches) in diameter.[2] They are considerably smaller than jack o'lanterns. The first step for getting the edible part out of the pumpkin is to slice it in half and remove the seeds. The two halves are heated until soft, in an oven, over an open fire, on a stove top, or in a microwave oven. Sometimes the pumpkin halves are brined to soften the pulp instead of being cooked. At this point, the pulp is scooped out and puréed.

The pulp is mixed with eggs, evaporated and/or sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and a spice mixture called pumpkin pie spice, which includes nutmeg and other spices (e.g., ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, mace), then baked in a pie shell.[2] Similar pies are made with butternut squash or sweet potato fillings.[3]

History
A partly consumed pumpkin pie

The pumpkin is native to the continent of North America. The pumpkin was an early export to France; from there it was introduced to Tudor England, and the flesh of the "pompion" was quickly accepted as pie filler. During the seventeenth century, pumpkin pie recipes could be found in English cookbooks, such as Hannah Woolley's The Gentlewoman's Companion (1675).[4][5] Pumpkin "pies" made by early American colonists were more likely to be a savory soup made and served in a pumpkin[6] than a sweet custard in a crust.

It was not until the early nineteenth century that the recipes appeared in Canadian[7] and American cookbooks[4] or pumpkin pie became a common addition to the Thanksgiving dinner.[4] The Pilgrims brought the pumpkin pie back to New England,[8] while the English method of cooking the pumpkin took a different course. In the 19th century, the English pumpkin pie was prepared by stuffing the pumpkin with apples, spices, and sugar and then baking it whole.[9][10] In the United States after the Civil War, the pumpkin pie was resisted in southern states as a symbol of Yankee culture imposed on the south, where there was no tradition of eating pumpkin pie.[11] Many southern cooks instead made sweet potato pie, or added bourbon and pecans to give a southern touch.[11]

Today, throughout much of Canada and the United States, it is traditional to serve pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner. Additionally, many modern companies produce seasonal pumpkin pie-flavored products such as candy, cheesecake, coffee, ice cream, french toast, waffles and pancakes, and many breweries produce a seasonal pumpkin ale or beer; these are generally not flavored with pumpkins, but rather pumpkin pie spices. Commercially made pumpkin pie mix is made from Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata. (Libby Select uses the Select Dickinson Pumpkin variety of C. moschata for its canned pumpkins.)[12][13][14]

Pumpkin pies were briefly discouraged from Thanksgiving dinners in 1947 as part of a rationing campaign, mainly because of the eggs in the recipe.[15]

A slice of home-made pumpkin pie

Poetry

Ah! on Thanksday, when from East and from West,

From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored;
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,

What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

A can of pureed pumpkin, typically used as the main ingredient in the pie filling

Songs

Farewell, O fragrant pumpkin pie!
Dyspeptic pork, adieu!
Though to the college halls I hie.
On field of battle though I die, my latest sob, my latest sigh
shall wafted be to you!
And thou, O doughnut rare and rich and fried divinely brown!
Thy form shall fill a noble niche in memory's chamber whilst I pitch
my tent beside the river which rolls on through Kingston town.
And my Love—my little Nell,
the apple of my eye to thee how can I say farewell?
I love thee more than I can tell;

I love thee more than anything—but—pie!

Records

The world's largest pumpkin pie was made in New Bremen, Ohio, at the New Bremen Pumpkinfest.[18] It was created on September 25, 2010. The pie consisted of 550 kilograms (1,212 pounds) of canned pumpkin, 410 litres (109 US gallons) of evaporated milk, 2,796 eggs, 3.2 kg (7 lb) of salt, 6.6 kg (14 1⁄2 lb) of cinnamon, and 238 kg (525 lb) of sugar.[18] The final pie weighed 1,678 kg (3,699 lb) and measured 6 m (20 ft) in diameter.[18]

See also

References
  1. Rombauer, I. S and M.R. Becker. 1980. The Joy of Cooking. Bobs-Merrill Company, New York City.
  2. "How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Pie". PickYourOwn.org. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
  4. Andrew F. Smith, "Pumpkins", The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. Ed. Gordon Campbell. Oxford University Press, 2003. Saint Mary's College of California. 21 December 2011.
  5. Woolley, Hannah, The Gentlewoman's Companion ..., 3rd ed. (London, England: Edward Thomas, 1682), "Pumpion pye", pp. 220–221.
  6. "American Classic IX: Pumpkin Pie". Good Eats.
  7. Traill, C.P. (1855). The Canadian Settler's Guide. Toronto: The Old Countryman Office. p. 128. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  8. Colquhoun, Kate (2007-12-24). "A Dessert With a Past". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-12-04.
  9. Reports on the herbaceous plants and on the quadrupeds of Massachusetts, 1840
  10. "How did the squash get its name?". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
  11. Ariel Knoebel (November 21, 2017). "How Pumpkin Pie Sparked a 19th-Century Culture War". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  12. Richardson, R. W. "Squash and Pumpkin" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  13. Stephens, James M. "Pumpkin — Cucurbita spp". University of Florida. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  14. Baggett, J. R. "Attempts to Cross Cucurbita moschata (Duch.) Poir. 'Butternut' and C. pepo L. 'Delicata'". North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  15. Humes, Michele (November 23, 2009). "The Way We Ate: The Year Harry Truman Passed on Pumpkin Pie". Diner's Journal. The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  16. "The Pumpkin- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios & More". Poets.org. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  17. "Leo, the Royal cadet [microform] : Cameron, George Frederick, 1854-1885 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". [Kingston, Ont.? : s.n. 2001-03-10. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  18. "2010 World Record Pumpkin Pie". Pumpkin Nook. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
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