Mmmm...Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkins are about as American as a vegetable can be.  They were first cultivated in Central America around 5500 BC and were one of the first cultivated vegetables to make it to Europe.  The first mention of a pumpkin was in 1536 and within a few decades they were widely known.  They were originally called pompon which is a French term that was used to describe their round nature.  In England the word transformed into "pumpions."

When the pilgrims first landed at Plymouth they knew as much about pumpkins as the native Wampanoag.  It is likely that during the three day feast we call "The First Thanksgiving" pumpkin was on the table in some form.  As New England's new settlers prospered, other crops were available and they began putting apples and pears in pies instead of pumpkin.

Some recipes for pie in the 1670s called for pumpkins and apples to be baked together and flavored with rosemary and thyme.  There was even an early New England recipe that called for cooking a hollowed-out pumpkin with sweetened and spiced milk directly in a fire.  This apparently came from an English recipe that called for apples to also be placed in the pumpkin.

*heavy breathing*

Pumpkins then went on to have more political roles in America. Yes, politics and pumpkins.  Many of the staunchest abolitionists were from New England and they incorporated their favorite dessert into poems, songs, and novels.  When Thanksgiving became a national holiday, Southerners were angry that the North was trying to shove its Yankee customs and desserts down their throats along with their abolitionist ways.

So pumpkin pies have always held a special place at the Thanksgiving table.  And they should; they're delicious.  Mmmmmm....pumpkin.