History of Pumpkin Pie

Both Mom and Dad's family's traditional Thanksgiving menus and recipes were virtually identical.  Ancestors of both families came to Barnstable on Cape Cod in the early 17th century, both familes ended up in Salem MA by the time of the witch trials.  The brother of one of Mom's ancestors was arrested on witch craft charges but escaped in the middle of the night being last seen heading out of town on the Boston Post Road.  The next record is Mom's ancestor in the Oxford, New Haven CT region.  Dad's ancestors also went to Salem where one was arrested, tried, and convicted of witch craft.  That part of the family then went into the wilds of Massachusetts where the revolutionary war veterans were given land as payment for their service until the lands were annexed by New Hampshire.  So I suppose that the reason that the recipes were so similar was because they came from those Barnstable roots- but it evolved with food so that while holding true to customs and tastes, the ingredients went with the times.

Pumpkin pie for us growing up was the recipe on the back of the Libby's can.  That recipe originated in 1950 and it is not that connected to the land.  One year for a thanksgiving dinner, I made a pumpkin pie with real pumpkin.  From that point on, it is a rare thanksgiving that I will use the canned pumpkin.  As I am starting on this journey to get connected, I was curious to see the origins of pumpkin pie.

The Pilgrims did not make pumpkin pie- they didn't have ovens that would make the crust.  However, they did have a dish where the pumpkin was added to a pot and slow cooked all day long until it was stew-like and doctored to taste like baked apples.  From that point, there was a lot of experimentation until we got to a pie somewhat like the current pie in about 1796.

Here are some links to 19th century recipes used in America:
Favorite Dishes 1893
New England Economical Housekeeper 1845
White House Cookbook 1847
Complete Cookbook 1864 and the second page here.

All these recipes used ground spices although some used freshly grated nutmeg. This year, I have been experimenting with whole spices in teas, so think that I will create a recipe that considers history and simmers the pumpkin in whole spices until the flavor is imparted to the pumpkin.  I'll use cream instead of evaporated milk and try to stay true to the flavor of the Libby's and see what I get.

Here is the beginning.  To make pumkin pie, start with a pumpkin.

Although the truth is that all pumpkins start from seeds.