I can’t understand whether @doctorow thinks this is a real scoop (heh) or not, but did the author spend the 21 seconds (I timed it) to go to the Wikipedia article on pumpkins and find out that there are lots of different species all called “pumpkin?” And that canned pumpkins definitely use species called “pumpkins?”
And, because it’s clear that they only have jack-o-lanterns in their heads when they hear “pumpkin,” has this author ever tried to eat a jack-o-lantern pumpkin? They’re gross. End of story.
Up until two weekends ago, I had never heard of Indian pudding despite 10 years in Massachusetts (my wife, an MA native, hadn’t heard of it either). This is now the fourth time I’ve come across it (the other three were on menus). Apparently it has been around since the days of the earliest colonists in the New World. Is it having some kind of resurgence? Or is it just me?
The best pumpkin pie is made out of sweet potatoes. There, I said it.
I can understand people being a bit bothered by “100% pumpkin” being a different type of squash. Really, I can. It’s not as if they’re selling anal gland excretions as raspberry scent, or sewer fat as olive oil, though; they’re selling one type of squash as another type of squash.
U.S. food regulations are silly as it is. You can’t sell any part of a chicken as a wing other than a wing, and if you want to sell, say, breaded breast meat in wing-sized chunks with Buffalo sauce, you have to use the clunky “Wyngz” designation. On the other hand, peanut butter doesn’t have to have peanut oil. Pretty silly if you ask me.
If it’s no big deal to call a blend of squashes “pumpkin,” who’s to say anything is what it says it is? That’s something for you to chew on.
And who’s to say what’s right and what’s wrong? Up is black, left is down! Cats and dogs living together… mass hysteria!
Biologically speaking, there are only a handful of actual species amoung the squashes we commonly eat, the differences are only skin-deep, whereas “pumpkin” is a layterm used to describe cultivars of multiple species which look like pumpkins.
Go to the store. Buy a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, a butternut squash, and a kobacha. Make pie out of them and decide which one tastes the best.
Ok, as a fan of both pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, I have never really thought of them as in competition. In my head (and my family), at least, sweet potato pie gets served hot with dinner, and pumpkin pie gets served cold with dessert. No?
Got me. Probably just coincidence. I’ve been making it since forever, usually around this time of year. Easy to make and the kids love it. I’ve never seen it on a menu outside of New England. I usually serve it with vanilla or banana ice cream, which is not traditional but quite tasty.
Just because some ignorant people only think of “jack-o-lantern” when they hear “pumpkins,” doesn’t mean they’re right. If you’re at a farmer’s market and you’re buying pumpkin, it’s common to hear “is this a sugar pumpkin [referring to something like the above] or a carving pumpkin?”
Anyone who has ever bought a pumpkin for more than their single jack-o-lantern a year understands that there are different types.
I’ve found it at two sorts of restaurants around New England: touristy places that have been around for 80-100 years or more and “new American” style bistros that serve traditional New England dishes. My favorite of the former is Warren’s Lobster House, which not only has hot Indian Pudding served with ice cream but Grape Nut pudding. I’d never heard of either one before moving out here, but they’re both great comfort foods.
Back when I used to have the time, I always made my pumpkin pies using little sugar pumpkins – don’t think that there was really any major difference… Then again, I was usually making vegan pumpkin pie, so it is hard to compare.
