October is often seen as the month for pumpkins. While today we commonly use pumpkin in pies and flavored lattes, it has been a key ingredient in the Americas for thousands of years. The University of Missouri notes that pumpkin is native to North America and was first cultivated around 3500 B.C., making it one of the earliest crops grown in the Western Hemisphere. In the 1800s, people had various ways to enjoy pumpkin, including dishes like pudding, marmalade, and soup. Here are nine traditional pumpkin recipes worth exploring this fall.
One recipe is for Stuffed Squash, originally from a Kentucky housewife in 1839 and prepared by Ron and Justine Rayfield on their Early American YouTube channel. To make this dish, halve a squash and fill it with seasoned sausage. Then, bake it until tender.
Another recipe is from the same Kentucky housewife for Pumpkin Cakes, which is like pumpkin cornbread. It requires well-mashed cooked pumpkin, cornmeal, butter, eggs, and enough milk to create a thick batter. The mixture is then baked until firm.
Stewed Pumpkin is a side dish from Eliza Leslie’s 1857 cookbook, Miss Leslie’s New Cookery Book. The directions recommend cutting a ripe pumpkin in half, removing the seeds, and then cooking it until soft. After mashing and draining the pumpkin, it can be mixed with butter and seasoned for serving alongside corned beef or bacon.
Additionally, a crustless sweet called Rosewater-and-Wine Pumpkin Pudding comes from Eliza Leslie’s 1853 cookbook, Complete Cookery. The recipe suggests using stewed pumpkin and combining it with melted butter and warm milk to create a rich dish.
What old-fashioned pumpkin recipes do you enjoy making?
Sources:
Source: Upworthy, by Emily Shiffer