Pumpkin pie is one of the most anticipated food dishes of the American holiday season. Second only to apple, pumpkin pie is one of the most popular types of pies in the United States, and finds its way onto most American dining tables. A distinctly American dish, pumpkin pie has been eaten for centuries in the United States around the holidays and has cemented its place as an American favorite.
History
While pumpkin pie was not present at the first Thanksgiving, it was by the time of the American Revolution. The predecessor to the modern American pie was made by colonists that cut the tops off of pumpkins, removed the seeds, added milk, honey and spices to the interior of the pumpkin, and roasted it over a fire. It was not until 1796 that the first written version of a recipe for a pumpkin pie similar to today's version was recorded. Since that time, pumpkin pie has evolved and become easier to make with the introduction of canned pumpkin in the early twentieth century.
Types
While in modern times people make all types of desserts using pumpkin, the traditional pumpkin pie still remains the most popular. Pumpkin pie is normally made using a simple pastry crust, canned pumpkin or cooked fresh pumpkin, and different spices. Many families also opt to buy store or bakery-made pumpkin pies to grace their dining tables during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
Time Frame
While pumpkin pie is considered the second most popular pie in the United States, it is rarely eaten year round. The vast majority of all pumpkin pie consumption occurs during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. While canned pumpkin is available throughout the year, many of the country's pie pumpkins are harvested in the fall, making Thanksgiving and Christmas optimal times to use fresh pumpkins for pumpkin pie.
Features
There are two basic ways to make pumpkin pie--either using canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin. Most people opt to make pumpkin pie from canned pumpkin, as it is widely available and less time-consuming. The Libby's brand of canned pumpkin is the oldest and most often used canned pumpkin, with over 50 million pumpkin pies made from the product each year. The Libby's pumpkin pie recipe adorns the can's label and calls for sugar, cinnamon, salt, ground ginger and cloves, eggs, canned pumpkin and evaporated milk. All of these ingredients are mixed together and poured into a pastry pie crust and baked at two different temperatures for a total of an hour. If the pumpkin pie is not to be served immediately after cooling, it should be refrigerated. Making a pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin is quite similar to making a pumpkin pie from canned pumpkin, except that the pumpkin must first be cooked and pureed before being used as an ingredient. Most cooks cut pie pumpkins in half, remove the seeds, and bake the pumpkins in the oven until tender. Then the pumpkin flesh can be scooped out of the peel and pureed. Most fresh pumpkin recipes for pumpkin call for around 2 cups of pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, salt, eggs, honey, and milk or heavy cream.
Considerations
While pumpkin pie is a crowd favorite and even made from a vegetable, it is actually a calorie and fat-loaded dessert like most others. Many people allow the extra treat of pumpkin pie during the holidays, but other more diet-conscious Americans have developed healthier versions of pumpkin pie by using skim milk in place of cream or evaporated milk and egg whites instead of whole eggs.
Tags: canned pumpkin, fresh pumpkin, most popular, pumpkin from, United States
