Pumpkin pie is perhaps one of the oldest and most popular of all Halloween recipes. It is also one of the best comfort foods available during the holiday season. Pumpkin pie is most often served during the autumn and late winter months, when the produce market is seasonal. Traditionally, pumpkin pie has been served for Halloween at every gathering.
Pumpkin pie was one of the first Thanksgiving recipes to become popular. The early settlers made pumpkin pie for thanksgiving thanks to pumpkin seeds that could be planted just before the long fall months. Pumpkin seeds germinated and grew into pumpkins that were picked, skinless, and prepared just before Thanksgiving.
This relatively young recipe has evolved over the centuries to what we now know as pumpkin pie filling. Although many varieties of pies filling exist, thanksgiving pie filling are two of the most popular. Traditional recipes called for buttermilk, or half. Today many use traditional recipes which do not call for buttermilk or eggs, buttermilk is still a staple ingredient in many pumpkin pie fillings. Egg yolks are also a common part of thanksgiving recipes.
Some chefs have created “wonder fruit” blends, a mix of several fruits that can be used as a spice blend in pies, cakes, breads and savory tarts. For example, apple, cinnamon, and ginger blend in the perfect blend to make pumpkin pie. Other combinations include lemon, orange, lime, kiwi, mango, and strawberry. A nice spicy blend to try would be cayenne and chili powder. Your imagination and culinary skills are the only limits on the endless combinations you can create.
Pumpkin pie baking has been around for many thanksgiving years. A post on the blog Food Network’s Kitchen cabinet included a recipe for thanksgiving dinner baked with thanksgiving spices. In this post, recipes were mentioned with some mentioning the nutmeg and cloves being key in the success. According to Cooking For God’s Dieticians, pumpkin pie has been in existence since biblical times. However, it was probably eaten by early settlers along the Potomac River.
The blog Healthy Recipes For Life posted an online recipe for sweet potato pie on the occasion of September 11th. It was created by a woman who was featured in an online cooking show. Her recipe called for a sweet potato pie (made without added sugar) that was filled with canned pumpkin. Canned pumpkin is available at many stores, including Wal-Mart and Target. If you do not have any fresh pumpkin, there are many recipes for using freeze dried pumpkin available. All of these recipes were featured online to help families prepare food on a budget during the month of September.