Pumpkin Pie is a dessert pie featuring a spiced, pumpkin-based custard filling. Both the pumpkin and pumpkin pie symbolize harvest time, and people generally enjoy pumpkin pie during the fall and early winter. In the United States and Canada, individuals usually prepare it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other occasions when pumpkin is in season.
The filling of the pie ranges in color from orange to brown and bakes in a single pie shell, typically without a top crust. The dessert generally gets its flavor from a spice mixture known as Pumpkin pie spice, which combines spices like ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. People usually prepare the pie using canned pumpkins, though fresh-cooked pumpkins are also an option.
History
The pumpkin is native to North America. The pumpkin was an early export to France, and from there it was introduced to Tudor England, and the flesh of the “pompion” was quickly accepted as pie filling. During the seventeenth century, these recipes could be found in English cookbooks, such as Hannah Woolley’s The Gentlewoman’s Companion (1675). Pumpkin “pies” made by early American colonists were more likely to be a savory soup made and served in a pumpkin than a sweet custard in a crust. Colonists made pumpkins into ale by stewing them. Furthermore, an early appearance of a more modern, custard-like pie was in American Cookery, a cookbook published in 1796. This recipe utilized a sweet custard filling in a pie crust with spices, resulting in a dessert similar to the ones used today.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cloves
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
one teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
one half teaspoon mace
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 and 1/2 cans evaporated milk
Directions
Blend all ingredients in a mixer until smooth. Pour into prepared pie crusts. Bake at 425 degrees for the first 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. Enjoy!
You can substitute pumpkin pie spice for any missing spice in the same measurements as the missing spice.
