Pumpion pie recipe
[quote]ARMY COOKING 1916 :
PUMPKIN PIE
from : Manual for Army Cooks. Washington, D.C. : Government Printing Office, 1916.
from : Thanksgiving “Over There.”
PIE CRUST FOR 12 DOUBLE-CRUST 9" PIES
4 1/2 pounds of flour
2 1/2 pounds of lard
1 oz salt
Rub lard and flour together in the hands and mix well; add sufficient water to make a moist dough. Have everything cool and work as little as possible.
PUMPKIN PIE FILLING FOR 12-15 PIES
25 pounds pumpkin
6 pounds sugar
20 eggs
1 nutmeg
1/8 ounce cloves
1/8 ounce ginger
1 ounce salt
2 cans evaporated milk.
Peel and clean the pumpkin; cut into pieces about 2 ounces each; pour 1 inch of water into a boiler, then put in the pumpkin. One inch of water will be sufficient, even though the boiler be filled with pumpkin, as pumpkin contains much water. Boil slowly until done, about 40 minutes. Then mash well, add the beaten eggs, sugar, milk, and spices, and mix well; make the pies without a top crust, and bake slowly. This recipe may be improved by the addition of a small amount of cream.[/quote]
Old recipes are great - thanks for posting them! (even though this thread is getting old, too!)
I have tried to boil pumpkin and always go back to the Libby’s (or other canned pumpkin) for a pumpkin pie. My (from fresh) boiled pumpkin is always stringy and just doesn’t cut it. I’ve even tried to boil pumpkin for a few hours and still the same results - stringy and coagulated - or something like that.
So, does anybody know any tricks to “Libbyize” fresh pumpkin?!
Pressure cooker?
Steamer?
Let it age after cutting it up?
Use old pumpkins?
Boil it, cool it down, then boil/steam it again?
Is it the varietal (and pray tell which Taiwanese one would work)?
?
I imagine that to render a pumpkin you’d remove the seeds and fibrous part, then roast, puree, then sieve it. I’ve not done this myself (yet), but I wouldn’t expect stringiness after that process. Did you leave the fibrous goop in, or fail to puree or sieve it?
Thanks muchly! I do remove the seeds and fibrous goop (and the skin), but I just totally forgot about roasting first and/or pureeing later. I’m going to try it!
As for max flavor - do you think any pumpkins will suffice? Recently, a friend gave me (what he called) a “Japanese pumpkin” - an ugly, gnarly, squat, unlovable-looking thing. I’d call it a squash, but if Taiwanese people want to call it a pumpkin, maybe I should just do/try it?!
[quote=“IYouThem”]
As for max flavor - do you think any pumpkins will suffice? Recently, a friend gave me (what he called) a “Japanese pumpkin” - an ugly, gnarly, squat, unlovable-looking thing. I’d call it a squash, but if Taiwanese people want to call it a pumpkin, maybe I should just do/try it?![/quote]
Don’t sneeze at them, they’re delicious.
Re. the stringiness, it could be because the pumpkin is just too damn big. They’re often grown for effect rather than eating. There are also many, many different varieties of things all called ‘pumpkin’, some better for eating than others. A normal-sized eating pumpkin should be about as big as your head. Also, baking it is likely to give a better result than boiling.
The ugly squat thing should work fine in an American-style pie, although I can’t say I’ve personally tried it. Go to any Thai restaurant and they’ll have a sweet dish made using that kind of squash. And as Tempo Gain just said, they’re very nice, however you cook them.
That makes a lot of sense; many vegetables are best eaten before they get too big, tough and stringy. I bet small pumpkins and acorn squash would make good pie.
You could try growing your own. Variety ‘Baby Bear’ is great - you might even be able to grow it on a balcony.