Pumpion pie from 1670 [View all]

Recently, my wife (aka The Landlady) has taken an interest in a couple of historical cooking channels on YouTube. One in particular has caught her interest. It's Max Miller's Tasting History and it's a terrific channel if you're interested in food and history.

One episode is about the history of pumpkin pie. What we are used to today is actually pumpkin custard pie because it is so creamy. But in olden times, cooks made more of a fruit pie out of the pumpkin flesh and in 1670, they were called "pumpion pies."

The ingredients are basic and adaptable and include sliced Granny Smith apples, currants (or dried cranberries), raisins sack or sherry, sugar, cooked and mashed pumpkin and herbs, (parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, etc.).

It took some time to prepare but it turned out beautifully and tasted delicious.

This is Max Miller's YouTube video about the history of pompion pie and how to bake it. He's also published a cook book by the same title and it's quite fun to read.

He's an interesting guy. He was a character actor at a Florida theme park who got side-lined by the pandemic. His creative spirit drove him to start the channel and it's quite successful. Highly recommended.