Getting to the root of fall's favorite vegetable
by A. LaBan
Illinois isn't just the Land of Lincoln; isn't just the home of the world's largest building, indoor aquarium, public library and free outdoor food festival. Illinois, you see, is also the pumpkin capital of the world.
More specifically, that honor goes to Morton, Illinois, home of Libby's, which has been the major producer of pumpkins for seventy years. Libby's plants approximately 4,000 acres of pumpkins annually, which are used to make more than fifty million pies each Thanksgiving, as well as numerous other dishes throughout the year. And, even though it's sort of hard to imagine now (and not exactly something most of us were taught in grade school history lessons), "pumpkin pie" didn't always mean what it does today.
Native American Indians introduced "isquotersquash," or pumpkins, to the Pilgrims. In Colonial America, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crusts of pies, not the filling. Early Americans would scoop out a pumpkin, fill it with milk and pumpkin flesh, and cook it for hours in hot ashes, often adding spices, molasses and syrup to make pudding. Pumpkin eventually evolved into pie filling, and the first American cookbook, published in 1796, features a recipe for what we've come to recognize as "traditional" pumpkin pie.
Pumpkins actually assumed a multipurpose role in Colonial life -- the Colonists used pumpkin not only as a side dish and dessert, but also in soups and even to make beer. Pumpkin was considered a winter staple, as it could be dried and used later. Pumpkin seeds, known as pepitas, were roasted and eaten as snacks. The blossoms could also be batter-dipped and fried. Pumpkins were even recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
Jack-o'-lanterns, on the other hand, were brought to America by Irish immigrants. The ancient Celts celebrated the Druidic festival of Samhain prior to the introduction of the Christian holiday All Hallows Eve. Irish Celts had developed a tradition of placing carvings made of turnips and other root vegetables in windows or by doors on Halloween to scare away spirits said to walk the earth on that night. It wasn't until the custom crossed the Atlantic that pumpkins were used for jack-o'-lanterns.
Come fall, people all over get pumped about pumpkins. Two organizations, the Greater Pumpkin Commonwealth and World Pumpkin Confederation, have annual festivals and weigh-offs beginning in September. Last year, the Giant Urban Pumpkin Growers of America awarded first prize at the eleventh annual GUPGA Weigh-off to "La Monica," a 356-pound pumpkin. Meanwhile, at West Virginia University, the Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers hosts an annual Pumpkin Drop, with participants flinging pumpkins from the top of the Engineering Sciences Building at a target eleven floors below. Entries are judged on three criteria: whether or not the pumpkin survives the fall intact, how close the intact pumpkin lands to the target, and the design originality of the pumpkin's protective padding.
With Halloween just around the corner, pumpkins are popping up all over town. Tizi Melloul has been featuring sweet pumpkin and currant couscous in its lamb tagine. Says Chef John Boudavas, "Once cooked, pumpkin has a natural sweetness that comes out and balances well against the earthy flavor of the couscous. The pumpkin also blends well with the [dish's] roasted red pearl onions and the sweetness of the raisins."
Strega Nona has introduced pumpkin bisque and toasted pumpkin-seed-crusted fish (of the day), as well as pumpkin flan for dessert. Trattoria No.10 is featuring roasted baby pumpkins filled with cipollini (a grape hyacinth bulb that tastes like a wild sweet onion, typically sold in Italian markets in the fall) and chanterelle mushrooms through October and November.
Diners at the Michigan Avenue Cheesecake Factory have been asking for pumpkin and pumpkin pecan cheesecakes, two of the restaurant's most popular seasonal flavors, since September. Meanwhile, erwin will be offering a pumpkin bread pudding. Says Chef Erwin Drechsler of his attraction to the vegetable, "Pumpkins, along with a few other things like taffy apples, define the fall season."
Tizi Melloul, 670 North Wells, (312)670-4338
Strega Nona, 3747 North Southport, (773)244-0990
Trattoria No.10, 10 North Dearborn, (312)984-1718
The Cheesecake Factory, 875 North Michigan, (312)337-1101
erwin, 2925 North Halsted, (773)528-7200
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