SC - Re: Pumpkins down under

[Susan Laing]

Pumpkin in Comparative Cultures 101...

Okay - Australia was founded by the British in the 1770's....

Pumpkins are pretty much regarded as "dinner vegetables" here - exception 
being (in Queensland at least) Pumpkin Scones (a la Lady Flo)  The notion of 
using them as a sweet has always been an intriguing one (and peculiarily 
*American* in my zone.... but that could be the Comic Offworld Alien in me 
speaking.... :-p)

Just an aside - I thought the tradition of eating Pumpkin pie (or Squash 
pie) devolved from the 1st Thanksgiving meal when the Native Americans 
brought their produce to share with the Pilgrims.... Or should I give up on 
comparative culture history and go back to cooking??

Mari
Brisbane, Australia

Mmmmmm Mel Gibson! Pity he's lost his accent.... :-p

>Adamantius penned...
>Late eighteenth & early nineteenth centuries? It may have been
>introduced by settlers before it lost favor in England, or it may >have 
>evolved in parallel (you know, like the offworld aliens in comic >books 
>that look exactly like humans?), or it may even have been >introduced by 
>Americans. I would guess Australia is about on a par >with the USA as a 
>cultural melting-pot and a gracious host for >immigrants, some of whom have 
>been Americans. Including Mel Gibson, >BTW ;  ) .


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