[Sca-cooks] pumpkins and squashes

[Stefan li Rous]

Bear said:

<<< Purely as a guess, pumpkin pie began as an Elizabethean "thang"  
in the New
World as a replacement for some of the pie stuffs the colonists had left
behind.  >>>>

Okay, such as what? I can't see it replacing a berry pie. It's too  
different. And I can't think of anything in a custard pie which  
wouldn't have been available in the New World, at least after the  
colonies were going.

<<< While pumpkin and squashes in general are used in a variety of ways
and pumpkin pie is available year round, most people in the U.S.,  
when you
say "pumpkin," relate it to the pumpkin pie served as a treat between
Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. >>>

Yes. But I assume that is because pumpkins tend to ripen then.  And  
from my experience with Halloween pumpkins, they have a rather  
limited shelf life. Of course so does pumpkin pie.

Hmmm. What are the preservation methods for pumpkins and squashes, if  
any? Will they rehydrate okay if you dry them?

Stefan
--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
    Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas           
StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****