PUMPKIN PIE RECIPES
Pumpkin pie is made from the
pulp of the Field Pumpkin, which is a member of the Gourd Family. In addition to pie pumpkins, this particular
species, (Cucurbitaceae), of the gourd family includes such squashes as
crookneck, straightneck, zucchini, acorn and marrow. The species name comes
from the Greek word pepon, meaning,
“sun ripened”.
FOLK MEDICINE --- PUMPKIN SEEDS &
OIL
The pumpkin is from tropical America. It arrived in, what came to be, the southern
states of the United States
long before the Vikings visit. Several
indigenous native tribes, including the Yuma Tribe, the Catawbas and the
Menominees cultivated the plant for medicine as well as food. The Yuma Tribe
made an emulsion from a mixture of pumpkin and watermelon seeds for healing
wounds. The Catawbas ate the fresh or
dried seeds as a kidney medicine, and the Menominees drank a mixture of water
and powdered squash and pumpkin seeds to ease the passage of urine.
Later on settlers began
grinding the stems of pumpkin to make a tea thought to treat “female
ills”. The ripe seeds were made into an edible
preparation to dispel worms. Today’s
home remedies no longer suggest the use of ground pumpkin stems for “female
ills”, however, modern folk healers advocate the use of pumpkin seeds for
ridding the body of intestinal worms. It
is also noted that modern healers believe pumpkin seed oil is helpful for
healing burns and as a dressing for wounds.
GROW YOUR OWN PUMPKINS
The Field Pumpkin grows on an annual vine with tendrils and
a creeping stem that can reach up to 30 feet in length. The vine has large, rough, dull-green leaves,
½ to 1 foot wide, with a triangular shape and three to five lobes. The bright yellow, funnel-shaped flowers
bloom in June through August, are followed by the familiar orange fruit, which
is furrowed when mature in late summer or early autumn and contain numerous
flat white seeds. Recipes follow...
