Fun Facts and Trivia About Pumpkin Pie

If you’re a pumpkin pie fan, you probably take for granted that orange-y wedge that graces your plate every Thanksgiving. But there’s a lot more to that piece of pie than whether it’s better warm or cold. Here are some fun facts and trivia about pumpkin pie.

World Biggest Pumpkin Pie

According to the Pumpkin Nook, the pie that made the Guinness World Book of Records weighed a whopping 3,699 pounds after it was baked by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in New Bremen, Ohio in 2010.

The unveiling of the monster pumpkin pie attracted a crowd of thousands. The finished pie spanned 20 feet. The ingredients used to make it included 1,212 pounds of pumpkins, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 7 pounds of salt, 233 dozen eggs, 525 pounds of sugar, and 14.5 pounds of cinnamon.

The 2010 pumpkin broke the 2005 Guinness record of 2,020 pounds, also set by the New Bremen bakers. Weighing either one of them proved to be quite a task.

Origins of Pumpkin Pie

If you guessed that pumpkin pie was served at the first Thanksgiving meal, guess again. Eat This! reports, however, that pumpkins were used in other recipes during the colonial period. As a matter of fact, residents of the American colonies put pumpkin into pie crusts but not the filling.

The first record of what resembled modern pumpkin pie dates to 1796 in a volume known as American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. It was called Pumpkin Pudding.

Other Pumpkin Pie Facts

According to The Pumpkin Patch, it would be theoretically possible to bake a pumpkin pie from scratch on six of the earth’s continents. However, if you’re in Antarctica, you won’t be able to grow any pumpkins.

The goodies in that can of Libby’s pumpkin pie filling aren’t really pumpkin, Eat This! says. They’re actually made from a squash called a Dickinson. Libby’s introduced the idea of canned pumpkin to the United States in 1929.

After Libby’s purchased the rights to the Dickinson, the company perfected the plant into a squash dubbed Libby Select No. 12. Americans make 50 million pies every year using Libby’s canned filling.

Since the Libby processing plant is in Morton, Illinois, it’s no surprise that this city claims the title of “Pumpkin Capital of the World.” It’s not surprising either that 80 percent of the U.S. pumpkin supply is available in October, just in time for Halloween and then Thanksgiving.

Sources:

http://pumpkinnook.com/giants/pumpkinpierecord.htm

10 Facts About Pumpkin Pie

http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/facts.html


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