non US folks and pumpkin pie

by carla 6 Replies latest social humour

• 

  carla

  Sorry, I didn't know how to classify this- On some cooking boards I am on I came across how some do not understand pumpkin pie at all, particularly down under. Is this so? There was a whole thread about picking up Libby's Pumpkin Pie filling (and the expense) and then came the subject of vegemite which does not sound good to me but can't say as I have never had it. With all the sugar and spices what is not to like about it? then add the whipped cream and it is a holiday main dish practically! What do non US folks have to say about this silly topic?

  (ps- you know you can use any of the yellow/orange squashes in place of actual pumpkin)
• 

  carla

  ok, now I feel really bad about posting this after the thread about someone posting about finding purpose in life.
• 

  road to nowhere

  Pumpkin is American origin. First pies were main course I nstead of dessert.

  Other food from the americas that spread worldwide is corn, potato, and some beans, turkeys.

  What is vegemite?

  We have to find a purpose in life
• 

  punkofnice

  Carla. As a Brit, I can't say that I've come across Pumpkin pie. I won't knock it until I try it though.

  the subject of vegemite which does not sound good to me but can't say as I have never had it.

  Vegemite we get in the UK but the usual UK brand is Marmite. This is a savoury yeast syrup type substance which goes lovely on toast. I've used it in a gravy mix like Bovril.
  

  People say you either love it or hate it. I'm not sure it gets that kind of reaction.

  Do you get Twiglets in the America? They are coated with the stuff.

  now I feel really bad about posting this after the thread about someone posting about finding purpose in life.

  You needn't. We all have to eat.
  
  
  
• 

  TonusOH

  Pumpkin pie is kind of like cheesecake. You wouldn't think that dropping a blob of cream cheese (or pureed pumpkin) on a pie crust would work very well, but... mix it with a lot of sugar and suddenly it works. Creamy and sweet.

  It's not my favorite, but that's because my mom ruined squash for me by always boiling it until it was a fibrous, mushy, tasteless mass. She did the same with spinach and okra. No idea why she did that, she was an amazing cook and usually not afraid to experiment and find something that worked. But some foods she would just boil too long and serve. Go figure.
• 

  Anony Mous

  Pies in general are weird across the world. Where I was growing up, sweets in general weren't in great supply, but a pie was a great way of using up excess fruit after canning/preserving and that's when we got it. In Britain they have meat-based (like pot pies in the US, but more stodgy).

  Pumpkin pie and cheesecake and great cuts of steak I didn't get until I got to the US. I think many people make it too sweet, but you can cut the sugar for more flavor. My wife makes amazing Amaretto or Champagne cheesecake.

  The first time I came to the US, we went to a steakhouse and they had a 16oz ribeye for $25, I wasn't sure how much 16oz was, or what ribeye meant but any steak for under $30 sounded good, the biggest steak I had seen in my life. It's weird going from a culture where meat was a special side dish to where meat is the main dish and excess is basically affordable for any class of society, like Thanksgiving turkey, steak, burgers.
  

  Vegemite/marmite is classically what's leftover after brewing beer, but it works adding it to some things in small amounts. Basically an umami taste much like seaweed or soy sauce in Asian dishes.
• 

  peacefulpete

  Marmite and vegemite are awful. Sorry. An acquired taste no doubt. I made a pie using cantaloupe (musk melon) first cousins to squash you know. Very nice. Any winter squash will work though butternut is my favorite. Pumpkin pie is traditional at thanksgiving as a new variety of squash the Indians shared with them.

  Pecan pie is the best, but diabetic strychnine.