What better time to enjoy recipes made with pumpkin than October, the month the orange fruit – yes, pumpkins are a fruit – is harvested.  And because Vicksburg is home to a variety of cookbooks, it’s easy to find pumpkin recipes for every palate.

Many of these cookbooks, published by locals and local groups, have served as fundraisers. The recipes for “Moore Groceries” were gathered, compiled, published and sold with proceeds benefitting the Old Courthouse Museum.

Many of the churches in town have also published cookbooks to raise money for their respective missions. The Vicksburg Junior Auxiliary, an organization whose mission is to meet the needs of children, youth and families, has published two cookbooks – “Vintage Vicksburg” and “Ambrosia.”

Laurin Stamm, who was the food editor for The Vicksburg Post, published a cookbook chronicling selected recipes of her 50-plus years with the newspaper.

All these cookbooks reflect the cultural diversity of Vicksburg while also showcasing the communities’ rich culinary talents – some of which include recipes using pumpkin.  

 

“The Trinity Cookbook” 

Extra Moist Pumpkin Bread 

2 ½ cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

½ teaspoon salt  

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 box (3.4 ounce) instant lemon pudding 

1 box (3.4 ounce) instant butterscotch pudding 

¾ cup chopped pecans 

1 can (15 ounce) solid pack pumpkin 

2 cups sugar 

1 ½ cups oil 

5 eggs 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 1 large loaf pan or 6 small loaf pans. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, puddings and nuts. In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs. Stir in flour mixture and blend completely. Pour mixture into greased pans. Bake 50 minutes (small loaf pans) or 90 minutes (large loaf pan.)  

10-12 Servings 

 

“From The Kitchen of The Cypress House” 

Pumpkin Dip 

2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened 

4 cups (or less) confectioners’ sugar, sifted 

1 can pumpkin or pumpkin pie filling mix 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground ginger 

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and cream cheese, beating until well blended. Beat in remaining ingredients. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To serve, scoop out one or two miniature pumpkins and fill with dip. Use gingersnaps for dipping.  

(This is a large amount of dip; but the recipe can be cut in half easily. Save the pumpkin to make bread or cookies or another popular pumpkin recipe.) 

 

“Moore Groceries” 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins 

4 eggs 

2 cups sugar 

1 cup oil 

1 (16-ounce) can pumpkin 

3 1/3 cups flour 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

1 ½ teaspoons salt 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon nutmeg 

2 cups milk chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat eggs. Add sugar, oil and pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients and stir into pumpkin mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Line muffin tins with paper liners and divide batter evenly. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Let cool on rack. Makes 24 muffins. 

 

Fun facts about pumpkins 

Morton, Illinois is the Pumpkin Capital of the World. It is home to Libby’s Pumpkin with more than 80 percent of the world’s canned pumpkin processed there. 

The heaviest pumpkin on record weighed over a ton at 2,009 pounds. This mammoth gourd was grown by Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island. 

In early colonies, pumpkin shells were used as a template for haircuts to ensure a round and uniform finished cut. As a result of this practice, New Englanders were sometimes nicknamed “pumpkinheads.” 

The largest pumpkin pie ever was baked on Sept. 25, 2010, and weighed in at 3,699 pounds. It was 20 feet in diameter. The pie was made with 1,212 pounds of canned pumpkin, 233 dozen eggs, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 525 pounds of sugar, 7 pounds of salt, 14.5 pounds of cinnamon and 3 pounds of pumpkin pie spice. 

Early Jack-o’-lanterns were made by carving turnips or potatoes — not pumpkins. The Irish and Scottish used them as part of their pagan Celtic celebrations, while the English did the same thing, just with beets instead. In fact, the tradition of the Jack-O-Lantern stems from the Irish legend of a man named Stingy Jack who was known as somewhat of an unpleasant trickster. Immigrants brought their carving traditions to America but found that pumpkins were a much easier alternative.