“The boy is fond of sweets… Cakes and pies, jams and jellies, honey on the comb. Perhaps a pinch of sweetsleep in his milk, have you tried that? Just a pinch, to calm him and stop his wretched shaking.”
-A Feast for Crows
People of the Northern Hemisphere.
Autumn is upon us, and that means obligatory recipes involving pumpkins.
Although, I have to admit that making and testing this recipe was not exactly a hardship. I did eat a great deal of the finished spread, just to make sure it was fit to share. You see the sacrifices I make for you?
Totally worth it.
I had the craving several months ago to make some pumpkin butter, but it was well before those lovely gourds came into season. I even eyed the canned pie filling in the pantry. And then the summer was over, as well as half of autumn, and now you can’t drive 10 minutes anywhere in New England without seeing a heap of pumpkins.
The smooth spread, made from a smallish pie pumpkin slow roasted in the oven, tastes of the season. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove complete the classic pairing. It’s warm and comforting, despite the knowledge that with the appearance of pumpkins, winter is coming.
I haven’t made enough to put up yet, but rest assured that I soon will. Although, I bet that in a mid-winter pinch, one could use canned pumpkin to great effect. Perhaps I’ll test that in the grimness of February, when any taste of any other season is very welcome. You know. For science.
Where in Westeros?
The Vale, for starters.
While pumpkin butter isn’t specifically mentioned, the Vale is known to produce pumpkins. Given the unpredictable political scene across Westeros, I imagine a savvy cook would put away whatever she could get her hands on, both as straight canned pumpkin, and as its fancier cousin. We know from the books that little Robin Arryn loves sweet foods, and I can easily imagine him scarfing down more than his fair share of spice pumpkin butter to break his fast, while Alayne nibbled elegantly at a piece of toasted bread with a bit scraped over the top.
Spiced Pumpkin Butter Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 small pie pumpkin, about 4 lb.
- 1/4 cup maple syrup or honey (but definitely go for the maple)
- 1-2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoons ground ginger
- pinch each nutmeg, cloves
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a small baking dish with aluminium foil or parchment paper. Place the pumpkin on this dish, and roast in the oven until it’s very soft and starting to slump. Remove from oven.
When the pumpkin has cooled, slice it up. Remove the seeds (they’re delicious roasted!) and scrape the now-soft flesh from the skin. Using a submersible blender, puree the pumpkin until it reaches a smooth consistency. Move the puree to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the remaining ingredients and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened considerably, and is a nice rich color, probably at least 30 minutes.
The finished pumpkin butter should be great for several weeks in the fridge, and if you pop some in the freezer, it should keep until you can get a hold of next year’s pumpkins…
Hi there! It seems (as usual?) delicious :) Although something confuses me : the 1/4 cup of maple syrup goes two times there, is it normal ?
An error on my part- I just really love maple syrup! ;)
Haha can’t blame you on that :p
I want to try this!!!!
Oh wow, this looks fantastic I cannot wait to give it a try! And the timing is fantastic, my brothers just returned from a trip to Vermont and brought me a nice big jug of tasty maple syrup.
Do you think this would work with pumpkin purée as well? If so, about how much do you think would be equivalent to a 4-lb pumpkin?
Pumpkin butter is difficult to can because of it’s pH value. Not acidic enough. The freezer method is the safest way for most people to store it. If you can it yourself you have to use a pressure canner not just a hot water bath canning method. And you must get it to the right temperature and hold it there for the right amount of time.
I am betting that that isn’t possible in Westeros so it would be very much a seasonal delight. Now pumpkins can be held in cool dry places for about 6 to 8 months. Some breeds of pumpkin do better than others at this. They can also be sliced and dried and then soaked before cooking. I think that they might make very tasty “chips” if they were sliced thin brushed with a thin coating of syrup or honey and sprinkled with a little sea salt and put in a dehydrator.
Oh that’s interesting about the pH factor, I was just reading something about different fruit butters being made in the middle ages for preservation, but that makes sense. Pumpkin chips sounds delicious though!!
Has anybody tried ‘potting’ it – i.e. packing it down into earthenware pots or ramekins, then covering the surface with clarified butter to seal it?
This is a traditional English way of preserving things that would otherwise go bad – leftover blue cheese, cooked meat, shrimps. You need to keep it somewhere cool – a cellar or purpose-built ‘cool room’ – so the butter doesn’t melt, but any Westerosi household would routinely have somewhere like that. In Southwestern France, rendered duck and goose fat are used for the same purpose.
Interesting idea! I have some left over, so perhaps I will try this…
This looks delicious! Seriously thinking to make this this weekend, tis the season.
Oh my gosh. I just made this and am having serious trouble keeping myself from eating the whole pot.
By the way, I used two cups of pumpkin puree though one and a half might do the trick too (my pumpkin was pretty watery)
You should try to do crabs in salt crust, or eel pie from Braavos. Pretty please?
This would probably be tasty with any winter squash – since pumpkins seem to have a short time-window of availability.
I just made this last night! What an amazing recipe! We’re eating it with ginger crackers.
Hi,
could you give an approximate time the pumpkin need to stay in the oven please?
Thanks