Frankly I’m tired of the ubiquitous pumpkin pie recipe that calls for evaporated milk and a 1-pound can of pumpkin. Is it really necessary to use evaporated milk–or would regular milk work? And, of course, I then made the short leap to: How did they make pumpkin pies a hundred years ago?
I found an awesome pumpkin pie recipe in the Lycoming Valley Cook Book. It was compiled by “the Ladies of the Trout Run M.E. Church, Trout Run Pa”. in 1907. The pie is similar enough to modern recipes that it won’t alarm your Thanksgiving guests. They’ll just think you used your usual recipe–but that it turned out better than it does in a typical year.
The resulting pie has a nice blend of spices that don’t overwhelm the pumpkin. The recipe calls for just two spices (cinnamon and ginger) rather than the three or four typically used in modern recipes.
It also uses more eggs than are generally used in recipes that call for evaporated milk. Since the milk used in the old recipe contains more liquid, additional eggs are needed to set the custard. This pie also requires more baking time than modern pumpkin pies, but the result is a rich and creamy custard filling.
Here’s my adaptation of the old recipe for modern cooks:
Pumpkin Pie
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 8-inch (small) pie shell
Preheat oven to 425° F. Combine all ingredients (except pie shell) in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Bake 15 minutes; then reduce heat to 350°. Continue baking (about 50-60 minutes) until a knife inserted in the center of the pie comes out clean.
Notes: This recipe filled the 8-inch pie shell to the very rim, and it was a little difficult to get it into the oven without spilling. (Don’t overfill pie shell. If there is too much filling put the extra in a small casserole dish and cook separately.)
I used fresh pumpkin, but 1/2 of a can of pumpkin (14-16 oz. can) could be used. This recipe makes a small 8-inch pie. If I used canned pumpkin I’d probably double it, and instead make a large 10-inch pie.
To prepare the fresh pumpkin for the pie, I peeled part of a pumpkin and cut it into one-inch cubes. About 1 3/4 cups of cubed pumpkin will make a cup of cooked pumpkin. I put the cubed pumpkin into a saucepan and covered it with water. I turned the heat to high and brought to a boil; I then reduced the heat to medium and cooked until tender (about 20 minutes). I drained the pumpkin and used my mixer to blend it until smooth. I then proceeded with the pie recipe.
Fresh pumpkin can also be roasted. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds and membranes, then put it in the oven at 400° F. Bake for about an hour or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from oven. When the pumpkin has cooled, remove the pulp from the pumpkin shell. Use mixer, blender, or food processor to blend the chunks of pulp until smooth. Proceed with the pie recipe.
Here’s the original recipe:
A Hundred Years Ago 
I love this. I’m going to try making my first pumpkin pie very soon. As an aside, my maternal grandmother’s side is from Lycoming County so I really like your blog!
It’s wonderful to hear that you like this blog, and that you have a central Pennsylvania connection. I have a lot of fun doing it and it’s always nice to hear when someone enjoys it.
This recipe is almost the same as mine.. I got mine out of an old cookbook years ago. I put in just a little clove in it yet. A great recipe! 😊
I little cloves would be a nice addition.
Can’t beat a good piece of pumpkin pie topped with whipped cream. Nice pic!
mmm. . . whipped cream always adds to a pumpkin pie.
Who knew, great variation!
I was pleased with how this pie turned out.
I think every pumpkin pie’s improved by using real pumpkin, and I’m sure this one’s no exception. It looks like a nice, custardy pie, and I’m certainly going to give it a try. We’re getting pie pumpkins at the farmers’ market now, so it’s time.
I agree – fresh pumpkin is always better than canned.
I definitely like this recipe better than the generic ones you’ve mentioned. 🙂
Somehow it feels more authentic to me. 🙂
I agree! 🙂
Thank you! I’m making this for Thanksgiving.
I think that you’ll like it.
Your photo is beautiful, with a taste to match. I must try this.
It’s a nice (and very traditional) recipe for pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin pies are always good, for hundreds and thousands of years!
Pumpkin pies are good – and they’ve definitely been around for more than a hundred years. . . thousands of years may be a bit of an exaggeration. 🙂
THIS sounds so much better than recipes I’ve seen. 🙂
I like how this old recipe calls for less-processed ingredients than many other pumpkin pie recipes.
Sometimes simple is best. 🙂
It’s funny isn’t it? You all seem to love pumpkin pie and have your favourite recipes. But it’s fairly hopeless trying to sell it to us Brits. We don’t seem to ‘get’ it (I don’t. I find it too sweet). I wonder why we’re so different in our appreciation of this dish.
I don’t have an answer to your question. Some foods seem to be clearly associated with certain countries – and pumpkin pie is apparently one of them. 🙂
Your pumpkin pie looks great! I have never made a pumpkin pie like this one before. I think this one will be my first ! Greek pumpkin pies are quite different. 😊
Now, I’m curious. . . What are Greek pumpkin pies like?
Greek pumpkin pies are made with fillo pastry. There are savoury pumpkin pies with feta cheese and sweet pies with pumpkin, various spices and nuts. I’ll try to post about it soon. 😀
In a nutshell, many modern American ingredients were not around when our ancestors lived, and cannot be found in Europe without going to an expensive import shop or the internet. I finally figured how to make a pumpkin pie with all natural ingredients. Because I love pumpkin pie, I loved this post.
It’s wonderful to hear that you enjoyed this post. Thanks for the information. This explains some of the other comments that I got. I now better understand why pumpkin pie isn’t readily available in Europe.
Trial and error, but I finally figured out how to make pumpkin puree which was dry enough for the pie. 🙂
Over the years, I’ve found that trial and error is often the best way to refine cooking techniques.
This looks amazing! I have actually never had pumpkin pie, so I just bookmarked your post to make it!
x caroline
You should give pumpkin pie a try. It’s quite tasty.
I like that they said ‘sweet milk’!
A hundred years ago, milk that had soured was sometimes used in recipes – so the recipe author was clarifying that “sweet” milk should be used instead of “sour.”
Sounds delicious. Your photo is lovely.
I’d like to give this a try sometime, but I have a couple of questions:
What size of can of pumpkin did you use?
How did you keep you crust from burning?
I used fresh pumpkin, but 1/2 of a can of pumpkin (14-16 oz. can) could be used. This recipe makes a small 8-inch pie. If I used canned pumpkin I’d probably double it, and instead make a large 10-inch pie.
To prepare the fresh pumpkin for the pie, I peeled part of a pumpkin and cut it into one-inch cubes. About 1 3/4 cups of cubed pumpkin will make a cup of cooked pumpkin. I put the cubed pumpkin into a saucepan and covered it with water. I turned the heat to high and brought to a boil; I then reduced the heat to medium and cooked until tender (about 20 minutes). I drained the pumpkin and used my mixer to blend it until smooth. I then proceeded with the pie recipe.
Fresh pumpkin can also be roasted. Cut the pumpkin in half and remove seeds and membranes, then put it in the oven at 400° F. Bake for about an hour or until the pumpkin is tender. Remove from oven. When the pumpkin has cooled, remove the pulp from the pumpkin shell. Use mixer, blender, or food processor to blend the chunks of pulp until smooth. Proceed with the pie recipe.
When I made this recipe, I reduced the heat from 425° F. to 350° F. after 15 minutes and didn’t have any problems with the crust burning.
[Since other people have similar questions, I added most of this comment as a note to the recipe on 11/11/16]
Thanks so very very much. I think an 8 inch pie is what I’ll try. I’ll use the canned pumpkin. I wish I had a fresh pumpkin to try the baking method, I bet that would really make the pie more flavorful.
I’ve got a lot of proverbial irons-in-fire right now, but hopefully, I’ll get it made sometime soon. Thanks again I really appreciate your thoughts and helpful suggestions. You’re the best. 🙂
Canned pumpkin makes wonderful pies and it’s so much easier. Thanks for the kinds words.
This is a great recipe! Pumpkin pie is such a classic. 🙂
I agree! Pumpkin pie is a classic.
I tend to like the older recipes for dessert as they tend to not be as sweet. This pie sounds good.
I also enjoy the older recipes. I’m not sure that the ratio of pumpkin to sugar is much different in this recipe from many modern ones–but any case it’s tasty. 🙂
GREAT idea. I have only been able to make a few pies in my lifetime and this may be one of them. I try, but I feel like a bit of a cheat when I buy the crust and buy the crust I must.
You shouldn’t feel like a cheat for buying the crust. We all have certain foods that we find just aren’t practical to make from scratch for one reason or another. I currently make my pie crusts from scratch–but back when I lived in an apartment with a small kitchen I always bought prepared pie crusts. It was just too difficult to find enough counter space to roll out a crust.
It looks delicious and perfectly baked.
It was a lovely pie.
This sounds like an interesting take on pumpkin pie! I think I’ll try it. Sometimes, older really is better.
It was a very nice pie – though it definitely took longer to bake than the typical pumpkin pie made with evaporated milk.
I have my can of pumpkin ready but may try this recipe this year. As Ann wrote, older is really sometimes better.
I think that you’d like this pie. It takes longer to bake than a pie made with evaporated milk, but it turned out nicely.
I’m more an apple pie girl than pumpkin but this pie looks like the very definition of what a pumpkin pie should be! I love those old church and community cookbooks, too!
I’ve been thinking that it’s about time to check out some of the used bookstores. In the past, I’ve found some really nice old church and community cookbooks at them – and I always could use a few “new” ones. 🙂
You cravenly skip over how to get that 1 cup of pumpkin. Your 100-year-old recipe obviously expects you to know whether to cook the pumpkin before rubbing it through a colander, but I don’t. I see you answered this problem in a comment above; recommend you edit your post to include the information about how to prepare the pumpkin.
Great suggestion – thanks! I just added the comment above as a note at the end of the recipe.
I am going to make this pie for Thanksgiving. I always have to go buy a can of evaporated milk!
I think that you’ll like it. It just takes a little longer to bake than when made with evaporated milk.
Oh, fun to see this, looks yummy!
I’m glad you liked it. The pie was delicious. 🙂
How I would have loved a piece of your pie. 🙂
It would be so much fun to share a piece of pie with you, but since we’re on different continents I guess you’ll just have to enjoy it virtually (and there definitely are fewer calories that way). 🙂
Definitely fewer calories!
Another good one I want to try! I have lots of canned pumpkin as my dogs get a spoonful for added fiber every morning! Thanks again.
I think that you’ll enjoy the pie. I never would have thought of feeding pumpkin to dogs, but it sounds very nutritious.
Similar to your recipe, we double our amounts and put in two thirds sweet potato and one third pumpkin like my grandmother did. Sooooo good.