French Pumpkin Soup from 1651
Comments (15)
I love all types of squash soup., I’m making this. Thank you for the excellent history.
I don’t know if it was from this particular recipe, but I remember eating a “pumpion” soup at a medieval feast several years ago. It was fantastic!!
Re: giant pumpkins/"potirons" - there's an early film (from 1908 I think) called "La course aux potirons" [The Pumpkin Chase] that features a wagonload of these giant pumpkins being dumped on a Paris street and rolling all over the city causing chaos. It's on Youtube for anyone who's interested. It's pretty funny and totally weird.
Thank you. I don't really know. My father used to grow out pumpkins & that's what he told us. I'm no expert
Ooooh, I love this! I'm such a pumpkin eater, often making pumpkin soup, often with various unexpected additions, including peanut butter. There must be something in the air, as I notice that someone else made butternut squash soup last week, as did I. The two are pretty much interchangeable. I attribute my great love of pumpkins in part to the float that my kindergarten class had in the Claiborne Parish Fair parade, circa 1950. The theme was 'Mother Goose', and Roger S___ & I were 'Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater & Wife' in a great big papier mâché pumpkin. It obviously made quite the lasting impression on me.
Canadians of a certain age know well the anecdote about Jacques Cartier mishearing "Kanata" as "Canada," because it was a Heritage Minute that ran throughout the 80s and 90s. You're probably going to get several thousand YouTube comments to that effect, lol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfKr-D5VDBU
Oh!!! Love the "Cinderella Pumpkin" reference! I recently bought some seeds for that variety to try in next year's garden.
I’ve been growing Rouge Vif D’ Etampes for twenty or so years. They’ve usually come in at 15-20 lbs, but I’ve had some 35-50 lbs beasts of pumpkins!
I just made a pumpkin soup just like this a week ago and it turned out fantastic! Is there a difference between roasting the pumpkin vs. boiling? I had roasted my pumpkin but other than that the recipes were basically identical! This was so great to see!
Wolfpaws, I generally roast mine, and I think it not only adds to the flavor but makes handling the pumpkin SO much easier! I just poke a few holes in the pumpkin with a skewer and throw the whole thing in the oven on a sheet pan. Once a skewer pierces it easily, I turn the oven off and just let the pumpkin cool enough to handle. Basically, a large spoon is the only tool needed to remove seeds, stringy bits, and then the pulp from the skin.
Bravo on the history, it was fascinating, especially on the origin of the word, and weaving in the fairy tales, very entertaining!
Not a pumpion, or a pompkin? I guess it's french... [edit] It's covered in the video.
This sounds delicious! I make a butternut squash soup sometimes that this reminds me of! I’ll have to give it a whirl! As always, thanks, Max! I love your content and delivery!
I never thought of pumpkins direct flavor. I always associated it with pumpkin pie because I don't drink milk. I've never had a pumpkin latte. So now I'm intrigued. My family and friends just maybe experiencing this recipe using canned pumpkin. The only thing that concerns me is that in the United States can the meat from other sweeter gourds so it won't be truly pumpkin dish without using a fresh pumpkin. Thanks for this though.
That’s not exactly true. Pumpkin isn’t a species, it’s a descriptor: C. pepo includes carving pumpkins, zucchini, acorn squash, and other summer squashes. C. moschata includes butternut squash, musquée de Provence, and the Dickinson (which is what canners use and looks just like a pale pumpkin, if put out as decor). They’re all Cucurbita, tho.