Native American Pumpkin Candy Recipes

PUMPKIN CANDY

Steps:

• Peel and seed pumpkin and cut into 2x4-inch strips.
• Put strips into bowl just big enough to hold them.
• Stir baking soda into enough water to cover strips. Pour over strips and let stand 12 hours.
• Drain and rinse strips in running water.
• Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop strips into water. Cook until tender but not soft.
• Remove strips and crisp in ice cold water. Drain.
• Juice lemon and cut zest into strips.
• Combine sugar, lemon juice, zest, cilantro and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then boil slowly without stirring for 10 minutes.
• Add pumpkin strips, cover pot, and simmer for 20 minutes, until syrup is thick and strips are brittle.
• Spread candy on wax paper and let dry for 10 hours.
• Store pieces in an airtight container.

DULCES DE CALABASAS (MEXICAN PUMPKIN CANDY)

Steps:

• Cut pumpkin in half, remove seeds and as much of the "stringy stuff" as you can, and chop into pieces approximately 1-1.5 inches by 1.5-2.5 inches.
• Slice off skin, taking off as little flesh as you can.
• Measure to make sure you have approximately one quart of pumpkin pieces (either pack well into a measuring cup or fill a calibrated 1/2 gallon or 1 gallon measure to the quart line and drop in pieces until water hits the 1/2 gallon line, then drain water.).
• Put in a fairly heavy saucepan and cover with water.
• Cover, bring to a boil, and boil for 15-20 minutes.
• Drain, but save water, and place pumpkin back in pan.
• Measure water to make sure you have about 1 1/2 cups.
• Stir in packed brown sugar until smooth. Add cloves and/or cinnamon at this point, if desired.
• Pour the sugar/water syrup over the pumpkin, cover, return to a boil, and boil another 15 minutes.
• Turn off heat and let sit overnight (at least 8 hours.) This is how the pumpkin soaks up the syrup and "candies".
• In the morning (or after the 8-10 hours), return to a boil, and boil an additional 5 minutes.
• Remove from syrup with a slotted spoon and place on a tray or cookie sheet lined with waxed paper.
• Allow to dry at least 10-12 hours in a place where it will not be disturbed (if you're not going to be using the oven and haven't had it on recently, the cold oven is a great place to keep it safe.).
• Roll in granulated sugar and enjoy! Place in air-tight container to store up to two weeks.

COOKED PUMPKIN [NATIVE AMERICA]

Steps:

• Here is the method I use to cook it: Cut the pumpkin into quarters and remove the seeds and fibers.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and bake the pumpkin quarters 45 minutes, until tender.
• Remove from the oven and scrape the flesh from the skin.
• Place in a food processor and puree.
• Run through a sieve to remove any remaining fibers and use the pumpkin according to the recipe instructions.
• Cooked pumpkin will keep about 1 week in a nonmetal, covered container in the refrigerator and several months in the freezer.