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Breathing New Life Into A Thanksgiving Pumpkin Tradition

Why stick with the ordinary pumpkin when you can accessorize into a whole line of winter squashes with far more panache?
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November 25, 2020
Photo by Kyle White / EyeEm/Getty Images

When I was in second grade, my home economics class made pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving. I brought home a six-inch-long loaf, shared it with my family and a decades-long tradition was born.⁠ Without fail, since 1981, my mother and both sisters have continued baking this sumptuous pumpkin recipe every November and December.⁠ I cannot forget the image of melted chocolate chips running all over our fingers as we gobbled down the first steaming slices prior to our Thanksgiving guests arriving.⁠ To this day, no Thanksgiving is complete without the scintillating aroma of cloves, cinnamon and allspice wafting throughout my parents house while the loaves bake.⁠And with Shabbat the next night, there has always been ample reason to extend the culinary festivities.

Pumpkins, along with turkeys and cranberries, are among the most iconic of Thanksgiving foods, making an appearance in pies, breads, soups, muffins, cupcakes, spiced lattes and candies. Incredibly, there is even a strong Jewish tradition, among Sephardim from the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, of eating pumpkins, that harks back to the first New World explorers.

And yet, in a modern marketplace brimming with colorful choices and accessible alternatives, the pumpkin somehow seems…ordinary.

For all its seasonal pomp, a pumpkin on its own is a fairly bland and unflavorful fruit with a sometimes stringy texture. It requires a cupboard full of spices to uplift it on the palate. And pumpkins are over-marketed and overhyped, from Halloween to Thanksgiving, from Facebook feeds to Pinterest pins.

Why stick with the ordinary pumpkin when you can accessorize into a whole line of winter squashes with far more panache?

Why stick with the ordinary pumpkin when you can accessorize into a whole line of winter squashes with far more panache?

There are two types of squashes: summer squash, which are the soft kind and include zucchini, patty pan and crookneck squash; and winter squash, which are the hard-skinned type and include pumpkins, red kuri, kabocha, butternut squash, acorn squash, carnival squash, honeynut squash and spaghetti squash.

Winter squash come in many vivid colors, textures, shapes and sizes. They are delicious, nutritious and versatile, with dense, sweet flesh and a hollow cavity full of seeds worthy of roasting. Winter squash are a cozy and inviting culinary category, whether for Thanksgiving, Shabbat dinner or warming your belly on a cold winter night.

In place of pumpkin, the winter squashes that go best for Thanksgiving are red kuri, kabocha and butternut squash. Unlike pumpkins, these squashes all have complex, assertive and memorable flavors on their own.

Red Kuri Squash

The red kuri squash resembles a small, teardrop-shaped pumpkin but without the telltale ridges. The kuri has an assertive, chestnut-like flavor that goes well in soups, stew and casseroles, although it can also be made into pies, muffins and bread. It is high in fiber, vitamins A and C and beta carotene. When cooked, the skin becomes soft and can be used in recipes alongside the smooth and rich flesh.

Kabocha Squash

The kabocha squash resembles a slightly squashed dwarf pumpkin. It consists of greenish-white stripes on the outside with bright yellow orange on the inside. Kabocha squash has a very sweet, nutty flavor that tastes like a cross between a pumpkin and a sweet potato. This squash can be used in soups, roasted, baked and steamed. Like the red kuri squash, the skin is edible and delicious, too.

Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is bell shaped, with a slim neck and bulbous bottom. Although it is related to the pumpkin, it is visually different.

Butternut squash has a sweet, nutty flavor reminiscent of pumpkin, with deep orange flesh and a creamy texture when cooked. Butternuts are fabulous when roasted, puréed into a soup or baked into a pie.

Sugar Baby Pumpkins…if you must

If you must use pumpkin, sugar baby pumpkins are the way to go. They can be made into breads, smoothies, cookies, flavorful side dishes and savory soups. They are also highly nutritious: They contain copious amounts of beta carotene and other antioxidant carotenoids, as well as vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, zinc and dietary fiber, while also contributing few calories.

These delectable winter squashes can easily be found at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Instacart or your local farmers market.

In my own family, the pumpkin’s preeminent position among our Thanksgiving traditions has gone unchallenged for 40 years. This year, I plan on breathing new life into my second-grade pumpkin bread recipe by using red kuri squash. And with Shabbat coming on the heels of Thanksgiving, we plan on spicing up our Friday night hamotzi with a kabocha squash challah. This challah has a vibrant yellow-orange color with a deep flavor that is both savory and sweet, in contrast to the more mellow and bland pumpkin version.

This year has been anything but ordinary. When you sit down at the Thanksgiving table, and the Shabbat table the night after that, reward yourself with an abundance of winter squash varieties that are unusual and extraordinary. You will be grateful that you did.


Michael Tanenbaum is a writer and marketer living in Los Angeles. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ConsciouslyKosher.

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