It has become a tradition to sign my blogposts with a portion of this Old Irish Blessing. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian McCoy Boveri
Celebrating Traditions–St. Valentine’s Day Cards
St. Valentine’s Day is a tradition dating back centuries. It originates in ancient Rome where on February 13-15 a lottery was held to pick a mate in which to spend the next year with. Two of the three saints named St. Valentine were martyred in this day in 3 A.D.–one for marrying Christians which was against Roman law at the time. It was declared a church holiday as early as 496 A.D. It became a common practice to pass notes on this day which evolved into picking a sweetheart for the day. This is also the day it was believed that birds choose their mates thereby heralding the first day of spring.
The practice of sending actual St. Valentine’s Day cards originates in England circa 1400. What is referred to as the first actual Valentine is a letter written in 1416 by Frenchman Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. This first Valentine itself is bittersweet as she died before it could reach her as the Duke was imprisoned in various English castles for nearly 25 years. The original letter still exists and is held at the British Library in London. Incidentally the oldest surviving Valentine written in English is also held there. This was written by Margery Brews of Norfolk to her fiance John Paxston in 1477.
Vintage Valentine
The practice of sending hand-written Valentine’s Day cards does indeed first appear circa 1400 in England. Another long-standing belief is that King Henry VIII established February 14 as St. Valentines’ Day in a royal decree in 1537. By 1601 St. Valentine’s Day has become part of England’s “popular consciousness to the extent that…William Shakespeare mentions it in Ophelia’s lament in Hamlet:
“Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s [D]ay
All in the morning betime
And I a maid at your window
To be your Valentine.” [2]
By the 17th century it became commonplace for friends and lovers from all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection like hand-made cards, chocolates, and small gifts on St. Valentine’s Day. Some of these traditions found themselves brought to America with the colonists. In fact their popularity grew with imported “writers” from England that were actually booklets that had various “be my Valentine” messages that one could copy onto decorative paper and send. One popular “writer” even had responses.
Late 18th century and early 19th century Valentines were often religious in nature. It wasn’t until 1847 that the first American mass-produced Valentine made from–what else but–English imported embossed paper and lace was produced. They were created and sold by Esther Howland of Winchester, MA, who is commonly referred to as “The Mother of the Valentine”.
“The popularity of sending and receiving [Valentine’s] cards [in England] grew alongside the improvement in postal services and methods of printing to the point in the 1830s where postmen needed refreshments to help with the unprecedented number of cards they had to deliver.” [3] In America the Valentine didn’t truly become a tradition until during the Civil War (1861-1865) “when [V]alentine cards often depicted sweethearts parting, or a tent with flaps that opened to reveal a soldier.” [4]
Vintage Valentine
“By 1900 printed cards began to replace hand-written letters due to improvements in printing technology. [Indeed] [r]eady-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one’s feelings were discouraged.” [5] It was in the Victorian era with advancements in printing and then the introduction of the “penny post” that sending Valentines became even more popular. The penny postcard Valentines were most popular during 1890-1917. [4] Sometime in the late 1800s sending Valentine’s cards fell out of fashion only to be revived sometime in the 1920s. Contrary to what some believe–Hallmark did not create this holiday. Hallmark’s first Valentine card was not produced until 1913.
Valentine’s Day now accounts for 25% of the cards sent each year according to the Greeting Card Association. [1] Today 180 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged in a holiday that in 2014 reached $17 billion in spending. [6]
“Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.”
~ An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
[2] History of Valentine’s Day
[3] Valentine’s Day in Britain–History and Folklore
[5] The Legend of St. Valentine
[6] Valentine’s Day Statistics
Winter Harvest–Ice Harvesting: A Winter’s Crop
Although the ice trade still exists today, its heyday was during the 19th century ice harvesting which was commonly referred to as the “frozen water trade”. While snow and ice had been collected and stored for use in summer for as long as anyone could remember, it wasn’t until a 25-year-old Boston entrepreneur, Frederic Tudor, set about to commercialize the harvesting of ice that it became a booming business. However, Tudor’s first harvest that he attempted to sell didn’t go over so well. He sent a ship full of ice to sail and sell in the West Indies in 1806. Upon the ship’s arrival though no one was interested in the product as people just didn’t understand the benefit of everyday use of ice!
Prior to this ice was only available to the wealthy who had the means to afford their own ice houses. It was not a product that had mass appeal as it does today. For the most part the storage and preservation of food was not reliant upon ice. People just didn’t understand the concept of cooling down a drink with ice. Physicians didn’t understand how ice could reduce fevers either. People simply didn’t know that they needed ice. While the use of ice houses, a building insulated allowing for the storage of ice into the summer, was commonplace in wealthier households as early as 1660 in England, the everyday use of ice simply did not exist. In addition, ice harvesting was a dangerous business.
So in order for the frozen water trade to become successful, Tudor had to convince people that they needed ice. He took it upon himself to go about the country convincing bartenders to sell chilled drinks and taught restaurants how to make ice cream. It wasn’t long before people fell in love with the idea of a cooled drink. By 1821 Tudor had created a real market for ice in several cities. Now that Tudor had created a market, he set about to develop tools to ease the harvesting of ice. It was in1826 that Tudor’s foreman, Nathanial Wyett, came up with the idea of using horses to plough cut the ice. [1] For in truth frozen ice became a field in need of harvesting.
Ice harvesting commenced when a foot of ice was on the river or lake. This typically occurred in January through March in the New England area and in December through February in Norway, two major geographical areas of ice harvesting. A crop that was dependent upon nature to freeze the field. And just like any other harvest–the field had to be cultivated in order for it to yield. Once the water started to freeze it was essential to keep it clear of snow as the snow would slow the ice from freezing at a deeper depth. So the field was cleared of weeds just like any other field. Only the weed that needed to be cleared from the field was snow.
Once the field was ready for harvesting it was then cut or ploughed into long rows and then once again cut across the rows to create the blocks. Interestingly it was often off-season farmers who worked at the harvesting of winter. The harvesters came and cut along the ploughed lines in order to release the ice from the field. Ice was pulled from the river or pond with ice tongs and sent off in wagons to be stored in ice houses. The ice harvesters wore special corked shoes and the horses had spiked horse shoes allowing them to work on the ice.
As with all crops, weather can have a positive or negative impact on the harvest. Mild winters, referred to as “open winters”, impacted the ice harvest as it was essential for the ice to be 18″ thick in order for the horses and men to work safely on the ice. Unseasonably mild winters resulted in ice famines, of which 1880 and 1890 being the most extreme. These ice famines led to the development of commercially produced ice. Ice harvesting eventually disappeared for the most part in the early 20th century as it then no longer was considered primarily a winter harvest.
At the peak of its production at the end of the 19th century, “the U.S. ice trade employed an estimated 90,000 people in an industry capitalised at $28 million ($660 million in 2010 terms), using ice houses capable of storing up to 250,000 tons each” [2]
Click this link to watch a fascinating and historic way of ice harvesting — Ice Harvest Film circa 1919
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
[1] http://mentalfloss.com/article/22407/surprisingly-cool-history-ice
New Year’s Traditions: Create a Harvest of New Year’s Resolutions
The end of the year brings with it the tradition of reflecting upon the previous year and making resolutions for the New Year. Resolutions are made based on the outcomes you would like to see in your life in the upcoming year. These resolutions essentially define the harvests you would like to see in the fields of your life.
This year I will…
New Year’s resolutions often get a bad rap because it would appear that many people tend to forget about them just a few weeks into the year. They oftentimes end up like many dreams in life—never getting off the ground or coming to fruition. If you truly examine what “resolution” means you will discover that by definition it is the “act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict, problem, etc.: the act of resolving something”. [1] What happens with a lot of resolutions is that people resolve to do something but fail to “find an answer or solution” [2] to achieving that very thing.
In other words resolutions often fail because solutions are not found to achieve them. If you look at resolutions as harvests that you want to see in your life, you see that the resolutions themselves define the fields you want to yield a harvest in. And as you well know—the crop that is harvested is determined by the seeds that are planted. Just like the harvest, resolutions need care and tending in order to grow. A good and abundant harvest requires a lot of hard work to cultivate the seeds that are planted. But first the seeds have to be planted!
So how do you do things differently this year? How do you come to the end of 2015 and celebrate an abundant harvest?
- The key is to actually put the work into our resolutions.
- Find the answer on how to bring about the result.
- Plant seeds of doing in order to reap the harvest.
- Turn the resolution into a goal with specific measurable results–make it S.M.A.R.T.
- Determine the time in which the resolution comes to harvest.
How to harvest a S.M.A.R.T. goal:
- Specific–What harvest do you want to yield? Know the specific crop you want to grow in order to plant the right seeds.
- Measurable–How will you know that the seeds you planted are growing? Know the specific milestones needed to cultivate your harvest and measure the growth.
- Achievable–Can you grow this crop in your field? Know what you can grow in your field and what will grow well in your field.
- Relevant–Is this the crop you want growing in your field? Know what needs to grow in your field in order to nourish your life or business.
- Time-bound–How long will it take to grow this particular crop? Know when the harvest will be and use this deadline to plan accordingly.
What harvests would you like to see in your life in 2015?
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing
Marian (McCoy) Boveri
[1] www.merriam-webster.com resolution
[2] www.merriam-webster resolve
Christmas Traditions–O Christmas Tree–How Lovely Are Your Branches!
Godey’s Lady’s Book
December 1850
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree, How lovely are your branches! ~ from “O Christmas Tree”
It’s time to celebrate Christmas and one of the many traditions that have come to be associated with this holiday is the Christmas tree. Whether it’s a real evergreen tree that was harvested at a tree farm or bought at a favorite Christmas tree lot or an artificial tree that is put up year after year–it is truly a welcome addition to the home at the holiday season. The practice of bringing greenery and evergreens into the home during the winter is as old of a practice as can be remembered. Decorating the home with greenery was in truth originally a remembrance and promise of the harvest to come.
It is said that in central Europe the practice of hanging a decorated evergreen tree upside down or creating a symbolic tree made of wood in the shape of a triangle as a symbol of Christianity became commonplace in certain areas as early as the 12th century. Legend has it that this practice originated with the 8th century monk, Saint Boniface from Devonshire, who went to Germany to teach the word of God. As trees were an important part of the inhabitants’ beliefs, the monk used the evergreen tree with its triangular shape to teach about the Trinity.
Another Christmas origin can be seen with the medieval practice during the 15th and 16th centuries of decorating an evergreen tree or branch with apples (representing the forbidden fruit) and wafers (representing the Eucharist and redemption). This was done for plays performed on Christmas Eve which at that time was also known as Adam and Eve’s Day.
- It is commonly held that the origin of displaying a Christmas tree as we know it was in Northern Europe, most likely Germany, during the 16th century.
- The first written record of the “Christmas” tree was in Riga, Latvia, when in 1510 a local merchant’s guild decorated a tree with roses, danced around it in the marketplace, and set it ablaze at the end. [1] This same written record refers to these same events occurring as early as 1476. [2]
- In 1530, there is a record of trees being sold in the marketplace in Alsace, France (then in German territory) for the purpose of being brought into the home. There was a law that restricted their height to 8 shoe lengths (which is slightly over 4 feet). [1]
- Early Christmas trees were decorated with fruit, nuts, and other edible foods.
- Putting lights on the tree is said to have originated in the 16th century with Martin Luther who upon seeing the light of the stars shining through the evergreen trees, put candles on an evergreen tree as representative of “Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.” [3]
While the Christmas tree was brought to America as early as 1747 by Pennsylvania German immigrants, it was still not a common practice as late as the 1840s.
- The first record of a public display of a Christmas tree in America was in the 1830s in Pennsylvania by German immigrants.
- It was actually Queen Victoria of England and her German Prince Albert that brought the tradition of setting up and decorating a Christmas tree into mainstream practice. As Queen Victoria was popular with her subjects, what she did and what she wore quickly became trends. A picture of the Queen and her husband standing around a decorated Christmas tree was widely circulated in London in 1848. The same picture sans crown and mustache to make it more appealing to the American public was published in Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1850 (pictured above) and the Christmas tree soon became an accepted and practiced Christmas tradition.
- In 1851 Christmas trees began to be sold commercially being randomly harvested from the forest.
- By 1870 putting up a Christmas tree was a common practice in America.
In the end the use of greenery in the home has always been symbolic of the light shining in the darkness, the hope and promise of new growth, and everlasting life. What better way to celebrate Christmas, which is truly about the hope and promise of a Savior that comes to be the light of the world, than with a Christmas tree?!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~ an Old Irish Blessing
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Day–Arrival at the Old Home Harper’s Weekly Vol II, 27 Nov 1858, p. 760
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
– from Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Thanksgiving, October 3, 1863
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the U.S.A. and Canada. The U.S.A. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It originates in the practice of making proclamations that set aside a day to give thanks to God for His provision. thanksgiving Day as we celebrate it is actually an expression of being thankful to God for the blessings of the harvest. Many equate the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Indians sitting down together to share a meal while giving thanks for an especially bountiful harvest in 1621 in Plymouth (Massachusetss). There are other claims for the first thanksgiving in America including one as early as 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida.
Thanksgiving as we know it today has more in common with the New England tradition of declaring days of Thanksgiving acknowledging God’s provision. Declaring a day of Thanksgiving in November in recognition of the provision of the harvest emerged as a regular occurrence in the 1660s. As New Englanders spread out into the growing country they brought along with them this tradition. The first official declaration of a day of Thanksgiving in November was in 1777 and others were declared from time-to-time until 1815. At that time it fell out of favor and reverted back to a regional observance to emerge once again in the 1850s.
In 1863 there were two days of national Thanksgiving declared by President Abraham Lincoln. The first on August 6 to celebrate the victory at Gettysburg and the other for the last Thursday in November in thanksgiving for the harvest. A proclamation had to be made each year to declare Thanksgiving’s observance until it was made a national holiday in 1941. In 1931 there were two Thanksgivings. Believing that moving the annual Thanksgiving observance one week earlier would give retailers more shopping days before Christmas, President Roosevelt issued a proclamation that Thanksgiving would be on the fourth Thursday instead of the last. It was actually this that caused Congress to finally set the national holiday.
Families gather together in thanksgiving with a feast commonly consisting of turkey as the main dish surrounded by stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, vegetables, etc. Pumpkin pie is a common dessert. It is common for families to have their own special dish that is served. It is a true time of tradition and remembering the past.
In the end Thanksgiving is indeed based on celebrating the harvest and as a time to gather the family together from near and far. It was promoted especially by Sarah Josepha Hale, the long-time editor of Godey’s Ladies Book (1837-1877), as a time to for the entire nation to express gratitude for its many blessings.
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish blessing
Holidays and Seasons–Christmas in July!
photo from www.glendaledailyplanet.com
Merry Christmas!
Well almost–there are only 6 months more to go. But wait–it really is time to celebrate Christmas–in July.
Some may wonder if the retailers have finally succeeded in bringing Christmas earlier and earlier to the point of absolute madness or could there be another reason for all this celebration?
Certainly there is some truth in using Christmas in July to create sales opportunities especially since there are no real holidays after Independence Day and before Labor Day. Creating a holiday in between is a great way to stir up sales–but retailers aren’t really to blame for starting this second Christmas celebration.
Before we look into its celebration, it is interesting to note that the first known recorded mention of Christmas in July was in the opera, “Werther”, written in 1892. In the story children practicing a Christmas song were admonished: “When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season.” Guess even back then no one really wanted to see Christmas come before its time.
- The first recollected celebration of Christmas in July happened in 1933 at Camp Keystone, a girl’s summer camp in North Carolina, where it was decided to hold a Christmas party at their camp-out complete with a Christmas tree, presents, and a visit from St. Nick. In 1935 the National Recreation Association’s magazine wrote “all mystery and wonder surround this annual event”.
- Of course what better way to popularize something than through the movies? The next known boost to this holiday was through the 1940 movie “Christmas in July”.
- Perhaps the most noble early celebration of Christmas in July comes in 1942 at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. The pastor, following a practice from a former church he had attended in Philadelphia, collected gifts and donations early in order to distribute to missions worldwide in time for Christmas. Things didn’t move quite as quickly back then as they do now.
- A Christmas campaign was instituted in July 1944 by the U.S. Post Office and the U.S. Army and Navy in conjunction with the American greeting card and advertising industries. A luncheon was held in July in New York to encourage early mailing for service men and women stationed overseas to assure the mail would reach them by Christmas. One must imagine that this most surely lent itself to a frenzy of Christmas shopping in July. A true retailer’s dream come true. Is it any wonder then that Christmas in July is something retailers quickly took a liking to?
- By the 1950s Christmas in July sales were commonplace in the U.S. It was a great way for the retailers to clear out last season’s merchandise in preparation for the coming season. Christmas in July was officially here to stay.
- There remains another Christmas in July origin (also known as Yulefest or Yuletide) which is centered around the thought that countries in the southern hemisphere who have their winter during this month want to celebrate Christmas during the cooler season just like their northern hemisphere counterparts do. As July is typically the coldest month, social gatherings during the winter easily led to festivities reminiscent of Christmas. In Australia, Christmas in July has become a big event with stores advertising just as if it were indeed Christmas and people decorating their homes and gathering to celebrate as well. It is believed to have originated with (or at least promoted by) an Irish group who upon seeing snow in July while visiting Sydney’s Blue Mountains thought it perfect for celebrating Christmas.
Whether or not you like the idea of celebrating Christmas twice–Christmas in July is here to stay. In the end–a little Christmas taken in its true spirit is something we all could do with having a little more of.
Merry Christmas!
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. ~ an Old Irish Blessing
St. Valentine’s Day–Celebrating Traditions
Seeds for Love
It’s St. Valentine’s Day and while certainly this day has become synonymous with love, early traditions also hail it as being associated with spring. In Slovenia, there is a proverb that says “Saint Valentine brings the keys of roots” and it is believed that plants and flowers start to grow on this day. During the Middle ages in England and France it was believed that this was the day that birds chose their mates.
There are actually a number of St. Valentine martyrs who are honored on this day. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia: “Emperor Claudius II executed two men — both named Valentine — on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D.” and it being these who are primarily remembered on this day along with a third St. Valentine from a Roman province in Africa. What is known is that the legends particularly of the St. Valentine’s executed by Claudius II have become somewhat mixed. It is held that the priest named Valentine was arrested for marrying and helping Christians, which would have been against Roman rule, and martyred for attempting to convert others. The Bishop Valentine is credited with the miracle of restoring sight to a blind girl and martyred for refusing to renounce his faith. Essentially the type of love that was originally associated with St. Valentine was sacrificial as opposed to romantic.
Certainly, as with most modern-day holiday celebrations, there were ancient traditions that came before. The Roman festival of fertility, purification, and protection called Lupercalia was celebrated from February 13 through 15. For nearly 800 years a lottery was held during the festival wherein a young man drew the name of a young woman to be linked with for the upcoming year. Sometime in the late 5th century AD Pope Gelasius I being less than happy with this practice put forth a declaration changing the lottery to include both men and women drawing a saint’s name with which to emulate throughout the following year. He is the one responsible for casting the day as St. Valentine’s Day. However, the day still remained a day for men to seek out the affections of women by often sending hand-written messages. This of course eventually evolved into the tradition of picking out a sweetheart for the day.
In 1381 Chaucer officially linked love to St. Valentine’s Day in a poem he wrote in honor of the engagement of England’s Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. “As was the poetic tradition, Chaucer associated the occasion with a feast day. In ‘The Parliament of Fowls’, the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine’s Day are linked:
For this was on St. Valentine’s Day,
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.” (1)
Legend holds that the first real St. Valentine’s card was sent by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London in 1415. Another long-standing belief is that King Henry VIII established February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day in a royal decree in 1537. It would be another century and a half “before religious devotional cards became non-religious cards to reflect the change in the holiday.” (2)
The traditional love poem “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue” makes its first appearance in 1784 in a collection of English Nursery Rhymes by Garland. (3) It became commonplace in the 18th century to exchange hand-made cards, chocolates, and small gifts on Valentine’s Day. While these traditions found themselves brought to America with the colonists, it wasn’t until 1847 that the first American mass-produced Valentine of embossed paper and lace was created and sold by Esther Howland of Winchester, MA, commonly referred to as “The Mother of the Valentine”.
And the rest is, as they say, history.
from www.pastispresent.org
The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
The honey’s sweet, and so are you.
Thou are my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine.
circa 1784 found in “Gammer’s Gurton Garland”
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand. ~ An Old Irish Blessing
(1) http://www.infoplease.com/spot/valentinesdayhistory.html
(2) http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/valentine.asp
(3) http://www.tennessean.com/article/20140214/OPINION03/302140007/We-can-honor-St-Valentine-by-opening-hearts
(4) Howland picture from http://pastispresent.org/2011/good-sources/%E2%80%9Cmother-of-the-valentine%E2%80%9D-esther-howland-worcester-and-the-american-valentine-industry/
Thanksgiving Traditions–A Harvest Celebration of Gratitude
Thanksgiving, as we have come to know it, is a day set aside during November in which to express gratitude for the blessings received in relation to the harvest. It comes at the end of November when the harvest season has finished and the many tasks of preserving the harvest have been completed. As with all traditions, it is also a time of remembrance and a way of connecting the present to the past as well as to the days to come.
Harvest season was traditionally a time of preparation for the long winter ahead when food was scarce and surviving the winter was indeed a challenge. So many of us today are disconnected from the struggles that the winter season brought to just survive. It is through the traditions of taking time out to be thankful for all we have received and been given that we remain connected to those that went before us.
As you celebrate Thanksgiving this year be mindful of the traditions of the day–both old and new. It is these very things that keep us connected to all generations. Sometimes it is the simplest of things that create our special memories. Be conscious of these traditions–both large and small–this year. Take time to treasure your family through the traditions of the day.
Thanksgiving is also a great time to take stock and reflect upon the fields we have sown into during the past year and assess the yield they have brought in harvest. What have the harvests of your fields produced? Did you sow into a field and then cultivate it so that the harvest was abundant? Did you sow into a field and then have the seeds eaten by the birds (oh and they will come) or did your field become choked with weeds? Were you a good steward of all that has been given to you? These are the things to reflect upon in our gratitude in order to have a chance to secure a better harvest in the future.
So I invite you this Thanksgiving to celebrate the harvest of all the fields of your life. Count your blessings not only in abundance but in lessons learned. Take time to reflect upon your fields. Ready the soil of the coming year through the reflection of your blessings and even your lessons. There is always something to be grateful for and it is through thanksgiving that we cultivate our fields for future blessings.
Wishing you and your family a most blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! 
Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
~An Old Irish Blessing
Fall Harvest Traditions: Jack-O’-Lantern and Sugar Pumpkins–Carve or Cook?
Did you know that most of the pumpkins we see these days are cultivated for carving and not for eating?
Connecticut Field Pumpkin image from website
Most of us are familiar with the large pumpkins primarily used for carving that are commonly found in the stores around this time of year. These pumpkins are either Connecticut Field Pumpkins or Howdens and both weigh in between 10 and 20 pounds. The Connecticut Field Pumpkin is actually an heirloom pumpkin of the Native American Indians and colonists and is the perfect image of a pumpkin as we know them. Their taste is more plain and bland, not sweet, and their texture is stringy and somewhat watery for pie. They have thin walls, a large seed pocket, and relatively small proportion of flesh compared to the size.
Howden Pumpkin image from website
Howdens were developed in the 1970s by of John Howden of Massachusetts for the primary purpose of carving. They are actually very similar to the Connecticut Field pumpkin but have more uniform ridges, a thicker wall and sturdy stem. These are the pumpkins primarily found at supermarkets and roadside farm stands. They were developed primarily for look and suitability for carving. Since the 1970s these are the pumpkins that we have come to more commonly know. Oftentimes these pumpkins are cooked and the resulting dish is disappointing as these pumpkins were developed for looks and carving as opposed to taste.
Sugar Pumpkins are Smaller than Carving
One of the better pumpkins for cooking is the sugar pumpkin oftentimes referred to as the pie pumpkin. This pumpkin is a cousin of the Connecticut Field pumpkin but smaller as can been seen in the picture above. These pumpkins have a thicker wall and are sweeter and drier than the carving pumpkins and are less grainy. One pumpkin will typically yield the amount of puree as a 15-16 oz. of canned puree.
Have you ever tried cooking a carving pumpkin and been disappointed?
Let’s Connect
Facebook
Twitter
Google +1
LinkedIn