Nothing compares to pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. First cultivated in Central America around 5,500 B.C., the pumpkin may have been one of the first foods brought back to Europe from the New World in the early 1500s. Europeans called them “pumpions” -- derived from “pompon” a French reference to their rounded form -- and soon used them in pies and pastries of all sorts. By the time the Mayflower sailed for America in 1620, it’s likely the Pilgrims already shared common pumpkin interests with the Wampanoag who would, thankfully, help them survive their first year at Plymouth Colony.

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