This recipe was featured on our social media series "Flavors of the Mountain Past." It is from Sarah Rutledge’s The Carolina Housewife (1847), a collection of nearly 550 recipes prominent in mid-19th century Charleston.
Here's a festive treat for the fall season! Pumpkin chips, which many people still make to this day, were a popular snack during the fall and winter in southern Appalachia. Pumpkins, as well as cushaws and candy roasters (both are squashes like pumpkins), could easily survive in colder weather as long as they have plenty of space to grow and a long growing season (around 75-100 frost-free days). Farmers in western NC would typically plant pumpkin seeds in early to mid-summer, so their crop would be ready by fall. As long as the pumpkins and other squash were kept in a dark, cool root cellar, they could last all winter and sometimes even into spring.