Pumpkin Show 2006: The Food

Above: One of the many things you would not have guessed could be made with pumpkin...

During my youth, our next door neighbor always brought us two tins of pumpkin cookies with chocolate chips at Christmastime—long one of my favorites. Throughout the year, I enjoyed pumpkin bread, pumpkin doughnuts and fritters, and, of course, pumpkin pie. Then, when I lived in Puerto Rico, I learned to savor the hearty chunks of calabasa (Caribbean pumpkin) in the beans and rice. Given my past experience, I felt duly prepared for the menu at the 100th Annual Circleville Pumpkin Show.

I eased into things on Thursday night with a single piece of pumpkin cream fudge. The fudge was spicy with nutmeg and cinnamon. I didn’t need a quarter-pound, but they wouldn’t sell me less. Unfortunately, the fudge did not weather the rain, soaking through the paper bag and becoming an inedible mass of pumpkin goop. It was good while it lasted… Smelled just like the Yankee candles, too.

Friday I was determined to sample zanier treats.

I started my afternoon with an oversized pumpkin creampuff. The puff pastry was exceptional, and the pumpkin taste was not overwhelming. I inhaled the half-pound of fat in five minutes. The day was off to a stellar start.

For five months Keryn told me about the superior kettle korn at the Windsor Fair in Maine, before we learned they didn’t sell it there anymore. Pumpkin Show 2006 to the rescue. Fresh from the giant wok, into a paper bag, the salty-sweet treat. It brought a smile to her face, important because…next, I wanted to try the pumpkin burger. I’d seen the booth on Thursday night and couldn’t believe my eyes. Keryn shook her head at me when I said I was going to go for it. I marched up and stated my order, only to learn that they were sold out and wouldn’t have more for at least forty minutes.

Disoriented by disappointment, I scanned the nearest stands. And there it was, singing its siren song: pumpkin chili. My four dollars were in the woman’s hand before I had time to reconsider. The chili had a rich flavor and proved a welcome source of comfort in the brisk air. The problem with the chili was that if you had given me a cup without telling me the secret ingredient, I don’t think I would have guessed it. The pumpkin may have added something to the mix, but it was so subtle I couldn’t find it.

Above: Fried Twinkies!

An hour later, I gave in to the little boy inside who sees “deep-fried Twinkies” and cannot resist the urge. Yeah, I know it’s not pumpkin-flavored. I should have made a return trip to the pumpkin burgers stand or tried something more exotic: pumpkin crepes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin pizza, pumpkin waffles… Instead, I saw someone eating a deep-fried Snickers bar and stopped dead in my tracks. It was one of the more difficult decisions of the weekend – deep-fried candy bar, cookie dough, or Twinkie… I went for the Twinkie and was not disappointed. Genius, I tell you. Albert Einstein, Tom Edison, and Copernicus with a warm cream filling.

For our final treat of the weekend, we went for the salt-and-vinegar French fries. I’ve had a lot of French fries in my life, and have devised four ranked categories:

1. Real Parisian brasserie or café (esp. good with rare steak)
2. State fair / In-N-Out Burger
3. McDonald’s
4. All others

The Pumpkin Show fries were solidly Category 2. Fresh potato, starchy and limp, the kind you can’t quit eating. Spritzed generously with cider vinegar and sprinkled with salt, we went through a large serving in seven minutes. Mmm…getting hungry just thinking about them. Next year we’re going to start with the fries.

Next stop… the fruits and vegetables building…

- Normal Guy (reporting from somewhere in Maryland...)