America's Oldest Food Is Hiding in This Pumpkin Cheesecake

America's oldest food is hiding in this pumpkin cheesecake. Long before pumpkin pie, pumpkins were growing in North America for thousands of years — today we bake that forgotten story into a creamy fall cheesecake. In this episode of the Iron Spoon Kitchen, we recreate pumpkin cheesecake from scratch and trace the short, surprising history of the pumpkin in North America — from an ancient Native staple to America's fall flavor. You'll see how it bakes up, how it tastes, and why this familiar flavor has a much older past than most people realize. Preheat oven to 325° Grease a 9 inch springform pan or use non-stick spray Graham Cracker Bottom Crust – Bake crust at 350°, 8-10 minutes until fragrant. DON’T over cook. Mix together: ¾ cup Graham Crackers or 10 individual graham crackers 4 tablespoons butter 1 tsp cinnamon 2 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar 3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans – toast pecans first for better flavor Line bottom of pan with the mixture. If you want to do the side of the pan also, double this recipe. FILLING 4 – 8 oz packages cream cheese softened – leave out at least 2 hours 1 ½ cups firmly packed brown sugar 1 tsp salt 1 tablespoon lemon juice 5 eggs ¼ cup finely chopped pecans – toasted ¼ cup flour 1 pound pumpkin or 15 oz can 2 tsps pumpkin pie spice Place softened cream cheese in large mixing bowl, beat until fluffy. Gradually add brown sugar. Add Eggs one at a time and mix between each. Add flour. Add half the pumpkin then the other half, blend well. Stir in pecans. Pour into crust lined springform pan. Bake 325° for 1 hour 45 minutes or until center feels firm. [Check at 1 hour 30 minutes.] Turn off oven, crack door about two inches, let cake slowly cool 1 hour. This MIGHT prevent large cracks forming during cooling. Cool on rack for about 4 hours then put in refrigerator to cool completely. Cut with knife warmed in warm water. Dry knife before cutting and repeat warming for clean slices. #ForgottenRecipes #FoodHistory #Nostalgia Short Guitar Clip by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/