Thanksgiving is quickly approaching, and many Americans are looking forward to their meal with family and friends. Immediately, most people think of pumpkin pie as a staple food item for their Thanksgiving feast. In fact, studies show that around 23% of Americans prefer pumpkin pie to any other flavor!

So how exactly did this dish come to be so popular? Well, Wakeland food science teacher Ms. Rodgers explains that “It started back when Abraham Lincoln was president, and he actually made Thanksgiving a national holiday… and they proclaimed that the yankee Thanksgiving would be turkey and pumpkin pie.” Ever since then, most Americans have seen pumpkin pie featured on their Thanksgiving plates.

Pumpkin pie originated much before the era of Lincoln, however. Wakeland culinary teacher Ms. Whitehead describes the early American colonists’ pumpkin pie, which was made when “they would hollow out a pumpkin and put milk inside, and spices, and I think honey,” creating a dessert much different from what we would see today.

WIN-TV reporters Ella Brookshire and Emily Stephens tried a later colonial pumpkin pie recipe and compared it to modern day pumpkin pie. What they found was that the pies, despite a few slight taste and texture differences, were remarkably similar. Even though times have changed in America, one thing has stayed the same: our love for pumpkin pie!