How these two puddings became North Carolina’s unique Thanksgiving tradition
Turkey and pumpkin pie are great, but NC has two unique additions to its Thanksgiving menu. Read on to learn about these festive state delicacies.
As Thanksgiving creeps ever closer on the calendar, North Carolinians are checking the football schedules for UNC and Duke, deciding which Black Friday sales will have the best deals, and making their grocery shopping lists for Thanksgiving dinner.
While the staples for Thanksgiving across the country include turkey, green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, in North Carolina, shopping lists may also include paw paws and persimmons. That’s because two dishes, paw paw pudding and persimmon pudding, have been uniquely North Carolinian Thanksgiving traditions for many years, and families across the state will feast on them again this year.
However, not everyone in North Carolina is familiar with these old-school, traditional treats. So, what are these puddings? How did they become a North Carolina Thanksgiving tradition? And, perhaps most importantly, how can you make some to try yourself this Thanksgiving? Read on to find out.
What’s in a pudding?
First things first: When you hear that these two dishes are “puddings,” you might be thinking of chocolate pudding, vanilla pudding, or even butterscotch pudding. Whatever the flavor, the puddings most Americans are familiar with are creamy, custard-like desserts, often found in individual pudding cups that are popular for school lunches. Paw paw pudding and persimmon pudding are a little different, though.
These two puddings are, at first glance, closer to dessert bars, like brownies, blondies, or lemon squares, although they do not have crusts. That may seem unusual, but it’s actually only a slight variation on a pudding tradition that’s far older than disposable pudding cups, and which crossed an ocean to arrive in North Carolina.
In the United Kingdom, any dessert can be referred to as a “pudding,” but especially the dense, baked, not-quite-cakes which are served hot, sometimes with a sauce or custard on top, and are common in traditional English food, like bread pudding and plum pudding. If you’ve ever wondered about the “figgy pudding” referenced in the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” that’s another traditional English pudding. Paw paw pudding and persimmon pudding are both part of that same culinary tradition, but adapted by inventive North Carolinians to make use of fall fruits that grow well in the state.
Why paw paws and persimmons?
Well, as mentioned above, both paw paws and persimmons grow wild in North Carolina, meaning that historically, even those who didn’t have the resources to grow or buy fruit might be able to access them. That means that paw paw pudding and persimmon pudding were treats that a wide variety of people could enjoy at the holidays. But both puddings are considered slightly old-fashioned, highly seasonal desserts, and both utilize delicate fruits and are served at Thanksgiving. Late November marks the height of persimmon season in North Carolina, and the very end of paw paw season, meaning that putting both on your Thanksgiving table can be a way of giving thanks for both past and present.
Paw paws have been growing in North Carolina for centuries, and their sweet flavor made them a favorite in Native American cuisine and later with Europeans. There’s a good chance you haven’t seen one, since they’ve become less popular as a greater variety of fruits with longer seasonal availability have been introduced to North America. But they’re about the size of a chicken egg, yellow inside, and have been described as tasting like a cross between a mango and a banana, or like a papaya.
Persimmons, on the other hand, can include both a variation that’s native to North Carolina and the imported Asian persimmon tree. Although fruit from the latter is more common in grocery stores as it’s larger and sweeter, fruit from the former is known to have a “more complex” flavor, and the tree stands up better to cold weather, so it’s easier to keep alive in a North Carolina winter. Persimmons from both types of tree are a vivid yellow-orange color and have a sweet, delicate flavor similar to a melon or an apricot.
Proper pudding pairings
Both fruits found their way onto the holiday menu in North Carolina. If you’re serving paw paw pudding, and/or persimmon pudding, there is the question of how to serve it, where in the meal it goes, and if there are any garnishes, sides, or sauces that you need.
Given their sweetness, the proper place at Thanksgiving dinner for paw paw and persimmon puddings would be the dessert table. While there are some sweet sides at many Thanksgivings (sweet potatoes with marshmallows, anyone?), these two puddings have always been a “save the best for last” tradition.
If you want to dress them up, a dollop of whipped cream on top of your pudding slice is a nice addition for both texture and flavor. Custard sauce—which is usually vanilla-flavored and is often served with traditional hot puddings in Britain—is also an excellent addition to your paw paw or persimmon pudding.
Plan pudding for your potluck—or any other Thanksgiving meal
After all that, perhaps you’re ready to make some paw paw or persimmon pudding for yourself this Thanksgiving. It’s important to note that making your own (or possibly convincing someone you know to make one for you) is the only obvious way to eat paw paw or persimmon pudding—it’s exceedingly rare to find either dish on restaurant menus or being sold at the grocery store.
In fact, in the case of paw paw pudding, sourcing the paw paws might be the biggest challenge in the whole enterprise. You’re not likely to find them in a grocery store, although some farmers’ markets do sell them. If you live in a wooded part of the state, especially if there’s damp marsh or swampland nearby, you may be able to forage some for yourself from wild paw paw trees, although local laws and regulations around this may vary. Though wild paw paw can be purchased through online retailers, this can be relatively expensive.
Persimmons are generally easier to find, as some grocery stores carry them, but some home cooks prefer to pick their own if possible. Either way, once you have the fruit, you’ll want to follow one of the many recipes available for paw paw or persimmon pudding, which can be found online—many of them are variations on family recipes that have been passed down and enjoyed for years. Pick the one that looks best to you, be sure to time it so the pudding can be served warm for dessert, and enjoy!
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