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Sugar Pumpkin or German Ginger

6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 kg pumpkin, just ripe
• 2 g finely crushed ginger
• 2 g white pepper
• 1 kg finely ground sugar

Instructions

1. Overripe pumpkin becomes mealy after preserving; it's best to separate the just-ripe pumpkin from the plant and let it sit in a cool place for a few weeks.
2. Cut the pumpkin into finger-thick strips, peel, remove seeds and soft pulp with a silver spoon, slice, and place in cold water; let it become quite soft, but not boil.
3. Place on a sieve and let the water drain completely.
4. Place in a porcelain dish, sprinkle with 2 grams of finely crushed ginger and the same amount of white pepper, add 1 kilogram of finely ground sugar per kilogram of pumpkin, and let stand covered overnight.
5. The next day, boil the resulting sugar juice, add the pumpkin, and cook until it has become clear.
6. Fill into jars, reduce the sugar juice to a syrup, and pour hot over the pumpkin.
7. If the juice becomes thin after a few days, reduce it again.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.