Like many Gourmet recipes of the ’70s (including this Two Potato Sauté), this recipe from the magazine’s 1978 November issue makes clever use of a melon baller. In this case, the tool is used to carve the flesh of a pumpkin into perfectly uniform, snack-size spheres. These spheres cook quickly in a vinegar-spiked syrup full of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, candying and pickling them in one fell swoop.

　　Think of these pickled pumpkin balls almost like an autumnal chowchow—a sweet, tangy condiment to go with all of the savory, meaty, roasted flavors on your Thanksgiving dinner table. These can be made a week in advance, which means that you can get all of your prepping and pumpkin-scooping out of the way the weekend before the holiday.

　　

Ingredients

Makes 1 pint

　　1 pumpkin

　　1⅔ cups sugar

　　¾ cup apple cider vinegar

　　1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces

　　6 cloves

　　6 whole allspice

　　Four 2-inch strips lemon peel

　　

Step 1

With a 1-inch melon-ball cutter, scoop out enough balls from the flesh of a pumpkin to measure 2 cups. In an enameled or stainless steel saucepan combine 1⅔ cups sugar, ¾ cup cider vinegar, ½ cup water, 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces, 6 cloves, 6 whole allspice, and four 2-inch strips of lemon peel.

　　

Step 2

Bring the liquid to a boil over moderate heat, stirring and washing down any sugar crystals clinging to the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in cold water until the sugar is dissolved, and cook the syrup, undisturbed, for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin balls, simmer the mixture for 15 minutes, and transfer the balls with a slotted spoon to a 1-pint jar. Reduce the syrup over high heat to 1 cup, pour it and the spices over the balls, and let the mixture cool. Chill the mixture, covered, for at least 3 hours. Transfer the pickles to a small serving bowl. Keeps, covered and chilled, for 1 week.