Simply clean out, peel, and dice a medium pumpkin—a recycled
jack-o-lantern is fine. Simmer the diced flesh in a heavy casserole
with a cup of dark beer or porter, two or three tablespoons of malt
vinegar, salt, pepper, and spices to taste. It will take a couple of
hours over a low heat. As a tart “spoon meat” stewed pumpkin balances
the fatty goose and bacon-larded mock venison. Similar sweet-sour side
dishes can be made with squash, turnips, and parsnips, all common crops
in Plymouth that October 1621.