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The first pumpkins have started appearing at the Farmers' Market. Some were clearly the decorative type. At one vendor, I was told that the pie pumpkins will not be ready for a couple more weeks. They suggested a "Cinderella" pumpkin, and they said these are good for pies and baking. I did not buy one, but I did google it this evening, and people do seem to like them in pies and breads.
Has anyone here used a Cinderella pumpkin for baking? How does the consistency compare to a pie pumpkin that has been roasted and the pumpkin scooped out of the shell and pureed? If the people are there next week, I might buy one and try it.
I bought a Cinderella pumpkin at the farmers' market on Saturday when the vender sold it to me for the same price as the two pie pumpkins I also bought. It had a light orange skin with "warts" on it that remind me of peanut shells. Although he told me that they develop because of excess sugar in the pumpkin, I could find no supporting evidence for that on Google, and my husband (a plant physiologist) was doubtful.
Today I cut it in half, scooped out the seeds and roasted it my usual way, cut side down, in a heavy Calphalon roasting pan at 325F. It took 1 hour 40 minutes to get tender. I then scooped out the cooked squash from the rind and used my food processor. It is a bright orange, whereas most of my pie pumpkins are a browner orange.
I have decided not to use it for pie. The smell is very much what I would call more squash than pumpkin, and my husband thought so as well. I don't think it would make the kind of pie that we both would want it to be. I will use it in quick breads, possibly some rolls, and maybe soup. I have about 8 cups.
Later this week, I'll do the two pie pumpkins, so that I'll know if I want to buy any more from this vender. I'm hoping these will be more of what I would use for pie.
Am I the only one who makes such a strong distinction between pumpkin and squash? I know that most canned pumpkin actually uses squash, but I do not use canned pumpkin.
Hmm. After doing some more internet surfing, I found this pumpkin discussion at Sunset:
http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-veggies/#pumpkin-gree-goblin
The pumpkin I used looks like that Green Goblin pumpkin (Italian variety), except that it had tan bumps the color of peanut shell. The article recommends it fosr roasting and eating with olive oil and herbs. Other names for it are sea pumpkin or ‘Marina di Chioggia’.
Ok, more internet surfing gives me this:
It's a Peanut Pumpkin--only mine had a lot more of the "peanuts" on the outside. Here it does say that they form due to excess sugar. It also says it is an heirloom that was a cross between a Hubbard squash and an unknown pumpkin variety. That makes sense, given what I noted about its "squash" flavor.
Also, here is a pumpkin guide that has a picture of a pumpkin like the one I roasted. It is from France: the Galeux d’Eysines.:
http://www.bachmans.com/files/Email_Marketing/eClub/Insider/PumpkinGuide.pdf
OK, just one more:
http://fullfreezer.blogspot.com/2010/09/brode-galeux-deysines.htmlBack, many, many years ago when I was in college the dining hall would serve something called "New England Squash Pie". When I asked the cooks what it was like they would say "pumpkin pie" and, indeed, it tasted much like pumpkin pie.
Looking online for recipes it appears "squash pie" is made with butternut squash instead of pumpkins but has the same trio of ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg that is in everything come fall. I've always been too lazy to roast my own pumpkins which is, perhaps, why I did not think there would be much difference between varieties of pumpkins (or other squash) when you start adding sugar, eggs, and the trio.
One such recipe can be found at this link.
Aaron, I used to drag myself to do pumpkins until I found a simple puree recipe. I had been cutting up the pumpkin, cutting off the peel and either simmering it on the stove or in the microwave. That was tedious. Now, I cut them in half lengthwise (although the odd pumpkin I used this time would probably have been better split horizontally due to its shape), then use a grapefruit spoon to scrape out the seeds. (Note: I do not eat grapefruit or use grapefruit spoons. My mother gave me a set in my everyday eating utensils, and my husband's parents had some that we inherited. They do come in handy for other uses.)
I put them cut-side down in a heavy roasting pan (Calphalon) then let it bake at 325F. The small pie pumpkins usually take an hour or so, depending on size. Sometimes I can do two pumpkins at once. When the skin starts to collapse in on the pie pumpkins (or the flesh is tender), I remove from the oven, and allow to cool a bit in the pan until I can handle them. I turn each half cut-side out, cut into slices, and usually the peel comes off easily, and I put the pieces into the food processor to puree it. I measure it into containers, with some earmarked for pie, and others in half cup or one cup containers. I use it throughout the year.
It is important to use pie pumpkins. I think the variety I bought in Texas was called Baby Bear from Melissa's.
My mom always used our jack-o-lantern pumpkin--one reason that she always had a watery pie that took forever to bake--because she hated the idea of food going to waste, a trait that I share, although I send any jack-o-lantern off to the compost pile. At one point, when my father was discharged from the navy, and was unemployed for a few months, my mother was able to get a station wagon-load of big pumpkins after Halloween that the vender was giving away. We ate a lot of roasted pumpkin with butter in those months. When you are feeding eight children, half of whom are teenagers, you do what you have to do. It's amazing that I still like the taste of pumpkin.
I've never been able to make roasted pumpkin seeds that I wanted to eat. I only like them hulled, and I've not heard of any easy way to do that at home.
I was back at the farmers market today and bought a small Cinderella pumpkin. I want to compare it with the "peanut" pumpkin and the two pie pumpkins. I'll have to split it vertically, however, if I want to bake both halves at the same time. Even my large Calphalon roaster will not hold it if I split it horizontally.
Like Skeptic 7, I like to experiment with what I find at the farmers' market and to encourage these small growers.
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