New England
Long
Pie Pumkin
Probably the same variety as Nantucket Pie
Pumpkin and Negro. Said to have migrated
in 1832 from the Isle of St. George in the
Azores to Nantucket on a whaling ship
whence it was picked up by various
seedsmen and came north to Maine.
Burpee offered it in 1888 as St. George. It
was and remains highly esteemed as the
best pumpkin for Yankee pumpkin pies. It
was so widespread a couple of generations
ago that many people who grew up on
Maine farms never saw a round pumpkin
before leaving home. Widely grown in
Androscoggin County 60 years ago (an old-
timer remembers them stacked up on
porches like firewood), it was nearly forgot-
ten and narrowly saved from extinction.
LeRoy Souther, a Livermore Falls, ME, na-
tive who had been maintaining it for more
than 30 years, sometime in the late 1980’s
brought seeds to cucurbit aficionado John
Navazio at his Common Ground Fair
squash booth. Navazio took them with him
to Garden City Seeds in Montana where he
re-introduced them to commerce. 3–5 lb.
fruits look like overgrown zucchinis to the
uninitiated, but the telltale sign is an orange
spot where the otherwise all-green elon-
gated fruit rested on the ground. In storage,
the whole fruit first blushes, then glows
bright orange, signaling that its delicious
flesh is ready to be turned into incom-
parable pies. One of the best for continued
ripening after picking, Long Pie stored at
50° keeps all winter.
What makes it a “Pie Pumpkin”?
Pie pumpkins are smaller, sweeter, less
grainy textured pumpkins than the jack-o-
lantern types. The Long Pie pumpkin is a
dark zucchini-green ripening to pumpkin
orange. It is one of the very best for pies—if
we had to choose only one pie pumpkin,
this would probably be it. The fruits are
almost a perfect cylinder, slightly rounded
at top and bottom. Do not hesitate to pick
this even if it is still dark green—the idea is
that it will orange up in storage, letting you
know when it is at its best for making a fan-
tastic pie. Long Pie has virtually stringless,
smooth and brilliant orange meat.
Recipes
For any recipe, simply substitute your made-
from-scratch pumpkin puree for canned
pumpkin. It’s as easy as pie to make!
Pumpkin Puree
:
One 6-inch pie pumpkin
usually makes enough filling for one 10-inch
deep dish pie, or two shallow 9-inch pies. You
may also use the puree for pumpkin bread,
muffins, or cookies
First, scoop out all the seeds and stringy bits.
You may choose to wash the seeds and use
them for roasting. Next, there are several dif-
ferent methods for actually cooking the
pumpkin. Either cut it into pieces (skin on, but
with stem cut off) and put them into a
microwaveable dish, with about an inch of water
in the bottom and lid, or steam it on your
stovetop. In either method, it should take 15-20
minutes to cook through. The insides should be
soft enough to scoop out with a spoon. It should
come easily away from the skin at this point, so
simply scoop it out. If it seems watery, you may
strain it overnight in the refrigerator. If you like
your puree chunky, you are done at this point. If
you like a smoother texture, you can blend it
with a hand beater, food processor, or blender,
or beat it by hand with a wooden spoon. If
you’re not going to use the filling right away, it
freezes well, too.
Pumpkin Pie
Use your favorite pie shell to make one 9-inch
pie. Filling:
2 cups Long Pie pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Heat your oven to 425°F. In a large mixing bowl
lightly beat the eggs. Add the purée and the
remaining ingredients and stir to blend. Pour the
mixture into the dough-lined pan. Bake for 15
minutes and then reduce the heat to 350°F and
bake an additional 45 minutes or until a knife in-
serted comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly
before serving.
Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 ¼ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. cloves
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tbsp. canola oil
¼ cup chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, or
pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease loaf pan.
Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Beat wet ingredients together until combined.
Add dry mix to wet. Stir only until just moistened
(over mixing will cause it to become tough). Add
chips and bake until toothpick comes cleanly
out of center of loaf
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