Three pies: a pumpkin experiment with a timeless tradition
By Jenaye Antonuccio, recipe tester
photo by Sherry DiBari

“When a nation loses the ability to substantially feed itself, it is not only at the mercy of global commodity markets but of other governments as well.” Michael Pollan, in a letter titled “An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief”, published in the New York Times, October 9, 2008

Reacting to the practice of international trading of basic goods, economist Herman Daly wrote, “Exchanging recipes would surely be more efficient.”

Our ancestors did it.

Autumn harvesting from their own fields, they enlisted all family members to assemble any meals from handed-down recipes. Thankful gatherings at the table celebrated a season’s worth of hard work – they knew the source of their abundance because they had put in the effort to produce it.

Today, most people don’t have crops and livestock to reap from. But we can come close using our own hands and local resources.

Modern day autumn means colors muted in frosty mornings, football games and mmm… pumpkin pie. Tables will soon be laden with the first of the holiday’s feasts and will most surely hold one, if not two, familiar baked golden-orange pumpkin pies.

How much effort would it take to bake a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin, and how different would it taste?

It is pretty certain our ancestors didn’t open things like a can of processed pumpkin, dump in a can of evaporated milk, add a dash of pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice, and pour it all into a pre-made crust.

Last year, U.S. shoppers bought $10.3 million worth of canned pumpkin during Thanksgiving week, according to ACNielsen U.S., a marketing research firm.

A search about canned pumpkin online revealed a site for Libby’s pumpkin: (http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/libbys/trivia_answers.aspx). It swears they use a special kind of pie pumpkin, their own strain cultivated from the Dickinson, of which Libby’s owns the rights. “LIBBY’S pumpkins were specially developed over time,” the site states, “and are officially named the LIBBY’S Select Dickinson pumpkin. It is smaller, squatter, meatier, heavier and sweeter than the Halloween pumpkin.” Apparently, according to those who have seen it, it is oblong and unappealing-looking, with tan skin – similar to a butternut squash.

So we conducted an experiment.

Sugar pie pumpkins are smaller, sweeter, and sold in grocery stores, pumpkin farms or farmers markets. Their color is a deeper orange, inside and out, as opposed to a typical Halloween pumpkin.

The amount of money we spent (a dollar for a sugar pie pumpkin vs. $1.28 for canned) ends up about even: though we had to purchase things like flour, eggs, butter and spices, all can be used for other cooking adventures, which stretches the dollar over time.

We also wondered about evaporated milk. It is essentially milk with the water taken out, is thicker, and lasts longer on a shelf if one lacks refrigeration. It can be reconstituted and used as regular milk. Different pumpkin pie recipes cite using anything from skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk, or even soy, with additions of cornstarch for thickness.

Lining the counter were two sugar pumpkins, one can of pumpkin, and as a last minute just-for-kicks decision, one acorn squash.

Preparing the pumpkin for pie filling can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Chunks can be cut for steaming in a large pot on the stovetop, cooked in a pressure cooker, or halves can be microwaved in a covered dish.

We chose to bake them. Wash, slice in half, scoop out seeds (boil in saltwater for about five minutes, then drain. Add sprinkles of salt, cumin and chili powder and bake on a cookie sheet – yum!). Place pumpkin facedown in enough water to cover the bottom of a large, glass baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

This method makes the golden pulp spoon away easily from the skin. Let the pulp sit for a bit to drain off excess water. Puree in the food processor or blender until it becomes fine and smooth.
Two pumpkins made enough pulp for one pie with a little left over. The acorn squash was given the same treatment in a baking dish, and pureed the same way.

The colors were dramatically different. The canned pumpkin was rusty-orange; the pumpkins we baked and prepared came out golden-orange; the acorn squash was creamy white.
We used the same recipe (below) for all three pies, except for the acorn squash pie – we used real heavy whipping cream instead of evaporated milk.

When the pies were done, we let them cool slightly and conducted a taste test. With closed eyes and not being told which was which, most tasters by far preferred the real pumpkin as opposed to the canned. The flavors in the real pumpkin pie were prominent, less muted. The squash pie tasted surprisingly like rich custard. I took the pies to a party and they were gone within minutes. My son liked the squash pie so much that he volunteered for me to make another for his “healthy” Halloween party at school.

One-crust pie crust:
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 - 3 Tbsp cold water
Using pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour and salt until it resembles small crumbs. Add water and toss with a fork until all is blended and easily forms a ball. Lightly flour a flat surface and roll out with a rolling pin. Put into pie plate and pinch the edges round the top.

Pie filling, to be poured into crust-lined, 9-inch pie plate:
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups pumpkin or squash
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk, or one pint carton of heavy whipping cream, or 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
Some other optional ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
Whisk the eggs, then add the rest. Pour into crust-lined pie plate.
Bake at 425 F for the first 15 minutes, then lower temperature to 350 F and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until knife inserted into the center comes out clean.