Endangered Pumpkin Pies

[Nosi]

That icon of Christmas and staple of Thanksgiving, the pumpkin pie, may be in peril thanks to some oddball weather according to Nestle. (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2009-11-19-pumpkin-pie_N.htm)

Nestle— which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S. — says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products through the holidays.

First it was tomatoes and potatoes...now it's pumpkins. Um...should I begin to...:eek: yet?

[Cleon]

Don't forget the Great Eggo Shortage.

[Lisa Simpson]

Unless you live near a Whole Foods. (http://www.seriouseats.com/2009/11/breaking-hope-for-canned-pumpkin-shortage-whole-foods-organics.html)

[Denver]

Hmm.. maybe that's why the pumpkin pies at my local Albertson's bakery are selling for $7.99.

[Darth Rotor]

Don't forget the Great Eggo Shortage.
I heard about that from my son, but mostly the news was yammering about H1N1. Rather annoying, that the media don't focus on what matters. :)

What kills me is that people were reportedly scalping Eggos, and getting sticker plus pricing for them.

If true, then ... well, that's why Guinness is my buddy.

DR

[666]

I haven't been able to buy Libby's pumpkin in the UK for some time now. The only thing I can find is "Paula Pumpkin Puree" which is a Canadian product adulterated with 30% squash.

[Redtail]

Two words... Sweet Potato.

[jhunter1163]

My wife makes our pumpkin pies from our jack-o-lanterns, so the canned pumpkin shortage doesn't impact us. She'd probably go all Soupy Sales on me if I brought a commercial pie home at Thanksgiving.

[casebro]

We've been eating pumpkins like squash. Split, clean, nuke for a few minutes. Then, as if it is a cantaloupe, slice it and cut the rind off, Cube the slices, nuke a bit more, serve with butter or ???

[bluesjnr]

I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever eaten pumpkin pie at Xmas time. How many countries have this as a Xmas staple? I assume this aberration is, like thanksgiving, Merican.

[Lisa Simpson]

Despite my avatar, it's not Xmas time yet. Pumpkin pie is a traditional food of the American Thanksgiving feast.

ETA: I don't make pumpkin pie, I make pumpkin dump cake.

[Cleon]

Despite my avatar, it's not Xmas time yet. Pumpkin pie is a traditional food of the American Thanksgiving feast.

ETA: I don't make pumpkin pie, I make pumpkin dump cake.

I can't tell if that sounds really, really good or incredibly disgusting.

[slingblade]

Pumpkin is squash.

[kuroyume0161]

1. Nothing beats pumpkin pie with fattening Reddi Whip. Yummy!

2. Le'go my Eggo!

3. I blame the 'Punkin Chunker's'.

:D

[steve s]

I haven't been able to buy Libby's pumpkin in the UK for some time now. The only thing I can find is "Paula Pumpkin Puree" which is a Canadian product adulterated with 30% squash.

Make your own puree.
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook/puree.htm

Steve S.

[Nosi]

No big danger? Alt treats abound? Just mother nature being...quirky then?
:D

[casebro]

If there is a weather problem with the pumpkin harvest, shouldn't we also be hearing about some problems with other crops? Corn, wheat, squash, Lima beans? Kind of makes me wonder if the problem isn't a manufactured shortage? Since they are a near-monopoly, Nestle's drove the price down, so farmers didn't plant as much, so now there is a shortage? I'll bet Nestle's makes as much profit this year as last.

[666]

I haven't been able to buy Libby's pumpkin in the UK for some time now. The only thing I can find is "Paula Pumpkin Puree" which is a Canadian product adulterated with 30% squash.

Make your own puree.
http://www.pumpkinnook.com/cookbook/puree.htm

Steve S.
I've tried pureeing fresh pumpkin before but it came out very stringy even though I tried to remove the fibrous bits. This suggestion to bake it first might give better results. Thanks.

[casebro]

There are different kinds of pumpkins. The best for cooking is called "Sugar Pie Pumpkins". They are smaller, cantaloupe sized or a step larger. Cook them first, run through a blender, and Pi them from there. Buy the smaller ones avter Halloween, they seem to make good 'squash' for dinner.

[casebro]

What, no Midwest farmers on this thread to comment on the weather conditions vs commercial/contract manipulations?

[WildCat]

Two words... Sweet Potato.
Am I the only person in the world who can't stand sweet potatoes? Those things are so disgusting...

[WildCat]

What, no Midwest farmers on this thread to comment on the weather conditions vs commercial/contract manipulations?
Well I'm not a farmer, but I do live in the Midwest. And this year has been exceptionally cool and wet, one of the coolest and wettest on record.

I do have a garden, and even my early tomatoes weren't ripe until mid-August. Usually I have tomatoes in mid-July. I know some other gardeners who didn't get any tomatoes at all this year. I'm lucky because my back yard faces south and I have unobstructed sun from dawn to dusk, quite rare in the city as most yards are shaded by buildings and neighbor's trees and the way the Chicago street grid is laid out most yards face either east or west, and of course half of the rest face north and you can't grow anything in those.

[GeeMack]

I live about 15 miles from Morton, Illinois, (one of) the Pumpkin Capital(s) of the World. Something like 80% of all the canned pumpkin sold in this country gets processed through the Libby's cannery here. Tons of pumpkins get shipped in from elsewhere, and we grow plenty of them in the area, too. The weather was cooler and much wetter than usual. It affected all the fruit and vegetable crops, but things like pumpkins and melons that grow right on the ground took a pretty big hit from the molds and fungus caused by the excessive moisture.

But, find a 2-1/2 pound Butternut Squash at your grocer and try this, my own recipe...

Greg's Award Seeking Faux Pumpkin Pie

Using a potato peeler, peel the skin from a medium sized butternut squash. There will be some light green stripes just under the surface skin. Skin it just past those stripes. Cut in half. Remove and discard the seeds. Then cut into cubes and place in a covered baking/casserole dish. Put about 1/3 cup of brown sugar over the top. Cover. Bake at 325° for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let it mostly cool. Put it in a mixing bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Then...

2-1/2 cups squash puree (above)
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon molasses
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

Mix all ingredients well with the electric mixer. Pour into two 9 inch pie crusts (or one large deep dish crust). Dust the tops with a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350° and bake for another 45 minutes (or another 5 to 10 minutes for the large deep dish pie).

Your guests will never know the difference. I actually like it better than pumpkin!

[Skeptical Greg]

Am I the only person in the world who can't stand sweet potatoes? Those things are so disgusting...There are at least two of us.. Can't stand anything made with pumpkin either ...

[Beerina]

I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever eaten pumpkin pie at Xmas time. How many countries have this as a Xmas staple? I assume this aberration is, like thanksgiving, Merican.

The rest of the world is the aberration, duh! :mad:


My mom made homemade pumpkin pies once. Alls I gotta say about the results is you should puree the holy hell out of the pumpkins.

[shandyjan]

I've never tasted pumpkin. Is it fruity or vegetabley?
When you say pie..is it real pie..pastry and filling, or a tart?

[GeeMack]

I've never tasted pumpkin. Is it fruity or vegetabley?
When you say pie..is it real pie..pastry and filling, or a tart?


A pumkin in a type of squash of course, so the flavor is more like a vegetable, but used in a pie it is almost always sweetened with sugar, brown sugar, and/or molasses. A pumpkin pie is a tart. It is made with a pastry crust in a pie dish, but there is no top crust. The filling for a pumpkin pie is a custard generally made from pumpkin puree, eggs, evaporated milk, and sugar. It is usually spiced with some combination of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, cloves, and/or cinnamon.

See Google Images: pumpkin pie (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&q=pumpkin%20pie) for pictures.