A Post Pertaining to Pumpkin Pie Purists

Butternut Squash

Denise has been making pumpkin pies out of home-grown pink banana squash, butternut squash (pictured), Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck Squash (our favorite to grow), and also pumpkins for over a decade. Pumpkin pie is my favorite dessert, and when I was a kid it was my favorite food, period. I was a pumpkin pie purist--if you're going to call it pumpkin pie, it should be, well, pie, made out of pumpkin, right? That's what I thought, too, until while visiting a friend, I tasted pumpkin pie made with pink banana squash. It tasted like pumpkin pie, but better, and the texture was smoother!

By the way, I am still a pumpkin pie purist when it comes to other things flavored with pumpkin. I don't care for (and never have) most of the pumpkin-flavored items that appear in the stores and in recipes online around Thanksgiving and Christmas like candles, air freshener, cookies, crispy treats, candy, ice cream, or oven pastries. I especially do not care for pumpkin flavored coffee (I am also somewhat of a coffee purist, so this is just waaaay toooo over the top). Pumpkin bread is about the only exception--I like it.


Now, back to the pumpkins and pies. Sorry purists, but the pumpkin in our pies may not be pumpkin--at least not the pumpkin that we think of and often see on the label of some cans of "pumpkin" on store shelves.

Dickinson Pumpkins

In fact, Libby, the company responsible for about 80 percent of the canned "pumpkin" in the market, had a "pumpkin" developed especially to increase yields and improve taste and texture. It is more closely related to the butternut squash (C. moschata), than a true pumpkin (C. pepo).  On a can of Libby's it clearly says "100% Pure Pumpkin." While a slice of pumpkin pie is featured on the the label, there is no orange spherical pumpkin pictured except in a seal that proclaims "100 Years of Quality." The pumpkin in Libby's is the Dickinson pumpkin, a pinkish oblong squash. If Libby put that on the label most folks would pass it right by.

"Isn't that false labeling?" you may ask. The "pumpkin" in those cans can be any golden-fleshed winter squash: pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo), butternut (C. moschata), hubbard, Boston marrow (C. maxima), and so forth. Here is the official FDA policy:

CPG Sec. 585.725 "Pumpkin" -
Labeling Articles Made from Certain Varieties of Squash

  

BACKGROUND:

Canned "pumpkin" has for many years been packed from field pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) or certain varieties of firm-shelled, golden-fleshed, sweet squash (Cucurbita maxima), or mixtures of these. Pumpkin and squash are sometimes mixed intentionally to obtain the consistency most acceptable to users.

Since l938, we have consistently advised canners that we would not initiate regulatory action solely because of their using the designation "pumpkin" or "canned pumpkin" on labels for articles prepared from golden-fleshed, sweet squash, or mixtures of such squash with field pumpkins. In the absence of any evidence that this designation misleads or deceives consumers we see no reason to change this policy.

POLICY:

In the labeling of articles prepared from golden-fleshed, sweet squash or mixtures of such squash and field pumpkin, we will consider the designation "pumpkin" to be in essential compliance with the "common or usual name" requirements of sections 403(i)(l) and 403(i)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the "specifying of identity" required by section 1453(a)(1) of the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act.

There you have it. The FDA lets the pumpkin canners can a butternut-type squash and sell it to you as pumpkin because, it turns out, we consumers prefer butternut squash over pumpkin for pies. We just don't realize it. But we probably wouldn't buy it if it were labeled accurately.

This particular pumpkin practice has been going on for nearly a hundred years, and those of us who like to eat pumpkin pie have enjoyed the results. Having tasted a better "pumpkin" pie made from a squash other than pumpkin, I have to say this is a good thing. And, unless you are about a hundred years old or know someone that bakes pumpkin pies from scratch with real pumpkins, you've likely have never actually consumed a piece of 100% real pumpkin pie.

However, this kind of thing is one of the main reasons we like to grow as much of our own food as possible, or buy it from local organic farmers. Even though there are labeling  laws, regulations, and policies, we still don't know what is in our store-bought food. The food industry can include things in our food without mentioning that addition on the label if the added substance is categorized as an industry standard or as generally safe. See Why and How We Make Our Own Ice Cream.

When we grow our own vegetables, fruits, eggs, milk, and meat, we know exactly what goes into that food and therefore what ends up on our table. We realize that not everyone has the means to do what we are doing. In fact, we are not able to grow all of our food on our property, though we do strive toward that goal. We buy what we need from local farmers (at farmers' markets) when we can and from other trusted sources when we can't.

When you purchase your food, buy single ingredients and learn to make your own dishes and desserts. For example, find a "from scratch" pumpkin pie recipe, buy a pumpkin in season (or better, a butternut squash) from a local farmer and all the other things you need to make it, and then make it yourself! (Don't be afraid to ask for help from someone who knows how.) You'll be very happy you did.