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Pie Pumpkins are pumpkins that are good for making pumpkin pies from.

They will have dry (i.e. starchy, not watery), sweet flesh with good, pronounced flavour and sweetness. At the beginning of the harvest season, they may perhaps be too dry even for pie, but if left longer, some of the starch will convert to water and sugar, making them better for pies.

Less water in them means better pumpkin pies (which are a custard, and a watery custard won't set.) It also means that you don't have go through the step of trying to simmer the water out to end up with more flesh in the end to work with -- which doesn't always mean more flavour.

Pie Pumpkins generally will be between 4 to 10 pounds (1 3/4 to 4 1/2 kg), and be far smaller than pumpkins preferred for carving. Large pumpkins are bad for pies. The larger a pumpkin is, the more the flavour is spread out over more flesh, weakening the flavour. It also means that the flesh needs to store a lot of water, making it watery, as well as coarse and stringy. Instead, for pies, you want flesh that is finely-textured.

To process a pumpkin for pies, see the entry on Pumpkin Purée.

Cooking Tips
For every 1 pound (450g) of whole pie pumpkin that you start off with, you will end up with about 1 cup / 8 oz / 225g of pumpkin purée to work with in pies.

A size of 4 to 6 pounds (1.8 kg to 2.7 kg) yields enough flesh to make 1 pie from.

Language Notes
Sometimes referred to as "Sweet Pumpkins."

See Also:

Pumpkin Purée

Other entries for: Pie Pumpkins

Amish Pie Pumpkins, Autumn Gold Pumpkins, Baby Bear Pumpkins, Baby Pam Pumpkins, Buckskin Pumpkins, Bushkin Pumpkins, Casper Pumpkins, Cheese Pumpkins, Chelsey Pumpkins, Cheyenne Bush Pumpkins, Cornfield Pumpkins, Cotton Candy Pumpkins, Dickinson Pumpkins, Early Autumn Pumpkins, Early Buckskin Pumpkins, Early Cheyenne Pie Pumpkins, Eastern 7 X 7 Pumpkins, Funny Face Pumpkins, Ghost-Rider Pumpkins, Gold Keeper Pumpkins, Golden Centennial Pumpkins, Howden Pumpkins, Howdens Field Pumpkins, Hybrid Pam Pumpkins, Jack-O'-Lantern Type Pumpkins, Kentucky Field Pumpkins, Large Cheese Pumpkins, Libby's Select Dickinson Pumpkins, Long Island Cheese Pumpkins, Mammoth King Pumpkins, Mystic Plus Pumpkins, Mystic Pumpkins, Pam Pumpkins, Pie Pumpkins, Small Sugar Pumpkins, Snack Jack Pumpkins, Spookie Pumpkins, Spooktacular Pumpkins, Sugar Treat Pumpkins, Touch of Autumn Pumpkins, Trickster Pumpkins, Virginia Mammoth Pumpkins

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Pumpkins
Alagold Pumpkins, Allneck Cushaw Pumpkins, Bookin Pumpkins, Cangold Pumpkins, Fat Boy Pumpkins, Fortuna Pumpkins, Gele Reuzen Pumpkins, Gladiator Pumpkins, Gold Strike Pumpkins, Goldilocks Pumpkins, Half-Moon Pumpkins, Happy Pumpkins, Howdy Doody Pumpkins, Ichabod Pumpkins, La Estrella Calabasa Pumpkins, Little Jack Pumpkins, Longface Pumpkins, Longfellow Pumpkins, Ornamental Pumpkins, Paint-A-Punkin Pumpkins, Peek-A-Boo Pumpkins, Pik-A-Pie Pumpkins, Prizewinner Pumpkins, Progold Pumpkins, Pumpkin Leaves, Pumpkin Purée, Pumpkin Seeds, Quintale Seme Giallo Pumpkins, Robusta Pumpkins, Seminole Pumpkins, Snowman Pumpkins

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Squash
Gourds, Squash Blossoms, Summer Squash, Ugu, Winter Squash

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Vegetables
Agave, Artichokes, Asparagus, Brassica Family, Canned Vegetables, Cardoons, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Frozen Vegetables, Garlic, Horseradish Tree, Leafy Vegetables, Lotus, Mixed Vegetables, Mushrooms, Pak Wan, Peas, Peppers, Root Vegetables, Sago Palm, Seaweed, Spinach, Sprouts, Tomatoes, Viscous Vegetables