Probably my favorite pie pumpkin is Small Sugar. Have you tried the neck pumpkins? They are the best, IMO. Tahitian butternuts are to die for. Most of the mini pumpkins are tasty too.

Agree. Most pumpkin used in pies is various varieties of squash, not pumpkins. Butternut and turban squash make a great pie. So does Long Island Cheese.

Dave

True many squash varieties make better pies than the squash that is called a pumpkin in the west. Libby's uses a strain of the Dickerson pumpkin which is a C. moschata but has the general shape associated with "pumpkin". Available from Sandhill Preservation.

You can get good pumpkin pies with real pumpkins but it takes more effort.

I think buttercup winter squash like Burgess make the best pies. The best word I can think of is fluffy. Unlike pumpkins and other winter squash, buttercup flesh is fluffy.

Agree on the Tahitians, if you have a warm climate to grow them. Not enough heat here.

My go to pie pumpkin is Long Island Cheese. My husband's favorite is butternut

Here is a link that might be useful: Hickery Holler Farm

Thaks to everyone for their comments! It gives me a lot
of interesting trials for pie. The fun of growing is always trying something I have not tried before.

While looking up the suggestion for "neck Pumpkins" on the internet, I somehow ran across a variety of squash/pumpkin
called 'Sweet meat'? The reports I read made it sound like
something really special for pies or just plain eating.

Can anyone out there commment on 'Sweet meat' squash for pie? I have never heard of this variety before. Not found
where I live. Easy to grow and prolific bearer in the midwest? Or just performs well in the pacific northwest?
I read it originated in Oregon.

Should fine wherever C. maximas grow. Should compete with buttercup and kabocha types. Have not grown it myself. Use to be a slate grey pumpkin in southern Appalachians which folks called the piemelon or pimelion.

I raised Sweet Meat for the first time this year and was very impressed. It not only survived the oppressive heat and drought of this summer but also put on an impressive number of quality fruit. They were not incredibly large (avg may have been around 3-4 lbs) but were more than adequate. It has bright orange, sweet flesh. It's definitely earned a repeat spot in my inventory.

I have had success with sweet meat here in the mountains of New Mexico and as of right now, it is on my permanent list.

The difference between Long Island Cheese and Sweet Meat being that LI is SVB resistant, and SM is not, right?

My personal favorite so far has been the jarrahdale. Big old world 6-10 lb blue-gray pumpkin, thick flesh, and so sweet I actually ended up having to drastically cut back on the amount of sweetened milk that I used in my recipe because the first pie ended up being almost too sweet to eat.

Found my first one at a supermarket at this time of year being sold as a decorative pumpkin for Thanksgiving.

Once I cut back on the sweetened condensed milk, everybody that tried it said it was the best pumpkin pie they ever had.

Glib,
Yes, you are right. Long Island Cheese is a C. moschata cultivar and Sweet Meat is a C. maxima cultivar. C. moschatas are more resistant to SVB than other types of squash.
Remy

Edymnion:

Thanks for the tip on Jarrahdale! My buddy from New Zealand claims they are the best. He tried growing them here in WI but failed. I think he picked them too early.
He even brought his seed back from New Zealand after going to visit family.

I did find them at a local farm stand but did not buy one.
Next fall I will have to give it a try. These are the first
Jarrahdale I have seen around here.

"Sweet Meat" makes a superb pie. I like the small "sweetie pie" pumpkins too. But if you use a field pumpkin like "Howden", you can make a really excellent pie... the trick is to cook it slowly ( like 325 for 2.5 hours ) and get the sugars to caramelize a little and then press it through a strainer.

Every pumpkin or squash makes a different tasting pie, and many are very good.

Oh I failed miserably with growing my Jarrahdale this year too. I swear I got the world's only all-male vine. I watched that thing grow all season, I watched every single flower bloom, and every single one of them was male.

Not a single female all season long.

Made my first pumpkin pie with my daughter, we made 4 pies from one pumpkin & had smash pumpkin left over.
I hope to grow the "Naked seed pumpkin" next year, we like the roasted seeds too.