On Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:06:49 -0400, songbird
wrote:

Sean Straw wrote:
...
Speaking of winter squash, I still have 150-200 lbs of Rouge Vif
D'Etamptes ("Cinderella" Pumpkin) in my garage. Last year, we
finished the last of the prior year's harvest in June, about the time
I was seeding the 2011 garden crop.

ooh! *all ears*

what it is like and how do you store it?

It is the large round red-orange (thus the "rouge" in the French name)
pumpkin that has been flattened in the middle. Harvest when ripe,
leaving a 3-4 inches of stem on (never cut squash stems short if you
intend to store them or they'll start rotting near the stem). Wash
off, then wipe down with a dilute bleach solution, which helps to
mitigate bacterial issues on the skin while in storage.

Store in a cool dry location. My garage is fine, though I could store
them in the barn. Periodically check and rotate storage in case
something starts to go bad. I usually plant a 6-12 or more plants of
this variety each year. I have others of course, but this is such a
great pumpkin, it's always there. We'll let the kids etch patterns
into the skins of a few while they're still yellow-orange, which
causes them to scar over as they ripen - rather than growing somethign
we've got to cut open and waste (though yea, we still do that with
some others once in a while - the kids like "Dill's Atlantic Giant",
which is worthless as an eating pumpkin).

They are excellent roasting pumpkins - cut them into large wedges
place into a roasting pan and smear them with some olive oil and bake
them (which my wife deals with - I don't know the specifics of temp or
time on this). Resulting roast squash is good as a side with a meal
(a smidge of butter perhaps), or for pumpkin risotto, squash soup
(delightful, especially during the winter months), pies, etc. When we
use in squash soup, we usually pull a few pieces out a bit early from
roasting so they're firmer when we blend the soup base.

A medium "fig" (or teardrop) shaped red-orange pumpkin called
"Potimarron" is also a good cooker, but I didn't find it to be all
that prolific.

For something different, you could try growing Blue Hubbard (which has
a grey-blue skin). That's capable of producing some whoppers, though
the skin and flesh is quite firm which makes it more of a chore to cut
up. Makes great pies, but I didn't find it to be as good for soup.