Marcella Tracy Peek wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:


You can make a good pumpkin pie from winter squash. (Most canned pumpkin
from the store isn't really from pumpkins anyway.)


I hear this occassionally. The labels don't seem to bear this out. The
ones I buy say "pumpkin" not "butternut squash" or some such. Given
that winter squashes and my stomach don't get along but pumpkin is ok,
you'd think I would respond to the canned squash masquerading as
pumpkin. So, where did you get them impression that "most canned
pumpkin isn't really from pumpkins".

marcella

Oh, I read it in a gardening magazine many years ago and believed it. I
even remember the article saying that the most common squash used in
commercial canned pumpkin was the variety "Golden Delicious". I probably
only remember that because the name is the same as the apple.
It doesn't matter which pumpkin or squash they put in the can. If it is
intended for use in making pumpkin pie it will say pumpkin on the label.
I wonder if any brands put the truth in the fine print somewhere?

Steve

I wonder if there is anything on the internet that backs up what I once
read.... I'll go look......

Yes, but not much:

Goldkeeper

105 days-6 to 12 pounds-pink to brilliant red. Vining habit. This
variety was used by the Stokely Canning Company for their canned pumpkin
operation until they were bought out by Chiquita and shut down about
seven years ago (putting an end to commercial canning-pumpkin farming in
our area. Back to corn and soybeans, everyone). It exhibits a fair
amount of variability in shape and color but makes excellent pies and is
very good in other types of squash dishes as well. Most fruits are
similar to Golden Delicious Hubbard, swelling and rounded around the
stem, but are not quite so pointed at the blossom end. Thick
yellow-orange flesh. $3.00/pkt. LIMITED QUANTITIES ONLY

That was from this site:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache...client=googlet


Also a little more in the introduction at this site:
www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/cgc_reports/squash95.pdf

Marcella Tracy Peek wrote:

In article ,
Steve wrote:


You can make a good pumpkin pie from winter squash. (Most canned pumpkin
from the store isn't really from pumpkins anyway.)


I hear this occassionally. The labels don't seem to bear this out. The
ones I buy say "pumpkin" not "butternut squash" or some such. Given
that winter squashes and my stomach don't get along but pumpkin is ok,
you'd think I would respond to the canned squash masquerading as
pumpkin. So, where did you get them impression that "most canned
pumpkin isn't really from pumpkins".

marcella

Oh, I read it in a gardening magazine many years ago and believed it. I
even remember the article saying that the most common squash used in
commercial canned pumpkin was the variety "Golden Delicious". I probably
only remember that because the name is the same as the apple.
It doesn't matter which pumpkin or squash they put in the can. If it is
intended for use in making pumpkin pie it will say pumpkin on the label.
I wonder if any brands put the truth in the fine print somewhere?

Steve

I wonder if there is anything on the internet that backs up what I once
read.... I'll go look......

Yes, but not much:

Goldkeeper

105 days-6 to 12 pounds-pink to brilliant red. Vining habit. This
variety was used by the Stokely Canning Company for their canned pumpkin
operation until they were bought out by Chiquita and shut down about
seven years ago (putting an end to commercial canning-pumpkin farming in
our area. Back to corn and soybeans, everyone). It exhibits a fair
amount of variability in shape and color but makes excellent pies and is
very good in other types of squash dishes as well. Most fruits are
similar to Golden Delicious Hubbard, swelling and rounded around the
stem, but are not quite so pointed at the blossom end. Thick
yellow-orange flesh. $3.00/pkt. LIMITED QUANTITIES ONLY

That was from this site:
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache...client=googlet


Also a little more in the introduction at this site:
www.ars-grin.gov/npgs/cgc_reports/squash95.pdf

Marcella Tracy Peek said:

You can make a good pumpkin pie from winter squash. (Most canned pumpkin
from the store isn't really from pumpkins anyway.)

I hear this occassionally. The labels don't seem to bear this out. The
ones I buy say "pumpkin" not "butternut squash" or some such. Given
that winter squashes and my stomach don't get along but pumpkin is ok,
you'd think I would respond to the canned squash masquerading as
pumpkin. So, where did you get them impression that "most canned
pumpkin isn't really from pumpkins".

The typical Halloween pumpkin is a squash in the species Cucurbita pepo (which
agrees with the Oxford English Dictionary definition of what a 'pumpkin' is).
They tend to be inferior cooked as they have been selected for shape, color,
and sturdiness in the face of the carving knife. There other strains of "pie
pumpkins" that make better eating.

However...

An acorn squash and a "typical" pumpkin are the same species (C. pepo).
So if you have problems with an acorn squash but can eat canned pumpkin,
there may be something in the processing that makes the difference.

Also consider that seed catalogs list as 'pumpkins' things that aren't the C. pepo
squashes that are the 'true pumpkins.' These include C. maxima types similar to
buttercups (including giant and white 'pumpkins.' 'Buckskin' is a type of
pumpkinish-looking C. moschata, or butternut, that is touted to farmers who grow
for processors because of its deep orange flesh and 'Cheese' (another butternut)
is very productive 'pumpkin' for processing. 'Neck pumpkins' or cushaws (C. mixta)
are long season squashes popular in the Southern states (though I grew a very
beautiful cushaw variety here in Michigan once).

*These last two species have the distinction of being resistant to squash vine
borers* a huge advantage compared with 'true pumpkins' in areas where borers
are a problem.

In the discussion of pumpkins at the following URL, the varieties mentioned for
pie include two pumpkins (C. pepo) and one butternut (Cheese), one buttercup
(Rouge Vif d'Etampes), and one cushaw. It also notes that "Cheese and Golden
Cushaw do not look like classical pumpkins, but may be easier to find in areas
with hotter climates. In general, these are sweeter than the Small Sugar pumpkins,
and are MORE OFTEN USED IN COMMERCIAL CANNING." [my emphasis]
http://www.ochef.com/847.htm

This University of Florida extension discussion of pumpkins makes it apparent
that the OED definition of 'pumpkin' (strictly limited to a variety of C. pepo) is not
the operating definition as far as current cultivation goes.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MV116

And it is interesting (to me, anyway) that at this site the *photos* aren't of pumpkins
(by the strict definition) but of various squashes!
http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/varieties.html

(The flattened and ridged orange ones are Rouge Vif d'Etampes C. maxima), the
white one possibly Lumina (C. maxima) and the flattened tanned ones are Cheese
(C. moschata). The ridged green ones look like 'Fairy Tale' which I grew once. It's
a C. moschata squash that can take on a some tan and orange color as it matures.]

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Marcella Tracy Peek said:

You can make a good pumpkin pie from winter squash. (Most canned pumpkin
from the store isn't really from pumpkins anyway.)

I hear this occassionally. The labels don't seem to bear this out. The
ones I buy say "pumpkin" not "butternut squash" or some such. Given
that winter squashes and my stomach don't get along but pumpkin is ok,
you'd think I would respond to the canned squash masquerading as
pumpkin. So, where did you get them impression that "most canned
pumpkin isn't really from pumpkins".

The typical Halloween pumpkin is a squash in the species Cucurbita pepo (which
agrees with the Oxford English Dictionary definition of what a 'pumpkin' is).
They tend to be inferior cooked as they have been selected for shape, color,
and sturdiness in the face of the carving knife. There other strains of "pie
pumpkins" that make better eating.

However...

An acorn squash and a "typical" pumpkin are the same species (C. pepo).
So if you have problems with an acorn squash but can eat canned pumpkin,
there may be something in the processing that makes the difference.

Also consider that seed catalogs list as 'pumpkins' things that aren't the C. pepo
squashes that are the 'true pumpkins.' These include C. maxima types similar to
buttercups (including giant and white 'pumpkins.' 'Buckskin' is a type of
pumpkinish-looking C. moschata, or butternut, that is touted to farmers who grow
for processors because of its deep orange flesh and 'Cheese' (another butternut)
is very productive 'pumpkin' for processing. 'Neck pumpkins' or cushaws (C. mixta)
are long season squashes popular in the Southern states (though I grew a very
beautiful cushaw variety here in Michigan once).

*These last two species have the distinction of being resistant to squash vine
borers* a huge advantage compared with 'true pumpkins' in areas where borers
are a problem.

In the discussion of pumpkins at the following URL, the varieties mentioned for
pie include two pumpkins (C. pepo) and one butternut (Cheese), one buttercup
(Rouge Vif d'Etampes), and one cushaw. It also notes that "Cheese and Golden
Cushaw do not look like classical pumpkins, but may be easier to find in areas
with hotter climates. In general, these are sweeter than the Small Sugar pumpkins,
and are MORE OFTEN USED IN COMMERCIAL CANNING." [my emphasis]
http://www.ochef.com/847.htm

This University of Florida extension discussion of pumpkins makes it apparent
that the OED definition of 'pumpkin' (strictly limited to a variety of C. pepo) is not
the operating definition as far as current cultivation goes.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_MV116

And it is interesting (to me, anyway) that at this site the *photos* aren't of pumpkins
(by the strict definition) but of various squashes!
http://www.pumpkin-patch.com/varieties.html

(The flattened and ridged orange ones are Rouge Vif d'Etampes C. maxima), the
white one possibly Lumina (C. maxima) and the flattened tanned ones are Cheese
(C. moschata). The ridged green ones look like 'Fairy Tale' which I grew once. It's
a C. moschata squash that can take on a some tan and orange color as it matures.]

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

Pat Kiewicz wrote:
...............................
.....................................
An acorn squash and a "typical" pumpkin are the same species (C. pepo).
So if you have problems with an acorn squash but can eat canned pumpkin,
there may be something in the processing that makes the difference.

Since she specified winter squash as causing her trouble, I assume
summer squash is OK. Since summer squash is C. pepo and halloween style
pumpkins are C. pepo, I would almost be surprised if she has trouble
with acorn squash.

Steve

Pat Kiewicz wrote:
...............................
.....................................
An acorn squash and a "typical" pumpkin are the same species (C. pepo).
So if you have problems with an acorn squash but can eat canned pumpkin,
there may be something in the processing that makes the difference.

Since she specified winter squash as causing her trouble, I assume
summer squash is OK. Since summer squash is C. pepo and halloween style
pumpkins are C. pepo, I would almost be surprised if she has trouble
with acorn squash.

Steve

"someone" writes:
Out here in the wilds of central England we call large
zucchinis...marrows. Personally I think they're awful: watery veg not
worth growing, but lots of old geezers here love to grow them and enter
them in veg. growing competitions in the autumn. As far as I'm
concerned, marrows are only good for throwing at cats, dogs and birds.

Well, here at the Antipodes (Australia) we also would say such large
zucchinis are 'marrows' and fit only for display or cattle food. The
optimal time to harvest zucchinis is the day the flower opens, or one
day later. No later than that. At this young stage they are delicious,
eaten steamed and with butter and pepper. You are not sacrificing your
crop by picking the fruit when so small--your plants produce much more
fruit if you keep it picked before it reaches any large size.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)

"someone" writes:
Out here in the wilds of central England we call large
zucchinis...marrows. Personally I think they're awful: watery veg not
worth growing, but lots of old geezers here love to grow them and enter
them in veg. growing competitions in the autumn. As far as I'm
concerned, marrows are only good for throwing at cats, dogs and birds.

Well, here at the Antipodes (Australia) we also would say such large
zucchinis are 'marrows' and fit only for display or cattle food. The
optimal time to harvest zucchinis is the day the flower opens, or one
day later. No later than that. At this young stage they are delicious,
eaten steamed and with butter and pepper. You are not sacrificing your
crop by picking the fruit when so small--your plants produce much more
fruit if you keep it picked before it reaches any large size.
--
John Savage (news address invalid; keep news replies in newsgroup)