The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin: A Unique Winter Squash

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is a medium to large pumpkin, weighing between six to ten pounds. It is known for its distinctive appearance, resembling a wheel of cheese with its tan or buff-coloured skin and flattened shape. This variety of pumpkin is renowned for its culinary uses, particularly in pies, due to its dense, sweet, and mildly earthy flavour. With a fine-grained, stringless texture, the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin cooks up velvety smooth, making it a popular choice for creating delicious, creamy pumpkin pies.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkin's history

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is a member of the Cucurbita botanical genus, which includes zucchini and squash. Like many other heirloom squash and corn varieties, it was developed from Native American cultivars.

The vine that produces the pumpkin is believed to have originated in Central or South America and made its way to North American gardens via explorers and traders. It was introduced to the commercial marketplace in an 1807 seed catalogue by Bernard McMahon of Philadelphia, and was a popular variety grown along the Atlantic seaboard throughout the 1800s. It was commonly found in gardens and markets up and down the coast, and was mentioned in cookbooks and farmers' almanacs.

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin was favoured for its adaptability to the eastern seaboard climate, its smooth texture, long storage capabilities, and its use in pumpkin pie. Its name is a nod to its growing region and its unique shape, which resembles a wheel of cheese.

In the 1960s, the pumpkin began to disappear from seed catalogues, replaced by smoother, larger, and thinner-skinned varieties that were better suited to modern growing, harvesting, and distribution techniques for the canned pumpkin industry. In the late 1970s, Long Islander Ken Ettlinger began stockpiling and saving the seeds of the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, and collaborated with other growers to preserve the cultivar. Today, the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Project continues to work to bring the squash back to life.

Its appearance

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is thought to resemble a wheel of cheese, hence its name. It is a medium to large pumpkin, weighing between six and 10 pounds, with a flattened shape. The pumpkin's skin is described as tan, buff, or a pale peachy-cream colour, similar to butternut squash, with very shallow, subtle ribbing. The stem is slender and woody.

Inside, the flesh of the pumpkin is deep orange, with a fine-grained, stringless texture. The pumpkin is known for its sweet taste, and its smooth, velvety texture when cooked. It is a popular choice for pumpkin pies, soups, and stews.

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is an heirloom variety, first grown in Central or South America, and introduced commercially in 1807. It became popular in the Northeastern region of the United States in the 1500s and was mass-produced in the 1800s. However, in the mid-20th century, it was replaced by other pumpkins that were easier to process on a large scale.

Today, the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is making a comeback, thanks to the efforts of dedicated seed savers and farmers. It is known for its long storage life, sometimes lasting all winter, and its resistance to vine borers.

Nutritional value

Long Island Cheese Pumpkins are a medium to large pumpkin, weighing between six and ten pounds each. They are a good source of beta-carotene, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, and fibre. They also contain antioxidants and are low in calories.

The pumpkin's flesh is a deep orange colour and is fine-grained, dense, and stringless. The skin is tan to buff-coloured, with slight vertical ribbing. The pumpkin's seeds are flat, tear-drop-shaped, and cream-coloured, and are also edible.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkins are a good keeper, lasting through the winter when stored in cool and dry conditions. They are popular for use in pies, soups, sauces, preserves, curries, and desserts.

How to grow it

How to Grow Long Island Cheese Pumpkins

Long Island Cheese pumpkins are a variety of Cucurbita maxima, which originates, as the name suggests, from Long Island, New York. These pumpkins are known for their unique, flattened shape and deep ribbing, resembling a wheel of cheese, as well as their pale orange skin and sweet, flavourful flesh. They typically weigh between 8 and 12 pounds (3.5 to 5.5 kg) and have a long shelf life, making them a popular choice for both growers and cooks.

Soil Preparation:

Long Island Cheese pumpkins prefer slightly acidic, well-drained, and fertile soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Prepare your soil by mixing in a generous amount of compost or well-rotted manure a few weeks before planting. This will ensure your soil is rich in organic matter and has the nutrients needed for healthy growth. A raised bed or mound can be a good idea to provide good drainage, especially if your area tends to experience heavy rainfall.

Planting:

In terms of timing, these pumpkins, like most, should be planted once there is no more danger of frost, and the soil has warmed to at least 60°F (15°C). You can start seeds indoors 3 to 4 weeks before your expected transplant date to get a head start, but be careful not to disturb the roots too much when transplanting. Sow seeds about 1 inch deep, spacing them about 3 to 5 feet apart, in rows that are 8 to 10 feet apart. This variety is a sprawler, so you'll need to allow for plenty of room to accommodate its vines.

Care:

Long Island Cheese pumpkins require consistent moisture, especially during fruit development, so regular watering is essential. Aim for about 1 inch of water per week, either from rainfall or manual watering. To help retain moisture and prevent weeds from competing with your pumpkins for nutrients, apply a thick layer of mulch around the plants, taking care to keep it a few inches away from the stems to prevent rot.

As the vines grow, you can direct them in the desired direction and pinch back the growing tips once they've reached a good length to encourage more fruit-producing side shoots. Bees and other pollinators are crucial for fruit set, so avoid using any insecticides that may harm them.

Harvesting:

Long Island Cheese pumpkins are typically ready for harvest in about 100 days. You'll know they're ready when the rind is hard, and you can't pierce it with your fingernail. The vines will also start to dry out and turn brown. Cut the fruits, leaving a few inches of the stem attached, and cure them in a warm, sunny spot for about 10 days to further harden the skin, improving storage potential.

With the right care, you can expect a good yield of these tasty, cheese-wheel-shaped pumpkins, perfect for pies, soups, and other culinary delights!

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How to cook it

The Long Island Cheese Pumpkin is a medium to large pumpkin, weighing between six and 15 pounds, with a distinctive appearance that resembles a wheel of cheese. It has a buff-coloured skin, similar to a pale peachy-cream colour, and its flesh is deep orange, sweet, and stringless.

Long Island Cheese Pumpkins are great for cooking and baking due to their fine-grained, stringless flesh, which cooks up velvety smooth and sweet. They are very popular in pies, as well as soups, stews, and gnocchi.

Roasting

To roast a Long Island Cheese Pumpkin, first, preheat your oven to 400°F. Cut the pumpkin in half, and scoop out the seeds, setting them aside. Lightly apply olive oil to the flesh of the pumpkin and bake until tender, being careful not to let it burn (you may need to cover it with tinfoil). Once the pumpkin is done, let it cool, then scoop out the flesh and set it aside.

Soup

To make soup, place a soup pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Sauté one large chopped white onion, one large chopped carrot, and one medium chopped turnip. Once the onion is translucent, add spices such as cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and coriander, as well as salt to taste, and the pumpkin purée. Then, add chicken or vegetable stock and deglaze the pot. Blend the mixture until smooth, then add brown sugar and coconut oil, and blend again. Adjust the seasoning to your liking. Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of pumpkin olive oil, if desired.

Pie

To make a pie, start by making the pie crust by combining flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in vegetable shortening and add an egg. Moisten with enough water so that the dough comes together and you can form a ball. Cut the dough in half and roll out each half to form a 12-inch circle. Transfer to two 8-inch pie plates. For the custard, cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and cut one half into chunks. Microwave the chunks for about 12 minutes until soft, then separate the cooked flesh from the skin (you should have about 2 cups of flesh for the pie). Put the cooked flesh into a blender or food processor and add evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, and spices such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and allspice. Blend until smooth. Pour the custard into the uncooked pie shells and bake at 400°F for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for another hour or until the filling has puffed up and solidified. Remove from the oven, let cool, and then refrigerate.

Stuffing

Long Island Cheese Pumpkins can also be stuffed and roasted. One recipe includes a combination of bread, gruyere cheese, thyme, bacon or sausage, garlic, herbs, and heavy cream. The pumpkin is roasted at 400°F for about an hour and 45 minutes until tender, then the stuffing is scooped out along with the bright orange squash flesh.

Frequently asked questions