Pumpkin 'Long Island Cheese'
Cucurbita moschata
A funny name for a gorgeous pumpkin, Long Island Cheese is a classic American heirloom with a rich history. While its name comes from its cheese wheel shape, it’s also renowned for making some of the best pumpkin pies since the 1800s. It’s one of the oldest pumpkin varieties cultivated in the United States and was a staple in the agricultural history of New York and New Jersey.
This pumpkin became commercially available in 1807, gaining popularity with Long Island cooks. It remained a favorite through the mid-20th century, before nearly disappearing with the modernization of the food industry. From the Ark of Taste:
The canned pumpkin industry preferred rounder varieties, with smooth surfaces that rolled off conveyor belts with ease for faster processing. Retailers sold fewer seeds of the Long Island cheese pumpkin, and it disappeared entirely from commercial seed catalogs in the 1970s.
This is where local seed saver Ken Ettlinger comes in. Growing up on Long Island, Ettlinger had fond childhood memories of his mother’s Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, and he scoured farms on the east end for this coveted pumpkin. He noticed that fewer farms were growing the pumpkin, since the seed was so hard to find. He decided to save the seeds from whatever cheese pumpkins he could find and eventually traveled to Maryland, where Curtis Sylvestor Showell, a squash seed breeder, planted the seeds and grew enough to supply a commercial retailer. They reintroduced the pumpkin commercially, and it again gained popularity . . . .
Today, it's better known for its ornamental qualities, but many insist on restoring its culinary value. Some, like Goldman, say that cheese pumpkins are sorely lacking in flavor and texture, while others consider it to be the only pumpkin worthy of baking into pie. You'll have to try for yourself, but Long Island Cheese did make it into the Ark of Taste. In fact, in an effort to reclaim this pumpkin back into the culinary vernacular, the Long Island Regional Seed Consortium started the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Project!
Medium-large pumpkin. Long storage.
I’ve become a bit obsessed with ornamental pumpkins. With so many unique shapes and colors, it’s hard not to want to try them all. And I mean, they're also edible and store well, so we're basically being very practical here.
Packet contains approximately 15 seeds.
DETAILS
Plant type: Annual
Days to maturity: 108 days
Light preference: Full sun
Plant spacing: See below
Hybrid status: Open pollinated
SOWING
Depth: 1/2–1 inch
Germination: 75–95°F
How to Grow
Sow indoors 3 weeks before transplanting out after danger of frost. Roots do not like disturbance, so we prefer to direct sow. Direct sow in late spring when soil is at least 70°F and danger of frost has passed. Sow 2 seeds at the appropriate spacing for the variety's vine length, 1/2- to 1-inch deep. Thin to one plant.
Spacing: To keep things simple, we space 36” apart in rows 6’ apart (as close as 24" on a trellis), but here are more-precise recommendations. Between-row spacing: bush plants, 4-5’; short vines, 6’; long-vines, 12’. In-row spacing: small, 18–24”; medium, 24–36”; large to XL, 36–72”.
Harvest & Storage
Pumpkins can tolerate a couple light frosts, but temperatures below 28°F can damage fruit. Harvest when fruit color is fully developed. Sun cure in the field for about a week or cure indoors by keeping fruits at 80–85°F with good air ventilation. Black pumpkins and white pumpkins are both sensitive to sun scald and should be brought out of direct sunlight once foliage starts to die back. Store at 50–60°F with 50–70% relative humidity and good ventilation.
SHIPPING
FREE: $100 or more on any seeds
$3.95: 1–9 seed packets
$7.95: 10+ seed packets
Photo Credit: Petal Back Farm & Johnny's Selected Seeds
