Squash Pie—Delicate and Delicious

When the yard and fields are white and more snow is falling, most farm women depend on their imagination and cooking skills to fix meals that bring cheer to everyone at the dinner table. “At our house,” says a New Hampshire homemaker, “we often celebrate by having our favorite squash pie for dessert. And while our forks are busy, someone, thinking of more pies next year, almost always suggests that we plant more squash in our garden.”

New England country kitchens were the birthplace of these smooth, satiny custard pies. Now cooks in all areas, especially if they grow squash, make pies with it. The Butternut, with its yellow-orange flesh, is the top-ranking autumn variety. Buttercups and Blue Hubbards assume a pie role, come December. When there’s freezer space, pie bakers like to cook, mash, package and freeze each variety at its flavor peak—and certainly no later than early January, when squash in home storage often need to be salvaged. Then they can make the pies throughout winter and spring.