These three heritage pumpkin pies are locally sourced from a Maine family of bakers who I met through the late Keith Boyle who passed this fall. I met him many years ago at the Portland farmers market when he was affiliated with Uncle’s Farm Stand owned by Mike Farwell.

The pies are from Keith’s mother, Patty Boyle, his grandmother Gladys Gilbert, who still lives in Rumford and his great granny, Oressa Kaulback.

Classic pumpkin pie

Differences in pumpkin pie are often sublte.  Some variations include whipping the egg whites to a meringue to fold into the pumpkin puree or to use various additions like a touch of molasses or a few drops of sorghum as southern bakers use or in the list of spices.

Boyle admitted to me that his mother’s was his favorite. What’s distinctive about this one is the filling.  It has a small amount of molasses, which was used often in old recipes as the sweetener.  The touch of ginger adds a kick of flavor too.

The pies call for evaporated milk, which was generally used years ago as an economy to replace cream.  Usually when I see evaporated milk, most often in old recipes, I substitute light cream, half and half or I make my own, using equal parts milk and heavy cream.  It adds great texture and pure flavor to the custard and you avoid using a processed ingredient.

While canned pumpkin (often butternut squash puree) is OK you can’t beat using fresh pumpkin. And long-pie pumpkins are ideal for pies, having a sweeter, creamier flesh than round pumpkins.

To make pumpkin puree, cut the long pumpkins in half lengthwise, lightly oil the flesh, leaving the seeds on and lay face down on a baking sheet to bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until it’s soft when squeezed.  Let the pumpkin cool slightly, scrape away the seeds and scoop out the flesh to measure 16 ounces as called for in the recipe.  If you don’t have a scale you’ll need 2 cups of pumpkin flesh.  Beat the flesh with a hand-held mixer until fairly smooth. A 3 1/2  pound long pie pumpkin will yield 2 cups flesh, enough for the pie filling.

Long-pie pumpkins

Use your favorite pie crust, but I offer my very flakey southern style pastry dough, which has a small amount of lard in it to offset the butter; it makes an extremely flakey pie crust.  Preparing the dough in the food processor is my usual method.  Put 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or southern soft-wheat flour), 1 tablespoon sugar, a few grinds of freshly ground sea salt or kosher salt.  Pulse a few times to mix.  Set aside while you prepare the butter and lard.  Cut 8 ounces good quality butter into cubes of various sizes, (3/4 small and 1/4 large pieces).  Put into a small bowl; add 4 tablespoons or 2 ounces freshly rendered lard (available at Rosemont Market) cut into small pieces.  Put in the freezer for about 5 minutes until very firm.  Add the butter to the workbowl and pulse 10 times or until the pieces of fat are in small and slightly larger pieces, looking like small peas or corn kernels.  Add 1/2 cup ice water gradually, pulsing as you do so until the dough comes together, just leaving the sides of the workbowl.  It should be somewhat moist.  Add a few more drops water if necessary.  Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and gather the dough together into a rough found.  Divide in half using a bench scraper or chef’s knife, then knead very gently once or twice to form each dough half into a round of about 4 inches. Wrap in waxed paper and chill for at least 1 hour.  Use as needed.  If you need a prebaked dough for the bottom crust, roll out one piece of the dough, fit into a 9-inch pie plate and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.  Remove and prick the bottom gently with a fork, not going all the way through; cover the dough with parchment paper and fill with beans or pie weights. Put into a 400 degree oven and bake 15 minutes for a partially baked dough or remove the pie weights after the 15 minutes and bake blind for about 5 to 10 minutes more or until lightly colored for a fully prebaked dough.