If I only had one culinary pumpkin or winter squash to grow, Sweet Meat would be it.
For some varieties, beauty is only skin deep. Their color, size and weight may impress, but the flavor falls short. Sweet Meat not only has a creamy dense texture, but its flavor is rich, buttery and distinctive. It makes the best pies, the creamiest soups, the most savory side dishes and the tastiest muffins.
In addtion to taste, Sweet Meat blows away other squash varieties for its keeping ability. I know of no other winter squash or pumpkin that stores as well — for me that’s been about six months. It may keep longer, but usually in that time, I’ve consumed them all. In contrast, while my Galeux d’Eysines, Musquee de Provence, Long Island Cheese and Winter Luxury Pie pumpkins all tasted exceptional, they only lasted about two to three months in the cold pantry.
2009 was the first year I grew Sweet Meat winter squash, a variety well-known in the Pacific Northwest, but not in many other parts of the country. A friend gave me one seedling, and the vine (the one right behind Boz’s behind) produced three 10-15 pound squash.
As Boz looks on (in hot pursuit of the anything edible), a cabinet of pumpkins tells the story. Most of these found their way to the table and a few deflated into spongy goo before I could cook them, but only one lasted until spring: the Sweet Meat squash (as seen on the bottom shelf by Boz’s ear).
If nothing else, plant a couple seeds in the late spring and spend the next few months perfecting your baking skills; Sweet Meat makes a seriously fine pumpkin pie.
Seed Sources: Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Feedco Seeds, Territorial Seed Company
Growing tips: University of Illinois Winter Squash, Storing Winter Squash and Pumpkins, Organic Gardening: Winter Squash 101
What I was blogging about one Year Ago: Commute With a View
26 responses so far ↓
1 noble pig // Mar 13, 2010 at 3:09 pm
I love this and that cabinet is just stunning!
2 June // Mar 13, 2010 at 7:04 pm
Ohhh boy this looks beautiful Tom and your garden is absolutely gorgeous. Boz is pretty darn handsome too.
3 Tom // Mar 14, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Cathy that cabinet is from a very dear friend’s grandmother, who had it on her farm on Anderson Island, Washington.
And June, Boz sends you a sloppy kiss (the only kind he knows) and I, my appreciation for your kind words (and delicious recipes).
4 Sustainable Eats // Mar 15, 2010 at 5:50 am
How cool that you have a squash cupboard!
5 Renae // Mar 15, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I was so excited to see you writing about squash. I LOVE squash. Squash lovers unite. I’m still trying to convert my family– it’s slow going, but they’re turning the corner. I like to use squash in ravioli, soup and just by itself. Sweet meat is new to me, but just the name alone makes me think it’s my kind of squash. Can I grow squash in a small, small area? (Think container gardening on a patio, but I have dirt to dig.)
6 Sylvie in Rappahannock // Mar 15, 2010 at 8:21 pm
I am always interested in finding out cultivars of anything that are good keepers. Thanks for reporting about ‘Sweet Meat’.
7 Tom // Mar 15, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Renae, I’d say forget container gardening with these guys, they want some roam to bound. You can always plant them within an existing bed and have them grow among the established plants. Just make sure they have plenty of sun and water. You can also try trellising on a fence, but the fruit has to be supported in a sling or on a platform.
And Sylvie — I hope things are warming up in Virginia!
8 rowena // Mar 18, 2010 at 12:28 pm
Ahhh…so perhaps that was what a certain type of pumpkin was that I had purchased and used several weeks ago. I had never seen it at the regular supermarkets, but picked it up at the local vegetable stand. It looks the same, with that pale light green color. I should have thought to save the seeds!!!
9 Eileen @ Passions to Pastry // Mar 19, 2010 at 12:51 pm
A cupboard full of squash… how wonderful! I’ve never heard of most of these varieties of squash. I think I’ll plant some this spring. As beautiful as the blue cabbage were last summer in my garden, I think I’ll diversify a little bit this year.
10 tasteofbeirut // Mar 20, 2010 at 12:00 am
I would love to try this squash! I just had a kabocha recently and love the squash so much! I bet they taste 100 times better when fresh too!
11 Astrid Lindo // Feb 8, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Hi Tom – Thanks for the work that you do and such an entertaining blog! We are hoping to use your beautiful image for the creation of Living Seed Company – an heirloom organic seed company. We’ll send you a packet of our Founders Collection in gratitude. Please let us know. Thank you!
Astrid
12 Linda // Jul 16, 2011 at 8:36 pm
My plants are beautiful and I have at 20 squash BUT how do I know when they are ready to be picked?
13 Tom // Jul 16, 2011 at 8:48 pm
Linda, let the plants and fruit grow all summer. In late summer around September, and even October, you can pick them. They can be different sizes and should have a hard skin and blue/green/gray color. I recommend, cutting the stem so there’s a 2-4 inch stem on the squash. If you pull the stem off from the squash it tends to shorten its shelf life and promote mold later.
14 Debbie // Aug 5, 2011 at 7:47 am
Hi Tom – It’s my first time growing sweet meat squash. The vines are dead now but the fruit is still kind of green like the one you have displayed. Should I harvest now?
15 Tom // Aug 5, 2011 at 8:10 am
Hi Debbie, yep you can cut the vine from the stem, be sure to leave the stem, and store in a cool place like a basement or cold pantry.
Or you can just eat the thing now
Or you can peel them, cube them and pop the chunks in a Ziploc bag and into the freezer.
16 Debbie // Aug 5, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Thank you, thank you. My son is setting up a new seed library at UC Santa Cruz and gave me these seeds. I wanted to make sure I did it right so I can give him back viable seeds.
17 Tom // Aug 5, 2011 at 3:36 pm
How cool is that Debbie, love what your son is doing. You may check with him, but winter squash and pumpkins are notorious cross pollinators, so the seeds from the Sweet Meat squash may be a natural cross if other squash are near by and thus not true to the parent.
18 Debbie // Aug 6, 2011 at 2:04 pm
I did have some zucchini planted. After checking some sources I found out that there is no worry of cross pollination between that and the sweet meat.
19 Debbie // Aug 18, 2011 at 6:25 pm
Hi Tom – I am looking for a good pie recipe for the sweet meat squash. Do you happen to have one?
20 Tom // Aug 18, 2011 at 8:22 pm
Debbie–Do I? You bet I do. I’ve made this pumpkin pie recipe using Sweet Meat Squash and it ends up being even better than pumpkin, as pumpkin tends to be more watery, and Sweet Meat meatier and denser.
recipe: http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/156/toms-third-place-pumpkin-pie-recipe
21 andy // Sep 13, 2011 at 11:07 pm
Def. my favorite squash. I’m wondering about this years crop. They are the size of medicine balls and still growing. I saved the seed from last years crop, and the squash are huge, and yeallow instead of gray. The only other squash in the garden last year was tromboncino( cuc. Machata) since sweetmeat is cuc. Maxima they couldn’t have cross pollinated right? So what gives? They are a pale yellow…maybe they’ll turn gray when ripe?
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24 Doug // Nov 30, 2011 at 11:21 pm
I’ve grown many winter squashs, but Sweet Meat beats them all. The taste is the best, especially in a squash, black bean soup. They keep all winter for me, in my basement. I have 12 of them stored. Thanks for reminding me. I’m going down to get one for supper tomorrow!
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26 Evan // Mar 1, 2012 at 12:37 pm
This has me so excited about my Sweet Meat squash! Right now it’s a sprouting seedling under a grow light, but there is greatness in its future. Also, Botanical Interests is another great seed company (I don’t work for them, but I do adore them).
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