Charlotte Pumpkin Patch Bounty: How About From-Scratch Pie?

CHARLOTTE, NC — The past several months have kindled new interest in baking as Americans spend more time hunkering down at home to avoid the coronavirus. Buying a pumpkin for a jack-o’-lantern is one reason to visit pumpkin patches in Charlotte, but 2020 could also be the year to make pumpkin pies from scratch.

Sure, canned pumpkin will do the trick. It’s healthy and packed with nutrients, and some of the top cooking websites say it stacks up well against the homemade pumpkin purée and saves busy cooks a ton of time.

But there’s something soothing, meditative and cathartic about digging into the pumpkin with your hands and scooping out the stringy innards and seeds. The coronavirus culinary revolution reflects our collective hunger to take control of at least one thing in our upended lives. #StressBaking isn’t just a social media hashtag.

Just dress for the occasion, and wear gloves if the sliminess is too much for you.

The first thing you need to do is head to one of the pumpkin patches around Charlotte. Here are some of them:

Greater Life Pumpkin Patch
Address: 17025 Lancaster HWY, Charlotte
Hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday: 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., Sunday: 2 p.m. - 8 p.m.

St. Luke's Pumpkin Patch
Address: 52 16th Avenue NW, Hickory

The Hunter Farm
Address: 13624 Providence Road, Weddington, NC
Hours: Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m. - 7 p.m.

8th Annual Huntersville Fall Festival
Address: Historic Rural Hill, 4431 Neck Road, Huntersville
Attractions: Pumpkin Patch, Inflatables, Make your own scarecrow, art and craft tables, face painting, children's games,
Hours: Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Boy Scout Troop 323 Pumpkin Patch
Address: 17029 Kenton Drive, Cornelius
Hours: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Davidson United Methodist Church
Address: 233 South Main Street, Davidson, (704) 892-8277
Hours: all day event, from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31.

Carrigan Farms, LLC
Address: 1261 Oak Ridge Farm Highway, Mooresville, (704) 664-1450.
Attractions: Says Carrigan Farms, "Come pick your own pumpkin, right off the vine! Carrigan Farms' pumpkin patches are open the entire month of October with shuttles back and forth to the patch every day." Reservations required
Hours: Monday through Friday: 10am, 10:30am, 11am, 11:30am 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 3:30pm, 4pm, and 4:30pm; Saturday and Sunday: Every 20 minutes between 9am and 4pm

Patterson Farm
Address: 3060 Millbridge Road, China Grove, NC, (704) 857-5242
Attractions: Fall Fun on the Farm Weekends include a bee-themed corn maze, barnyard visits, pumpkin patch and more. Tickets may be purchased here.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Sunday: 12 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Southern Living says small, round sugar pumpkins, sometimes called pie or sweet pumpkins, are the best pumpkins for baking. The stem should be brown, but still firmly attached, and check for blemishes and bruising. And don’t get hung up on the color. As a pumpkin matures, its flesh dulls.

JoyFoodSunshine was our first stop on the spin around the internet in search of classic homemade pumpkin pie recipes. It requires an investment in time — a little over two hours — but blogger Laura says on her website the 10-ingredient recipe “is the only pumpkin pie recipe you’ll ever need” and that “literally everyone” who tries it falls in love with it.

“It’s a beautiful blend of creamy, spicy sweet flavors that encompass all that is wonderful about fall,” Laura says.

Everything about this pie is made from scratch, from the crust to the dollop of homemade whipped cream added after it’s been plated. Laura tells you everything you need to know, from the tools you’ll need to how to know when the pie is done.

Sheri B., whose from-scratch pumpkin pie recipe is featured on Food.com, says the roasted pumpkin can be puréed using a sieve, food mill, blender or food processor, but she likes to create the filling with a hand potato masher.

For some cooks, secret pumpkin pie ingredients make for an unforgettable dessert. New York City-based food and wine writer Mandy Naglich’s recipe on Taste Of Home calls for cracked black pepper.

“The best way to preserve the spiciness of pumpkin spice is with freshly cracked black pepper,” Naglich writes. “It adds a robust bite to the traditional spice mix, which comes across subtly in each mouthful of pumpkin pie.”

The pepper won’t make the pie “spicy,” but guests may ask where you got the super-fresh spices, she says.

“Food Hussy” Heather Johnson touts the secret ingredient in her mom’s pumpkin pie recipe. For years, Johnson’s mother refused to share the recipe, but eventually gave it up to her blogger daughter: It’s Harvey’s Bristol Cream Sherry, a dessert wine.

After you’ve gone to all the trouble of baking from-scratch pumpkin pies, you may decide using a can of pumpkin pie filling is easier. But it’s a coronavirus quarantine memory, and hopefully a pleasant one, that you’ll always have.

SEE ALSO:

• Best Charlotte-Area Pumpkin Patches 2020
• When Is The First Day Of Fall 2020? Events In Charlotte